Hyperrealistic Cakes: 15 Real or Cake Creations That Fooled Millions of Fans

Hyperrealistic cakes are the sweetest kind of magic trick, and Natalie Sideserf of Sideserf Cake Studio is one of the best at it. She makes cakes that look exactly like fruit, books, chips, sushi and even pets, and then she slices right into them. Her channel now has more than 7 million subscribers, and this fall two new videos took off fast: a room where everything is cake passed 1.3 million views in about a month, and a cake that moves with candy passed 1.1 million. Every video plays the same happy game in your head: is it real, or is it cake? Below are 15 of her most loved builds with real view counts, and for each one a small, easy idea you can bake at home for a party or the holidays..

Hyperrealistic Cakes Fill a Whole Room

Her newest hit is also her boldest. In a video called Everything Is 100% Cake on her YouTube channel, a whole table full of everyday things turns out to be sponge and frosting, and it passed 1.3 million views in about a month. The fun part is watching people guess wrong again and again. You do not need a full room to play this game at home. A cake that looks like a stack of fluffy pancakes is a great first try, and it makes any breakfast party feel special..

You will need: Three round vanilla cakes, buttercream, a little brown food color or cocoa, warm honey or syrup, a few berries.

How to make it: 1. Bake thin round cakes and trim the tops flat. 2. Stack them with a thin layer of buttercream and brush the sides lightly with cocoa so they look golden. 3. Add a pat of yellow buttercream on top, drizzle syrup and scatter berries.

A Cake That Moves With Candy

In I Made a Moving Cake Using Candy, Natalie builds a cake that really moves, and fans watched it more than 1.1 million times in about a month. The secret is clever planning and a lot of patience. At home you can get a little of that motion without any wiring at all. Set a round cake on a turntable cake stand, cover it in bright candy, and give it a slow spin when you bring it out. Kids will want to spin it again and again. Which candy colors would you choose?

You will need: A round frosted cake, a turntable cake stand, rainbow candy pieces, sprinkles, an offset spatula.

How to make it: 1. Frost the cake smooth and chill it for 20 minutes. 2. Press candy in rings or a spiral so the pattern swirls when it turns. 3. Bring it to the table on the turntable and give it a gentle spin before you cut it.

The Cake That Makes a Noise

Why Is This Cake Making Noise? pulled in about 954,000 views in two months, because nobody expects a cake to make a sound. The idea behind it is surprise, and that is easy to bring into your own kitchen. A hidden candy center makes guests gasp the moment you cut the first slice and a little rainbow pours out onto the plate. It looks plain on the outside, which makes the reveal even better. Would your family guess what is hiding inside?

You will need: Two or three cake layers, buttercream, a round cutter, small candy pieces or sprinkles.

How to make it: 1. Cut a circle out of the middle of each layer except the bottom one. 2. Stack the layers with buttercream and fill the hole with candy. 3. Add the top layer, frost the whole cake smooth and keep the secret until you slice it.

Real or Cake Quizzes Hit 24 Million Views

Her Ultimate Real or Cake Quiz Part 3 has been watched about 24 million times, and the comments are full of people who were sure they had won. Turning hyperrealistic cakes into a guessing game is the easiest way to bring this fun to a party. You do not need a perfect copy. Set a few real items next to a few cakes made to look like them, number each one, and hand out score cards. The best guesser gets the first slice. If you love this kind of baking fun, you will also enjoy these cake art challenges. Who in your family would win?

You will need: Two or three simple shaped cakes, a few matching real items, small number cards, paper and pencils.

How to make it: 1. Pick easy shapes, like a loaf of bread, an orange or a brown paper box. 2. Bake and frost cakes to match and place each one next to real items on a tray. 3. Number everything, let guests guess, then cut the cakes to show the answers.

Succulent Cupcakes From the Part 4 Quiz

The next quiz, Part 4, passed about 12 million views, and some of the most fooling pieces were little potted plants. Succulent cupcakes are one of the friendliest ways to try the real or cake look yourself, because the frosting does most of the work. Set them in small clay pots or a wooden tray and they look like a windowsill garden. They make a lovely centerpiece for a shower or a fall brunch, and nobody will want to eat the first one. Will you dare to bite in?

You will need: Cupcakes, stiff buttercream in sage, mint and pale pink, a petal piping tip, crushed chocolate cookies, small clean clay pots or cupcake liners.

How to make it: 1. Bake cupcakes and set them in clean pots or liners. 2. Pipe rosette shapes with a petal tip, starting in the middle and working out. 3. Sprinkle cookie crumbs around the edges so it looks like soil.

Hyperrealistic Cakes Started With One Simple Cake

One of her biggest videos, about 8.2 million views, puts her very first cake next to her skill today. It is a sweet reminder that even the most famous hyperrealistic cakes started with a lopsided beginner bake. You can make your own version of this. Bake the same cake twice, a few months or a year apart, and take a photo each time. It is a gentle way to see how much you have grown, and a fun family tradition too. What cake would you pick as your first?

You will need: Your favorite cake recipe, the same pans each time, a notebook, a phone for photos.

How to make it: 1. Bake your chosen cake and write down the date and anything you would change. 2. Take a photo from the same angle. 3. Bake it again later, try one new trick, and set the two photos side by side.

Hyperrealistic Cakes You Can Really Play

Her playable board game cake passed about 9.6 million views, because guests could move the pieces before eating them. A checkerboard sheet cake is an easy way to bring that idea to your own table, and it is perfect for game night or a birthday party. Use two colors of frosting or cocoa dusting for the squares, then set out candy for the game pieces. Play one round, then cut along the lines so everyone gets a square. Who will win the first game?

You will need: A sheet cake, white and chocolate buttercream, a ruler, round candies or cookies in two colors.

How to make it: 1. Frost the cake white and mark an 8 by 8 grid with a ruler. 2. Fill every other square with chocolate frosting. 3. Set candy pieces on the starting rows and play before you slice.

Fruit That Turns Out to Be Cake

Her hyperrealistic cakes shaped like fruit passed about 7.5 million views on her channel, with peaches, lemons and melons that look ready to pick. A watermelon look cake is a happy and easy way to try this at home. Bake a round cake with pink layers, cover it in green fondant or frosting with darker stripes, and add a few chocolate chips as seeds where you cut it. It is great for a summer party or a cozy fall birthday when you miss sunny days. Would you fall for it?

You will need: Round cake layers tinted pink, buttercream, light and dark green fondant or frosting, chocolate chips.

How to make it: 1. Stack and trim the pink layers into a dome. 2. Cover with light green fondant and add darker green stripes. 3. Cut one wedge, press chocolate chips in as seeds and set it in front.

A Bag of Chips Made of Cake

A stack of chips that was really cake reached about 7 million views, one of her most shared hyperrealistic cakes, and many fans admitted they never saw the trick coming. The good news is that thin cookies can play the same game at home. Roll cookie dough very thin, cut wavy rounds, and bake them golden. Pile them into a paper cone and they look just like a snack bowl of chips. Set them next to real chips at a party and watch people guess. Which one will they grab?

You will need: Sugar cookie dough, a rolling pin, a round cutter, a little cinnamon sugar, paper cones or a bowl.

How to make it: 1. Roll the dough very thin and cut small rounds. 2. Bend each round slightly over a rolling pin so it curves as it bakes. 3. Dust with cinnamon sugar and pile them into paper cones.

Hyperrealistic Cakes Shaped Like a Sushi Platter

Her sushi platter made of cake passed about 6.7 million views, and it looked so real that it was hard to watch her cut it. A sweet sushi platter is one of the easiest hyperrealistic cakes to copy, and kids love helping. Use crispy rice cereal treats for the rice, fruit leather for the wrap and colorful candy or fruit for the fillings. Line them up on a long plate and they look just like the real thing. Who will ask for chopsticks?

You will need: Crispy rice cereal treats, green fruit leather, orange and red gummy candy or fresh fruit, a long plate.

How to make it: 1. Press the cereal treats into a flat rectangle and let them firm up. 2. Lay fruit candy down the middle and roll it up tight. 3. Wrap with fruit leather, chill, then slice into rounds.

A Teddy Bear Cake With a Colorful Secret

A cake shaped like a soft plush toy, made for a gender reveal party, passed about 6.4 million views. A teddy bear cake with a colored center is a gentle way to try hyperrealistic cakes at home, for a baby shower, a birthday or a first day of school. The outside can be simple chocolate frosting, while the layers inside are pink, blue or rainbow. Everyone holds their breath as the first slice comes out. What color will your bear be hiding?

You will need: Two round cakes, one small round cake for the head, chocolate buttercream, food coloring, chocolate candies for eyes and nose.

How to make it: 1. Tint the cake batter in your chosen color and bake. 2. Stack the layers and carve a simple sitting bear shape with a small cake for the head. 3. Pipe fur texture with a star tip and add candy eyes.

Hyperrealistic Cakes Glow Up a Plain Grocery Store Cake

A plain grocery store cake glow up passed about 5.4 million views, and it might be the most useful video of all. Not every party needs a cake built from scratch. You can take a simple store bought cake and make it look fancy in about fifteen minutes. Scrape off the busy decorations, smooth the top, then add fresh flowers, a ribbon and a few berries. It looks like it came from a bakery window. Which party could use this quick trick?

You will need: A plain store bought cake, an offset spatula, extra buttercream, food safe flowers, ribbon, fresh berries.

How to make it: 1. Scrape off any piped borders and smooth the top with a little extra buttercream. 2. Wrap a ribbon around the base and pin it with a dab of frosting. 3. Tuck clean food safe flowers and berries in a crescent on top.

A See Through Cake With a Window

Her see through cake passed about 4.5 million views and shows a softer side of hyperrealistic cakes, because it seems impossible to look into a cake. A clear gelatin window on top is a simple way to play with that idea at home. Set fruit slices or edible flowers in a thin layer of clear gelatin, then lay it on top of a frosted cake. When the light hits it, it looks like a tiny stained glass window. Would you serve it for a spring party or a holiday table?

You will need: A frosted round cake, clear unflavored gelatin, a little sugar, thin fruit slices or edible flowers, a round pan the same size as the cake.

How to make it: 1. Make a thin layer of sweetened clear gelatin in a lined pan and press in fruit or flowers. 2. Chill until firm. 3. Slide it onto the top of the chilled cake and serve cold.

A Cake Wall Made of Chocolate Blocks

A cake built from 1,000 chocolate blocks passed about 4.2 million views, and it looked like a little brick building. A chocolate bar wall cake is one of the easiest hyperrealistic cakes for a beginner because the chocolate hides any messy frosting. Press squares of chocolate all around the sides, then pile berries or candy on top. It looks expensive but takes only a few minutes to finish. Who would you bake this one for?

You will need: A frosted round cake, plain chocolate bars broken into rectangles, berries or candy, a ribbon.

How to make it: 1. Frost the cake with a thick layer so the chocolate sticks. 2. Press chocolate rectangles side by side all the way around. 3. Pile fruit or candy on top and tie a ribbon around the middle.

A Tiny Tortoise You Can Eat

One of her cutest builds, an adorable tortoise that is really cake, passed about 4 million views. Cupcake turtles are a sweet and simple way to try hyperrealistic cakes with kids, and they love making the little faces. Use a dome of cupcake for the shell, green frosting in a pattern on top, and cookies or candy for the head and feet. Line up a whole family of turtles on a tray for a party. How many will you make before they all get eaten?

You will need: Cupcakes, green buttercream, a small round piping tip, small round cookies, green candy pieces, candy eyes.

How to make it: 1. Frost each cupcake in a dome and pipe a hexagon pattern on top. 2. Press a small cookie in as the head and four candies as feet. 3. Add candy eyes and a little tail, then serve on a leafy plate.