Life

This Dinner is Actually A Cake

by Eliza Castile

Oct. 15, 2014

Ever find yourself in need of a cake shaped like a giant nose? Or a stalk of asparagus? Or a dead squirrel? Debbie Goard of Debbie Does Cakes creates life-like cakes that have you covered on all fronts. Not only that, but she'll whip up pretty much any other shape of cake you could possibly imagine. From chicken wings to cheeseburgers to (my favorite) a bottle of champagne, it seems like she can make pretty much anything — and the coolest part is, these cakes look exactly like what they're supposed to be.

Surprisingly, Goard got started in the business by accident. After some time as a struggling artist, she began working in a deli, where she found herself making cakes after the cake decorator retired. Despite numerous attempts to leave the profession over the years, in 2005 she left her job to start her own business based in San Francisco, one that focused solely on sculpted cakes. Her preference for the unusual is what makes her bakery unique; she doesn't offer any traditional cakes, and while there is a gallery of pre-designed cakes online, each order is custom-made.As you can imagine, this has led to some pretty strange requests over the years. When asked for examples of the weirdest cakes she's had to make, Goard told Bustle over email that she's had to do everything from road kill squirrels for a Christmas party to the aforementioned giant wind-up nose for a nose fetishist (seriously).

Goard writes that not much surprises her these days, except for maybe one thing:"I am utterly shocked... when someone asks me for a regular birthday cake. How weird!"

In an interview with BuzzFeed, she also says sometimes cakes will sit for hours before people realize they can eat them. To be honest, though, I'd be a little wary of being the first person to try to take a chunk out of a giant squirrel too, no matter how many people said it was edible.