A woman has gone viral on TikTok after sharing her incredible baking skills – leaving viewers doubting their eyes as she replicates everything from Chanel bags to trainers with sugar and frosting.
Vanessa Barcelo, 31, from Hialeah, Florida, is a cake artist who first began baking in July 2011 and first began sharing her delectable treats on the social media platform in 2019.
With the emergence of popular TV shows like Netflix’s ‘Is It Cake?’, where judges try to find the cake amongst the products, the baker’s videos have gone viral.
One of her most popular creations is a black Chanel bag – made without a cake stand – that she did for her sister, which received 5.2 million views and over a million likes on TikTok.
“My sister loves purses but I had done several purses that sit on cake boards,” Vanessa, who appeared on Netflix’s Baking Impossible in 2021, told Jam Press.
“I wanted to do something unique and mind-blowing so I started playing with different structures to see what could best support a cake and be held by straps.”
In the clip, Vanessa walks down a path, one hand holding a child’s, the other holding the bag.
As the approaches the camera, she then takes a big chunk out of the bag, leaving social media users stunned.
Impressively, the heavy cake is held up by nothing but its straps.
“Never let them know your next move,” one viewer commented.
Another person added: “Literally in her bag.”
“Probably the kids is cake too. I don’t trust anything right now,” someone else wrote.
One person said: “I thought she made purses,” followed by two laughing face emojis.
“Ahhhh a Chanel bag I can afford,” another viewer added.
Users have also been tricked by her red and black Nike Air Force 1’s cake, which was made from slabs of chocolate cake, before being intricately designed with icing.
Another featured her mind-boggling “Turkey” cake, complete with crispy, golden skin and couscous – perfect for Thanksgiving.
Vanessa also presented the most delicious way to combat Covid, with a “Clorox” bacterial wipe cake, along with a bottle of “Corona” beer.
Speaking about her love of baking, Vanessa, who is self-taught, said: “I have always been an artist since I was a little girl.
“When I moved away to go to college I loved watching Cake Boss and I was going home for my sister and cousins birthday but I [was] very tight on money.
“I wanted to gift them something from the heart so I decided I would try and make custom cakes from what I had learned from just watching the show.
“I made a Romero Britto-inspired flower cake and a Hello Kitty cake.
“When I arrived with the two cakes everyone [was] in shock I had made them and loved everything about them.”
Growing passionate of creating edible art, Vanessa decided to become a full time cake artist, opening her own business in 2013.
She said: “Since the first year I started doing cakes, my niche was always creating realistic cakes, with the first being a clown face standing up.
“I’ve done a little of everything from animals to shoes to purses.”
Vanessa has been blown away by the positive reactions to her work on social media.
She added: “I was mind blown the reactions are the best, no one can seem to understand how I’m holding them by the straps!
“I was in shock I did not expect it would go viral as it did and the love and support was so amazing!
“When I started baking I had no idea it would open so many doors and opportunities, being on a Netflix baking show to doing celebrity cakes it’s been such a journey.
“My family is the back bone to my business even though everyone has their own careers they are all always there to support and inspire me.”
