Since last year, the internet has seen a shift in how celebrations are becoming more opulent with over-the-top cakes that have all the edible glitter, vintage piping, and sugar pearls you could imagine. As we enter 2024, many are finding a lot to celebrate — including the small things. Whether it’s for your birthday or for finally blocking that ex, the occasion will almost always call for cake. No cake is too dramatic, including a cake that’s on fire. Cue in burn-away cakes, the latest TikTok trend.
What are burn-away cakes?
Burn-away cakes, or cakes with a top layer burned off to reveal another image underneath, are a hot topic — literally and figuratively. The trend has gotten over 229 million views on TikTok and continues to grow with fun reveals for every occasion. And it isn’t just reserved for birthdays and gender reveals either. Other notable examples include the iconic Mean Girls “Burn book,” a DragonBall Z transformation cake, and a Spiderman-turned-Venom cake.
Ontario-based baker and content creator @CakesByNams, Namaya Navaratnarajah, popularized this decoration style on TikTok after pulling inspiration from another fellow cake maker, Denise Steward, says Eater. Specific-themed cakes like the viral Taylor Swift’s burn cake feature a design of Swift’s past deactivated Instagram account but once set ablaze, an image of Swift in a black and red-clad outfit that she wore during her Eras tour in Arizona is unveiled. That alone garnered over 20 million views. One of her most popular videos with over 36 million views epically displayed a Pokemon-inspired double reveal cake that shows all three 3 forms of Charizard’s evolution.
But how do burn-away cakes work?
At first glance, you may be wondering if these blazing cakes are edible to eat or how they don’t damage other parts of the cake. Turns out, it’s a lot easier than it looks. Many creators have posted their tutorials on how folks can replicate these cakes at home.
The key is in the type of materials used. The top layer is made out of wafer or rice paper which is placed on top of a ring of piped icing surrounding the bottom layer, or the sugar sheet. Once burned, it’s still perfectly edible. However, if you’re weary of the burned bits that come out of wafer or rice paper, other recipes also call for flash paper. Traditionally, the image on top is produced by an edible ink printer, but companies like Ink4Cakes sell customizable edible sheets.
However, if you’re in a pinch and have to only rely on household items—you’re still in luck. TikTok creator Little Shop of Homer made a horror-themed cake for his wife that also employed the same mechanics of the popular burn-away cake. Using tissue paper, corn syrup, and a brush, you can take a pan or tray, cover it with tissue paper, and brush it over with corn syrup to seal the top layer over the cake design. This particular burning technique was inspired by the Four Seasons in Japan on Instagram. While this does lead to a grand reveal, the downside is that this particular method isn’t edible, however, you can swap the tissue paper for rice or wafer paper instead with all the other materials.
Burn-away cakes are a subtle way to be over-the-top with two designs in one. The cakes just add that extra pizzazz to not only be aesthetically pleasing but also act as an expression of ourselves and what intrigues us.