He’s a native of Metro Detroit who turned his passion for baking into a viral sensation, and now he’s taking his culinary and decorative skills to Netflix. It’s all for the television show “Is It Cake?”. The show is about exactly what it sounds like: Talented bakers who can make things look so real that you can’t tell whether they are cakes or not.
Jonny Manganello, popularly known as “Jonny Cakes,” is one of the show’s bakers. He grew up in Grosse Pointe Park and currently resides in California. He spoke with Jason Carr, co-host of Live in the D, about how he’s heating things up on the new baking competition show.
Jonny says he had too much spare time after being trapped in his house for two years during the pandemic, so he took up creating hyper-realistic cakes as a hobby. He says he’s watched a lot of baking shows and is now on one, so it’s as if he walked into his TV.
“Is it Cake?” is a Netflix competition show in which contestants attempt to wow a panel of judges by creating cakes that are so realistic that they appear to be identical to comparable products even when placed next to them. Mikey Day from SNL hosts the show, which he describes as “very entertaining and not too serious.”
Jonny says that when he bakes at home, he has all the time in the world and is not under the pressure of appearing on TV or having judges scrutinize every detail of his work. He does, however, say that the feelings of the show are positive and that there is a lot of camaraderie, and that he felt encouraged every step of the way.
Mikey Day, he says, is the nicest celebrity he’s ever met. He also mentioned that Mikey cared about them and communicated with them via email and Zoom calls. He also says that you can catch his zany sense of humor just by watching the show, and that he is continuously funny in real life.
When it comes to cakes, Jonny places a high value on flavor and texture, and he is always experimenting with both. He believes that cakes should be beautiful and delicious. He went on to say that the judges eat every single cake made by each contestant.
According to Jonny, Rice Krispies Treats are a great addition to use as specific molds for cakes since they’re light, malleable, and easy to shape. He described it as “edible clay.”
Watch the video above to see Jonny’s creations that appear so realistic that you won’t be able to tell if they’re real or fake.