‘Real or Cake?’ is a viral TikTok challenge that challenges users to guess whether or not an item is either real or cake. Bakers put their skills to the test, creating intricate designs meant to trick users into believing that cake is actually an everyday object. Corinne Delacroix is a pioneer for bakers in the WCHS community, using the large hallways and empty lockers as her canvas. What some perceive as boring, Delacroix sees it as an opportunity to bring her own flair to the school walls, confusing and exciting those who walk around the school, wondering what will be disguised as cake tomorrow.
“I’ve been baking since I was eight years old. My mom gave me a book of her and my grandma’s recipes and I immediately fell in love with how creative you could be when it came to decorating the cake,” Delacroix said. “For me, it’s not just about the flavor, it’s about making expressive pieces that make the process worth it.”
As a tribute to the school and how far she has come as a baker, Delacroix has been working on a project, which involves disguising her cakes all around school as everyday items. Bringing the ‘Real or Cake?’ trend to school has proven to be a success, bringing excitement to students, wondering if they could be laying eyes on Delacroix’s next masterpiece.
Delacroix had decided to disguise her two most popular flavors, red velvet and birthday cake. To start off, she disguised her birthday cake as some tissue boxes, using fondant to replicate the different wrinkles in each tissue. She managed to bake about nineteen tissue boxes and hid them in various classrooms around school, giving students a shock and a snack during class.
“I started off by making the cake with the same dimensions of a tissue box. My birthday cake is one of my most fun flavors, so I decided to use that for a tissue box. After making about four of those, I covered it with icing and spray painted it white then went over it with blue to get that perfect color,” Delacroix said. “Making the tissues was the hardest part, I had to use white melts and then freeze them then carve out a tissue shape and use fondant to achieve that wrinkly look.”
As her last but not least tribute to the school, Delacroix wanted to make sure everybody could have a taste of her cakes. With the help of the lunch ladies, she was able to disguise her cake as the school, disguising her red velvet cake as spaghetti. To make sure students could still have a nutritious meal, she made sure to label both of them and add the ingredients to make sure no one had any allergies.
“This was by far the most fun project I have ever done. It took at least two days to completely finish this product, but the result was worth it. I had a lot of students come up to me and tell me how good my cakes were. I have also gotten a lot of new orders, some I have already begun working on. This was not only good for my business but also my motivation and confidence as an aspiring baker.” Delacroix said.
