People Are Celebrating Their Birthdays With Meat Cakes And It's Wild

Meat cakes, or cake-shaped layered meats, are a huge food trend in Japan right now. According to Japanese lifestyle website Kotaku, they are mainly enjoyed in yakiniku restaurants where diners can grill their own meats. The cakes, typically given to someone during a celebration such as a birthday or a special occasion, are shaped to look like gift boxes and topped with things like sparklers, flowers, and bows.

The idea behind the celebratory creation is that diners can peel off pieces of raw meat from the cake and grill them at their leisure. The craze is really gaining traction on Instagram, where people are posting photos of the pink and red layered creations.

We reported on this back in March, but the phenomenon shows no sign of abating — and the more recent pictures posted to social media have grown even more outrageous.

Don't think this trend is strictly in Japan — American actress Amy Sedaris is making meat cakes popular in America. The promotion for her new series, At Home with Amy Sedaris, features a four-tiered deli meat cake with impressive rosettes and meat-molded mushrooms. Keep a lookout for meat cakes either in yakiniku restaurants or at any Korean barbecue spots. If you do order one and have to cook your own meat, keep these 10 grilling tips for beginners in mind.