The Great British Bake Off is back for a 17th series with new judge Nigella Lawson, and our minds are turning to bread, cakes and pâtisserie.
Baking stories are relatable so it's no wonder they sometimes go viral. Who wouldn't want the excuse to think about delicious cake!
Sometimes though, it's fake news rather than cake news - and that's been true throughout history. Can you spot the difference?
Are these stories cake news or fake news?
Story 1 - Alien cakes
You may have seen the stories online about two supposed "alien corpses" that were found in Peru and unveiled in Mexico. A clip showed an "autopsy" of the aliens, but when they were cut into, there were no organs in sight. Instead, it turned out that these E.T's were made of delicious Victoria sponge! Is this cake news or fake news? The truth is out there – tap below to find out what it is!
Fake news!
And the truth is… this is fake news! Well, kind of. The "real" aliens aren't made of cake. The corpses were scanned by an expert who said that they each contain skeletons, although this has yet to be verified by NASA scientists. The alien cake is in fact real and was made by a cake artist influencer. You shouldn't trust everything you see on social media, here are some tips for how to check what is and isn't real on your socials.
Image source, The BakekingStory 2 - Coronation Street cake row
A bakery in Yorkshire was reportedly approached by a PR firm asking them to bake over a hundred cakes for a TV star's birthday party. According to the owner of the bakery, they were offered exposure on social media instead of cash to bake the cakes. Tap below to find out whether this one is “cake news” or “fake news”!
Cake news!
Have your cake and eat it – this story is real! This whole argument is known as #Cakegate and despite the TV star having over 500 thousand followers on their socials, the bakery declined the offer to bake the cakes. The bakery even decided to post a picture of a flamingo-inspired cake created using AI to show what the cake could have looked like had the bakery been paid for its work – burn.
Image source, Three Little Birds BakeryStory 3 - Marie Antoinette
If you're a fan of Horrible Histories… or just history in general… you'll no doubt have heard of Marie Antionette who met her unfortunate end from execution by guillotine in 1793. But this article isn't about methods of execution, it's about cake, and Madame Antoinette is perhaps most famous for the line "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche", or for those of you who don't speak French, "Let them eat cake". But did she actually say it? Tap below to find out whether this one is French fact or French fake news.
Fake news!
This one is historical fake news! The phrase "Let them eat cake" was probably never said by Marie Antoinette. The actual translation of the French phrase "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" is "Let them eat brioche", brioche is a kind of sweet bread, so not the kind of cake you might have in mind. The phrase is said to have been originally penned by French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau way back in 1767.
Story 4 - Queen Victoria's wedding cake
Some things get better with age, like cheese, or Lionel Messi. Fruit cake also tends to improve with age, but waiting almost two centuries might be taking it a bit far! According to reports, an 182-year-old slice of plum cake from the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert sold at an auction in Devon for £700. But is there any right royal truth to this story, or have we got it royally wrong? Cake or fake - you decide!
Cake news!
If you said this story was cake, then you got it plumb-perfect! This story is real. According to reports, the piece of cake from Queen Victoria's wedding sold at an auction for a whopping £700, which was twice its estimate. The slice of cake was still in its original wrapping which read "The Queen's Bridal Cake, Buckingham Palace, Feb 10, 1840". Not suprisingly, the auctioneers advised the winning bidder not to eat the piece of the cake.
Image source, Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood Auctioneers & ValuersStory 5 - A wedding venue inside a cake
Whilst we're on the subject of wedding cakes, how would you like to get married inside a giant one? If reports are to be believed, a new twelve metre tall wedding venue has popped up in Buckinghamshire. Shaped like a three-tier wedding cake, topped with golden-yellow frosting, the quirky venue will play host to weddings – the happy couple can even pose for photos as cake toppers atop the giant cake. But is this story cake or fake?
Cake news!
This story tastes so good and it's true! This giant wedding cake really has been built in the grounds of Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. The cake has been carefully and skillfully created using twelve metres of hand-made Portuguese tiles and opened its doors to the public in spring 2023. Couples can now tie the knot in this exclusive venue in the heart of the English countryside.
Want to try more fact or fake quiz questions?
Want to try more fact or fake quiz questions? Have a go at our monthly AI or real and fake news quizzes and remember to consider what you watch and read online, double-check sources, and stick with reliable and trustworthy platforms before deciding to share posts.
Not sure if the news you’re seeing on social media is true or false? Can you always tell if the things you see online are real or fake?
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