15 Attention-Grabbing Cakes From Events

A cake in the shape of a hamburger—lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and all—included lyrics from Katy Perry's "Birthday" for the song's video shoot at Duff's Cakemix.

Earlier this month, Neiman Marcus and Mattel Children’s Hospital U.C.L.A. hosted a cake-centric reception in Beverly Hills to celebrate funds raised for the hospital at the Kaleidoscope Ball, as well as the 30th anniversary of the retailer's InCircle loyalty program. The event partnered with top local pastry chefs to create cakes inspired by major local landmarks. The showcase included a replica of the Beverly Hills Hotel, courtesy of the hotel's pastry team.

At the Neiman Marcus and Mattel Children’s Hospital U.C.L.A. event, the Butter End's Kimberly Bailey made a cake in the form of the La Brea Tar Pits.

The Neiman Marcus event also included a cake inspired by the iconic entrance gate to Paramount Studios, complete with swaying palm trees, made by Christopher Garrens.

Katy Perry’s video for “Birthday,” which debuted earlier this month, was filmed entirely at Duff’s Cakemix on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. Confections included a cake covered in rainbow hearts and another that took the shape of a giant Rubik’s Cube.

Another cake created for the "Birthday" video included a six-layer treat covered in rainbow candies. Each inside layer was stacked in rainbow order, from red to purple.

At this year's Governors Ball, hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Oscar night, Wolfgang Puck created a Hollywood-theme cake that celebrated 20 years of Puck's involvement with the bash. It was meant to recall the on-theme look of a zoetrope and included a motorized moving tier that spun around, as well as several other Hollywood-inspired decorative details.

The cake at actress Kaley Cuoco's New Year's Eve wedding captured the industry's curiosity—and lit up social media. Kimberly Bailey of L.A.'s Butter End Cakery created a confection that appeared to be hanging upside down from a chandelier. Cuoco posted a photo of the cake to her Twitter and Instagram accounts during the wedding, and the bakery reported thousands of new followers immediately.

For a Hennessy Black-sponsored birthday party for Chicago artist Hebru Brantley in 2013, Alliance Bakery created a piece imitating Andy Warhol’s famous Pop-Art soup cans. The red velvet cake with cream-cheese frosting weighed about 30 pounds.

During New York Fashion Week in September, DKNY celebrated its 25th anniversary with a birthday bash that featured a larger-than-life cake in the shape of a New York City taxicab. During the cake presentation to guests, singers Rita Ora and Melanie Fiona sang “Happy Birthday.”

Last year, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre presented an enormous cake to His Majesty, the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah in celebration of the upcoming Hari Raya festival in Malaysia. With the theme of light, the confection included hand-crafted Islamic art motifs inspired by the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. The convention center’s pastry team created the four-foot-tall cake that weighed 48 kilograms—or about 106 pounds.

In December, Flora Aghababyan, chief cake designer for Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, created a three-foot gingerbread replica of the Wynn surrounded by the boutiques of Wynn and Encore Esplanades. The all-edible work was handcrafted from 4,500 gingerbread tiles, rolled fondant, and sugar. It weighed more than 295 pounds and took 21 days to construct, with turrets, façades, and towers all housing various Wynn and Encore retailers—like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier—with their logos reproduced in sugar icing and fondant. The cake was on display at the property’s buffet throughout the holiday season.

Ocean Drive magazine feted its March 2014 cover star Eva Longoria in Miami, and the event was doubled as a celebration of the actress's 39th birthday. The party included a cake that bore Longoria’s likeness on all four sides—and jeweled logos from sponsor Ciroc, of course.

Spring flowers in vibrant purple decked a cake from Chicago's Vanille Patisserie. The baked good got a slightly abstract touch thanks to a modern interpretation of the shape and dimension of petals, leaves, and stems.

An upcoming block party celebration of Beverly Hills’s centennial anniversary at the end of this month will feature a 15,000-slice birthday cake in the shape of city hall and Rodeo Drive. In partnership with the Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel, Guittard Chocolate Company corporate executive pastry chef Donald Wressell created a model to share with the media and build buzz in advance of the event.