Welcome to Cake Picnic, Sydney edition.
It's the viral event that's already sold out dates in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. Tickets in Dubai, London, and Mexico City were harder to come by than a double-yolk egg.
And now it's landed on Australian shores, with a Melbourne event earlier this month boasting 1,600 cakes in one sitting.
I had no idea that I could ever go on tour for cake, laughs Cake Picnic founder Elisa Sunga, part-time hobby baker and full-time Google employee. People go on tour for music and whatnot, but for cake? It just seems so whimsical and delightful to be able to do that.
The concept is simple. Two years ago, Sunga - who moved to San Francisco aged 12 from her hometown of Baguio City in the Philippines - posted an online invitation for a small gathering with one request: everyone must bring a cake.
The 35-year-old figured maybe a dozen people might turn up and brought seven cakes to ensure everyone would get a taste. To her amazement, close to 200 people came with more than 180 cakes devoured. Her simple, sugar-laden summons has since caused ripples of the buttercream variety across the foodie world.
It feels unreal, Sunga tells the BBC. I had no idea that thousands of people all over the world would be as excited as I am.
There's plenty of excitement among the 500-plus crowd gathering at Saturday's event in Sydney's Royal Botanic Garden.
As they line up to have their cakes inspected – which must be 20cm (8 inches) wide and 7.5cm (3 inches) high – there are a few bloodshot eyes in the queue.
Among them, Hilary Lindgren, 54, wearing an eye-catching outfit and with a carrot cake in hand, says she and her daughter were baking their cake late into the night. It was crazy - a big mess, flour and sugar everywhere, but lots of fun. There's just so many negative things happening in the world at the moment that it's nice to do something like this.
From home bakers to professionals, influencers to non-bakers, everyone places their cakes on the tables stretching across the grassy knoll, with Sydney's famed Harbour Bridge as the backdrop.
But the only architectural feats eliciting oohs and aahs this autumn morning are of the sponge variety, as enthusiasts peruse the gravity-defying gateaux from the city's gourmands.
From a metre-high (3ft) life-sized swan to a bouquet of flowers made entirely of cupcakes, the colourful displays rival any cake shop window.
Once the cakes are laid out, pictures snapped, recipes shared and compliments sprinkled, small groups take turns to catapult the decadence before them, with five minutes to cut, carve, and cram as many morsels into a large pizza box.
The picnic is not just about individual experiences but a shared journey of cake and flavors that connects people, transcending age and backgrounds. It's where community spirit flourishes, all thanks to cake.
It's the viral event that's already sold out dates in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. Tickets in Dubai, London, and Mexico City were harder to come by than a double-yolk egg.
And now it's landed on Australian shores, with a Melbourne event earlier this month boasting 1,600 cakes in one sitting.
I had no idea that I could ever go on tour for cake, laughs Cake Picnic founder Elisa Sunga, part-time hobby baker and full-time Google employee. People go on tour for music and whatnot, but for cake? It just seems so whimsical and delightful to be able to do that.
The concept is simple. Two years ago, Sunga - who moved to San Francisco aged 12 from her hometown of Baguio City in the Philippines - posted an online invitation for a small gathering with one request: everyone must bring a cake.
The 35-year-old figured maybe a dozen people might turn up and brought seven cakes to ensure everyone would get a taste. To her amazement, close to 200 people came with more than 180 cakes devoured. Her simple, sugar-laden summons has since caused ripples of the buttercream variety across the foodie world.
It feels unreal, Sunga tells the BBC. I had no idea that thousands of people all over the world would be as excited as I am.
There's plenty of excitement among the 500-plus crowd gathering at Saturday's event in Sydney's Royal Botanic Garden.
As they line up to have their cakes inspected – which must be 20cm (8 inches) wide and 7.5cm (3 inches) high – there are a few bloodshot eyes in the queue.
Among them, Hilary Lindgren, 54, wearing an eye-catching outfit and with a carrot cake in hand, says she and her daughter were baking their cake late into the night. It was crazy - a big mess, flour and sugar everywhere, but lots of fun. There's just so many negative things happening in the world at the moment that it's nice to do something like this.
From home bakers to professionals, influencers to non-bakers, everyone places their cakes on the tables stretching across the grassy knoll, with Sydney's famed Harbour Bridge as the backdrop.
But the only architectural feats eliciting oohs and aahs this autumn morning are of the sponge variety, as enthusiasts peruse the gravity-defying gateaux from the city's gourmands.
From a metre-high (3ft) life-sized swan to a bouquet of flowers made entirely of cupcakes, the colourful displays rival any cake shop window.
Once the cakes are laid out, pictures snapped, recipes shared and compliments sprinkled, small groups take turns to catapult the decadence before them, with five minutes to cut, carve, and cram as many morsels into a large pizza box.
The picnic is not just about individual experiences but a shared journey of cake and flavors that connects people, transcending age and backgrounds. It's where community spirit flourishes, all thanks to cake.
