When custom cake maker Maddie Schmitz saw something trending on the internet called a "burn-away cake," she leapt into action.
On a burn-away cake, an image on the cake top burns away once lit to reveal a hidden image beneath. It could be a way to make a gender reveal announcement or a surprise marriage proposal.
But Schmitz, owner of the Something Sweet by Maddie Lu bakery in Coon Rapids, decided to make a Super Bowl-themed cake.
She decorated the cake in the colors of the Kansas City Chiefs and put the team's logo on top.
But once you put a flame to the top of the cake, the Chiefs logo burns away to reveal Taylor Swift dressed in the football uniform of Travis Kelce, her boyfriend and star tight end for the reigning Super Bowl champs.
The cake also has the words, "Are you ready for it?" a reference to the Swift song " ... Ready for It?"
After Schmitz posted videos of the burning creation on Facebook and TikTok last week, the views — and cake orders — started rolling in.
As of late last week, Schmitz said she had orders for about 40 burn-away cakes, about half of which featured the Kansas City Chiefs/Taylor Swift Super Bowl design.
"That's quite a lot of cakes," Schmitz said of the custom desserts that cost $68 for a 6-inch version and $88 for an 8-inch cake. "Our customers have just blown us away with requests."
The pictures on the top of burn-away cakes are made with something called an edible image printer. It looks like a regular computer printer, except the ink cartridges contain food dye. It prints on a frosting sheet or wafer paper, which are thin sheets of fondant or sugar paper made of ingredients like tapioca starch and corn syrup.
The edible sheets can depict any image you can get off of a computer. A burn-away birthday cake, for example, can feature before-and-after photos of the birthday boy as a baby and as an adult.
Some butter cream frosting architecture creates a gap between the two images so you can burn away the top picture without affecting the revealed image below.
"It's not overly complicated," Schmitz said.
Burn-away cakes have been around for a few years, but they've recently become a hot trend thanks to some social media videos from bakers in Illinois and Ontario, which have been viewed millions of times, according to the Washington Post.
Former TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres jumped on the trend, recently celebrating her 66th birthday with a pickleball-themed burn-away cake.
Schmitz's Taylor Swift/Kansas City Chiefs cake is just one of the treats she's offering as "Swiftbowl desserts." Her cupcakes and cookies with images of Swift or Kelce are also selling well.
While orders for those cupcakes and cookies might dry up after next Sunday's big game, Schmitz thinks burn-away cakes may have more staying power.
"I think the trend will be here for a while," she said. "The options are endless."
Helen Simonson is in Jane Austen mode with 'The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club'
