Can You Taste Your Favorite Perfume? This TikTok Baker Is Making That Happen

Have you ever wondered what your favorite perfume would taste like? We know we have — especially since gourmand fragrances have become wildly popular. But we've never let the intrusive thoughts lead us to spritz our signature scent in our mouths. (Seriously, don't do that.)

Still, it can be pretty tempting considering there are plenty of perfumes that contain edible notes: Aromas of whipped cream, vanilla, chocolate, caramel, and honey claim center stage in many best-selling scents. Kassie Mendieta of @IBakeMistakes on social media, a lifelong baker, freelance recipe developer, and fragrance lover, began to recognize similarities between perfume and cake and decided to indulge her imagination. She put her baking skills to the test by crafting cakes inspired by delectable perfumes. And what started as a creative outlet has become a viral TikTok series she calls "eating perfume?"

The idea first popped into her head after catching a whiff of Malin + Goetz Strawberry ($100). "I looked up the scent notes, which include bergamot, pink peppercorn, and strawberry, and I realized I use all of those ingredients when I bake," Mendieta says. "My whole baking philosophy is having fun with flavor, so I wanted to bring this perfume cake to life to show people you can find inspiration anywhere."

Using her recipe development knowledge and tapping into her creativity, Mendieta turned Strawberry Eau de Parfum into a mouthwatering confection. The completed masterpiece consisted of a three-tiered pink peppercorn chiffon cake soaked in milky orange blossom water, stacked between layers of bergamot curd and fresh strawberries, then frosted with vanilla bean Swiss buttercream. She may have been the only one who actually tasted the fruits of her labor, but over 200 thousand TikTokers were awe-inspired. . . and soon after the perfume recommendations started to roll in.

Since then, Mendieta has fashioned three other olfactory cakes inspired by Maison Margiela Replica Jazz Club ($165), Xerjoff Casamorati Lira ($305), and Marissa Zappas Annabel's Birthday Cake ($175). While therapeutic and creatively fulfilling, baking these cakes hasn't come without challenges, explains Mendieta, particularly when it comes to incorporating certain notes.

For example, when Mendieta made the Jazz Club cake, she was unsure if tobacco was edible. (It's not.) "I also thought, 'if I put tobacco in the cake, I'm going to be addicted to cake, which I really don't need," she jokes. To replicate that smoky aroma in the final product, she smoked lemon peels, angostura bitters, and anise seeds with a blow torch before incorporating them into a pastry cream. "When it came together, I could see the allure of chewing tobacco — it tasted so good."

Turning Xerjoff Casamorati Lira into a cake was also a major puzzle due to its long list of strong, statement-making notes. The scent opens with a bright, juicy burst of bergamot, blood orange, and lavender. Then, as it wears, you'll pick up on a delicate mix of florals and spices, including rose, jasmine, cinnamon, and licorice blossom, before it settles in a heady, syrupy haze of vanilla, caramel, and musk. "I really had to play around with how much of each ingredient I was using, so it didn't overwhelm my palette," Mendieta says. "The notes made this one tricky, but it turned out to be one of the most complex layered cakes I've ever made in my life."

Much like perfume, Mendieta considers her cakes to have top, middle, and base notes. "The thing about layering flavor, especially many distinct ones, is that you don't actually want them all to shine," she says. "Like the notes in perfume, one or two may stand out more than the rest, but those other notes are there to support and uplift the keynotes to create something cohesive."

And while each perfume cake turns out to be a truly unique creation, Mendieta follows a loose outline when working with each aspect of the olfactive pyramid. "I mostly bake chiffon cakes, which are very light and delicate [similar to sponge cake] and act as a vehicle for the filling," she says. "With that in mind, the filling is usually the top note, the middle notes are a combination of the actual cake layers and the soak I put on the cake, then the base note is typically the frosting."

Mendieta's fans have been anxiously awaiting her next perfume cake creation, and she has a full list of options that she plans on turning into dessert. "There are some fragrances I smell, and I'm like 'This needs to be a cake right now. I can't go on without eating this fragrance,'" she says. At the top of her list? Kayali Yum Boujee Marshmallow ($138) and Cirque du Soleil L'eau de Parfum ($195).

"The Cirque de Soleil perfume smells like being in a circus," Mendieta says, adding that it's going to be a serious undertaking. "This scent features buttered popcorn and cotton candy, but there are also notes of red apple, which is hard to work with." However, the most interesting facet that she plans on incorporating into the cake is sandalwood.

"I never thought I could eat sandalwood, but after a research deep dive it turns out it's edible. I even found sandalwood powder," Mendieta says. (It's even vegan and gluten free.) "It's going to be interesting blending the fruity and nostalgic flavors with buttered popcorn and wood. To be honest, I don't know what the overall vibe of the cake is going to be."

Before you ask where you can purchase these perfume-cake creations, Mendieta has no intention of selling them. This whimsical endeavor is purely an artistic experiment. "When I was working in bakeries, I would only make vanilla and chocolate cakes every day. Sometimes, we would get a little crazy and add a caramel or raspberry filling," she says. "That sucked away at my creativity, and it has even conditioned people to think that's all cake can be. I want people to know you can put almost anything in cake."

It was only a matter of time before the nostalgic aromas of gourmand perfumes intertwined with real-life sweet treats. Mendieta is simply the trailblazer. Until the next installment of 'eating perfume?' goes live, she encourages everyone to find a way to invite comfort into their lives — whether that's by eating a slice of cake or spritzing themselves with perfume (or both). "It's something that makes people feel warm and fuzzy no matter what, even if it's just for three minutes of their life."

Mary Honkus is a freelance writer with over six years of experience covering beauty, food, fashion, home, and wellness. Since graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2019, she has held staff positions at People, Real Simple, and InStyle, and her work can be found in Cosmopolitan, Prevention, WWD, Glamour, CNN, Forbes, Teen Vogue, and more.