TikTok Is Grossed Out Over This Cake Decorating Re-Do
A five-year veteran cake decorator at a Missouri Walmart has come under fire for how she does her job after a video posted on TikTok shows her cake decorating re-do. The video — originally posted in May and reposted with new commentary just a few weeks ago in December — shows a cake where she scrapes off all the detailed frosting, then re-frosts and decorates that same cake in another theme. Some viewers said it's "gross," with one who added, "Y'all we be getting expired cakes." The original poster, user @TiffanyCakes, responded that the cake is definitely not expired, but viewers clearly didn't get the message based on the comments. And for those wondering, bakery cakes can last about two to four days in the fridge, and two to four months in the freezer (via Eat by Date).
Tiffany admitted she had meant it to be a "funny video," but people were horrified thinking a stale cake might be redecorated. Said one person, "Is that why those cakes are so dry? They just re decorate [sic] until they get sold." Again, this is rebutted, but the video's caption of "Shhhhh" and the music, listed as "How Would They Know Bad Girls Club" by Chris Gleason seems to help contribute to the idea that this is some industry dirty secret, leading to the misunderstanding.
Defending her video, Tiffany said, "Y'all we were out of this flavor of cake, so I pulled the FROZEN one and redec [sic] it for the customer. Chill, it would've been just the same result." At least a few followers agreed with her, with one who wondered, "Did someone tag all the Karen's? People are soo dramatic."
Fresh-frozen has a different meaning for bakers
While it's understandable that people would object to stale cake, the TikTok baker @TiffanyCakes reposted the video in December with new commentary, and added that serving stale cake isn't what's happening at all. In her repost, which has garnered 5 million views so far, Tiffany shared, "This cake was FRESH out of the freezer. They needed white cake with white whipped and red boarder [sic]. ...This is not gross."
Experts agree that freezing cakes is common, and that professionals often work with frozen cake as it holds its structure better while frosting and decorating (via Barefoot Baker). A frozen cake doesn't necessarily mean that the cake is stale, either. Multiple commenters on the TikTok thread, including other bakers, came to Tiffany's defense when discussing the redecorating process (via Daily Dot). While the initial video in May drew strong criticism, later comments have leaned more towards support of the practice, noting that the cake was neither stale nor ever actually associated with a different customer.
The TikTok community, however, has a tendency to be easily upset and grossed out. As one commenter pointed out, "TikTok has backseat professionals for literally everything I swear." Back seaters aside, the cake is fine, and we're quite impressed with Tiffany's speed decorating skills.