Ugly Easter lamb cake posted by Michigan bakery as April Fools' joke turns into viral sensation
What started out as an attempted April Fools' Day joke by a Detroit-area bakery ended up backfiring, in a sense, when customers enthusiastically embraced the design of an intentionally ugly "Easter lamb" cake.
Last week, Homestead Kitchen Artisan Cakery's Instagram account posted a photo of a disturbed-appearing lamb confection in the "cake fail" style of the TV show "Nailed It!"
The cake depicted in the photo featured googly eyes, misshapen buck teeth, nondescript grey frosting piled haphazardly and appearing to be melting, and a light dusting of coconut shavings to suggest wool.
"Where's the knife, I need to put it out of its misery," one commenter mused.
The post received nearly 4,000 comments on Instagram. The success of the post spurred the bakery to offer replicas of the ugly lamb depicted in the post, though they quickly sold out due to the unexpected demand.
The bakery reported, "What started as an April Fool's joke, turned into an international sensation, with over 4 million views, a sell-out weekend, and endless laughs."
The bakery — which also offered a more traditional lamb cake option — said the success of the April Fools' stunt has inspired them to offer the ugly lamb next Easter, as well.
While many commenters indicated they were in on the joke, a few took issue with the satirical take resulting from the convergence of April Fools' and Easter Sunday. In the Christian faith, the lamb is symbolic of innocence and the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ for his followers.
"While the lamb CAKE is a longstanding Easter tradition here in the States and is not a biblical representation of Jesus Christ, I can see why some might confuse this cake post with an attack on Christianity," the bakery posted the day after the prank. "As a Bible believing follower of Christ, I pray that my whimsy does not stand in your way of experiencing the life changing power of the cross this week."