A baker's innocent mistake is going viral on TikTok right now and the internet can't stop laughing about it. The story was originally shared by Brianna Romero (@brinnicakes), a baker from El Paso, Texas, who confessed that her "worst nightmare" had finally come true: She'd messed up an important cake order for a kids' birthday party. But little did she know the unfortunate mishap would ultimately become a happy accident — one that would endear her to millions of people online.
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Romero initially shared the story back in March
However, her TikTok just started blowing up this week and is now making national headlines.
“Last week, a lady DMed me and asked me if I can make an emo cake, and I was thinking ‘Yes, of course. I love emo and I love goth,’” the baker recalled in her video.
Since she’d been working on getting her black frosting just right, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to put her skills to the test.
Naturally, her next step was to ask for more details
“I get all the info — the flavor, when she needs it by, and everything like that,” Romero continued, while explaining that she thought they were both on the same page.
But when it came down to delivery day, and the cake was all ready to go, she realized she had one more question: Did the client need a numbered candle to go with it?
Romero quickly reached out and asked the woman before sending the cake out for delivery
But that’s when she started to suspect that something had gone awry.
“She says, ‘Yes, it’s for my granddaughter and she’s turning 4,’” the baker recalled as the interesting bit of information suddenly gave her pause.
“I thought I was a little bit weird because I don’t know an emo 4-year-old,” Romero said in her video. “But I was thinking, I was trying to reason with myself, maybe she just likes Wednesday or something like that.”
Still, that explanation didn’t seem quite right either.
After thinking things through some more, Romero reached out again
“I don’t know, something felt wrong so I DM her and I just say like, ‘Yes, of course I’ll add the 4 candle, but if you don’t mind me asking, what is the theme of the party?’” the baker asked.
That’s when the grandmother hit her with something she wasn’t expecting: The theme was Sesame Street.
To be fair, that’s an entirely normal theme for a 4-year-old’s birthday. But for a 4-year-old who is also having a goth cake covered in black icing? Something clearly didn’t jive.
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It was at that very moment that reality hit her
It wasn’t an “emo” cake the grandmother had requested after all — it was an Elmo cake.
Romero said her “heart sank” as she scrolled back through their previous conversations only to realize she’d made one small — but also major — mistake.
She misread “Elmo” as “emo” and went in an entirely different direction than what the grandmother probably expected.
If this had been days before the party, Romero would’ve been in the clear
She would have had enough time to re-make the cake without the customer knowing and no one would’ve been any bit the wiser. But sadly, she had less than hour to go until the cake was expected to be dropped off, so she had to act fast if she wanted to make this right.
In the TikTok, Romero says she booked it to her local Albertson’s grocery store and begged them for an Elmo cake topper. Then, she delivered it to the customer, explained her debacle, and said she wouldn’t charge them for the mix-up.
While the whole ordeal was a “nightmare” to Romero, others found it hilarious
In fact, the video now has over 11.3 million views and hundreds of comments from people who were now heavily invested in this story.
“OMG I’m laughing so hard,” one TikToker wrote. “Haha this is gold.”
“The second you said she was 4 I knew what happened,” someone else admitted.
“Gothic baby’s dream cake!” another person joked.
A wave of others asked to see the cake in its final form, which Romero didn’t initially share. But in a follow-up video, she happily obliged.
“Heard y’all wanted a reveal???” she wrote in the post caption. “Sorry it took long, I would’ve included photos in the original if I had them but like I said I was in a rush. Anyway, here’s the freaking emo Elmo cake, okay!”
@brinnicakes Replying to @caroldabrowski Heard yall wanted a reveal??? Sorry it took long, I would’ve included photos in the original if I had them but like I said I was in a rush. Anyway heres the freaking emo elmo cake okay! #fyp #emo #emoelmo #elmo #cakedecorating #shawnmendes #lying #smallbusiness #reddit #aita #storytime #pt2 ♬ original sound – ughlyssa
In the end, people found the whole thing delightfully funny
“Never laughed so hard,” one person wrote in the comments.
“This is so funny,” said another. “Elmo with a side bang has me in tears.”
“I wouldn't even be mad I'd be on the floor laughing,” someone else admitted.
Plenty of others asked the baker what the client had to say about the whole thing, and luckily, she was a good sport about the whole thing.
“Thankfully she tried to pay still, but I told her everything that happened and we just laughed it off,” Romero recalled. “It was just for a small family party anyway.”
(Phew! Talk about a close call.)
