Netflix’s baking shows range from the beloved (The Great British Baking Show) and the bonkers (Nailed It!) to addictive (Sugar Rush) and awe-inspiring (Zumbo’s Just Desserts). Is It Cake?, now streaming on the platform, combines artistry with a sense of humour, pitting contestants up against one another to create incredible cakes. Nine cake artists are brought in to create hyper realistic cakes in the hopes of fooling the judges each round. Each episode, the winning baker can take home up to $10,000, and in the end, the three best bakers will compete for $50,000. In the first episode, the bakers replicate different fast foods, including a cheeseburger, sandwich, and tacos. They have eight hours to complete their creations, and by the time the judges roll in, they place their cakes among an array of decoy food items and cross their fingers they won’t be found out. In this first installment, judges Daym Drops, Fortune Feimster, and Ronnie Woo all try their best to pick out the cakes. The bakers do their best to trick the judges by using realistic-looking textures and colours, and distracting them by dressing up the decoys a little extra, too. It’s hard to make an impression in a genre as crowded as baking competitions, but Is It Cake? exceeds expectations and sets itself apart with a silly premise and a charming cast.

– Compilation