Sometimes, when you hear a premise for a new show, you wonder how it could possibly work. That’s definitely what I thought when I heard about Is It Cake? and I know I’m not alone. But after watching all eight episodes on Netflix, the series totally works and it’s such a joy to watch
The show has a group of nine contestants make cakes that look like ordinary objects. But they don’t all compete at the same time. To choose which three bakers will compete on each episode, the bakers must decide which item is a cake from a selection of objects on the cake wall. Whoever guesses correctly and the quickest gets to choose the other two bakers they will be competing against.
The three bakers then choose which item on the cake wall they want and then start baking! They are given eight hours to do this. I have never seen a baking competition give bakers this much time. It’s kind of amazing.
After the bakers are finished, they place their cake among a bunch of decoys, and then three celebrity judges have to guess which one is cake. Even when you watch them make the cake, it’s sometimes hard to know which one is actually cake.
Is It Cake? needs to be your next Netflix binge-watch
If the judges guess wrong, the baker has a chance to win the challenge. If more than one baker stumps the judges, the judges must choose the ultimate winner by tasting the cakes. Not a bad job if you can get it. Whoever wins the challenge gets $5,000.
But that’s not the end of the episode. Whoever wins has to play Cash or Cake. Two objects covered in cash are presented and the baker has to decide which one is cake. If they get it right, they get at least another $5,000. This was honestly the hardest challenge because the bags, piggy banks, and cash registers filled with cash all look real!
About halfway through the season, the rules change. During the first few episodes, no one is eliminated, but after the change in the rules, whoever wins the challenge gets to stay and compete in the finale and the other two bakers are eliminated. But they still stay on the set to cheer on the other bakers! This show breaks so many baking competition rules.
But the premise isn’t the only fun part of the show. The bakers themselves were all super fun and really supportive of each other. And, while his jokes were more cringe than actually funny, Mikey Day was a great host. You could tell he bonded with the bakers (they even pranked him!) and was really amazed by their talents.
If you haven’t watched Is It Cake? on Netflix, you definitely need to give it a shot. It’s fun, shows off the talents of some truly extraordinary bakers, and is a nice way to escape from the world for a little bit.
Did you watch Is It Cake? yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!