The Ugly Cake Trend Had Home Bakers Striving For Imperfection

We've all seen the "Nailed It!" posts, whether it's regular people trying to mimic professional dancers or a mom trying to replicate an elaborate cake for their child's birthday. The concept became so popular that the series "Nailed It!" aired for seven seasons on Netflix, and a spin-off is in the works. So it makes sense that eventually, the joke would become a trend, with bakers purposefully making ugly cakes and even pranking their friends and family with them.

The ugly cake trend has been on TikTok for a while. It involves deliberately making a cake that is a grotesque, crude, or hilariously bad version of something. In one TikTok video, a home baker creates that looks vaguely like a cross between a porcupine and a pig, and the kindest comment made by her family when they see it is, "Who cares, it's chocolate!" Another TikToker sends her mom screenshots of three ugly cakes and asks her to pick the one she likes most. When the daughter claims the ugly princess cake is the cutest and most realistic, the mom protests, "Realistic? Where?"

While the ugly cake trend can involve pranks, it also showcases a baker's challenge to make something look perfectly terrible when they've been trained to make beautiful cakes.

Bakers who are used to smoothing out their buttercream, piping beautiful frosting flowers, and applying perfectly placed fondant are getting into the ugly cake trend, and the results are ugly — but polished — cakes. One TikToker, who usually makes realistic cakes of everything from gorgeous floral designs to Minions and rabbits, took on the trend, creating a cake of a princess that looks like she jumped out of "The Simpsons." Although it's ugly, it also looks professionally done.

Another TikToker, known for making authentic-looking cakes of Disney characters and elaborate wedding and anniversary cakes, made a hedgehog with huge teeth and lips and quills crafted with chocolate Pocky sticks.

Like most fads, the ugly cake trend won't be here forever, but the charm of an ugly cake is undeniable. It reminds us that something can still be delicious despite being unattractive. An imperfect cake allows us to be creative and experimental, and, as we see from the TikTok posts and comments, it can also bring a lot of fun and laughter.