The Viral Story of The GAYKE: How a Cake Became a Symbol of 2SLGBTQIA+ Visibility

The Birth of the Gayest Cake in History

I wanted a cake—but not just any cake. I wanted the gayest cake that had ever existed. A cake so outrageously queer it would make Anita Bryant roll over and do somersaults in her grave. A cake so flamboyant it could knock a few notches out of the Bible Belt and make Elton John look like a straight man.

Still fired up over that whole "I’m not baking cakes for gay people" nonsense in the States, I called my local bakery.

"Listen," I said, "I need a cake, but not just any cake. I need the gayest cake in the history of the planet."

The woman on the phone paused. "What does that mean, though?" she asked.

"I need a cake so gay it would cause minor earthquakes in conservative households," I explained. She laughed. "Got it."

A Cake Made with Love

The next day, I went to pick it up. When they brought out the box and opened it, my jaw hit the floor. It was, without a doubt, the gayest wedding-style cake that had ever been baked. Rainbow layers, a unicorn horn, and every LGBTQ+ identity imaginable written across it.

I looked at the young baker, who I’d never met before, and she just smiled and said, "I got two moms." That’s when I knew this cake was made with love.

I took it home and showed Jared.

"Oh my god, it’s beautiful," he said. "What are we going to do with it?"

Obviously, he wasn’t allowed to touch it before I took a million pictures. I posted it online with the caption:

"In Canada, when you ask for a gay cake, you get a gay cake."

Then we finally had a slice before I took it to work to share, because sharing is caring.

Going Viral: How The GAYKE Took Over the Internet

The next morning, I woke up to chaos.

My post had gone completely viral. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram—it was everywhere. My inbox was flooded with messages from LGBTQ+ people worldwide, especially from countries where same-sex marriage was still illegal.

BuzzFeed, Pink News, CBC, Huffington Post—they all called. Even a friend in the Dominican Republic told me I was on the front page of their newspaper.

The cake wasn't just a cake anymore. It was The GAYKE.

From Viral Cake to a Movement

Naturally, I leaned in.

I made T-shirts with a picture of the GAYKE that said, "It’s not about the cake." Because, really, this whole fight isn’t about forcing homophobes to bake for us—trust me, no queer person wants a bigot handling their buttercream.

It’s about visibility. It’s about community.

I even started a podcast called Let Them Eat Gay to keep the conversation going.

A Full Circle Moment

Then, about a year later, I walked into the bakery for my usual coffee and treat—and I saw it.

The exact same cake, coming down the stairs.

I blinked, thinking I was hallucinating. I walked right up to the woman picking it up and blurted out, "That’s my cake!"

She looked at me, confused, so I explained everything—the viral post, the T-shirts, the podcast.

Then she smiled and said something I’ll never forget:

"My kid watched all of that go down. They listened to your podcast. And for their 16th birthday, they wanted this cake."

That’s when it hit me.

We don’t always get to see the impact we have. But in that moment, I witnessed one of my ripples turning into a wave.

Final Thoughts: The Power of Visibility

The GAYKE was never just about a cake. It was about LGBTQ+ representation in the smallest, sweetest ways. Because visibility matters. Because a simple act—like ordering a cake—can turn into a movement.

And that’s my cake story. Hope you liked it.