A baker wowed the internet after spending 22 hours recreating Vincent van Gogh's iconic "Starry Night" on a cherry and almond cake—meticulously using tweezers and sprinkles to bring the masterpiece to life.
Luce Sipic (u/Barbi0za), 25, a brand image specialist from Croatia, has always loved art and expressing herself through food. Her latest creation earned 58,000 upvotes on the subreddit "Baking."
"I've been looking for a fresh creative outlet for a while now when I turned to browsing my favorite art pieces for inspiration and that's when I had the idea to recreate intricate paintings on cakes using sprinkles as a medium," Sipic told Newsweek.
Van Gogh's The Starry Night, painted in 1889, is one of the most recognized works of art in the world. The oeuvre features a swirling night sky and bright stars.
Sipic explained that her cake recreation took around 22 hours spread over two and a half days.
She first sketched a rough outline on the cake, then selected and even hand-dyed some of the sprinkles to match the painting's deep, moody color palette.
"I had a pair of tweezers and a dream! I also had the painting in front of me the whole time while I worked. Replicating the fluidity of Van Gogh's work was incredibly challenging but I'm very proud of the way it turned out," she said.
The process came with its share of difficulties. Sipic revealed that she had to work in a freezing air-conditioned room, taking regular fridge breaks to keep the cake fresh. The physical toll was intense—crouching over the cake for hours left her back and neck aching—but she was determined to finish.
"At times it seemed never ending but I wasn't allowed to give up, I had promised myself to see this project through no matter what. The gratification of placing the last sprinkle and finishing the cake was immense. I would do it all over (and I plan to)," she shared.
For Sipic, the project was about more than just technical skill. She described her love of art and food as deeply intertwined: "I once read that the world begins at the kitchen table and that sentence has truly stuck with me, it has followed me through the highs and lows of learning to express myself through food because it's always been more than just a means to an end for me. The whole thing is performance art from start to finish—I'm racing against time because the cake can spoil if I'm not careful enough yet I have to meticulously place one sprinkle at a time, and just as I'm finished, I cut into it.
"I love how temporary it is, it demands to be appreciated while it's there because of how short lived it is once completed."
The cake itself was the result of a happy accident. Sipic had initially planned to make an almond cake with sunflower seed buttercream as a tribute to Van Gogh's Almond Blossoms and Sunflowers paintings.
But after accidentally buying salted butter and salted sunflower seeds, she pivoted to a cherry cream filling paired with almond sponge—something she said turned out "incredible," as the tart cherries perfectly balanced the cake's richness.
Sipic originally shared the creation on her Instagram and TikTok, where she frequently posts recipes and edible art projects.
But when she uploaded the photos to Reddit, the response was explosive, with thousands of views in under 24 hours.
The outpouring of support has motivated her to turn the concept into a series. "I would love to one day turn this into a live performance in a museum and create a cake directly in front of its respective original painting. I think that could be fun! For now, I plan on creating a long format video series of the projects," she said.
Social media users were in awe of the result. "Wow, I thought it was embroidery with beads," said one user.
"I sat here for a few minutes just thinking about each sprinkle, how it's so interesting to use sprinkles to recreate an art piece simply because you have them, but it's amazing how people with talent will do this kind of thing... And then I clicked to the next picture and saw the cake," shared another.
"It's absolutely stunning! Once-upon-a-time, I could have embroidered this. These days, I can barely hold a needle, OR a pair of tweezers, thanks to nerve damage, and muscle cramps. Kudos to you for having the patience. And for sharing your beautiful creation with us," wrote another fan.
"Even knowing it was cake, I was shocked that someone cut into it. I couldn't do it," said one more commenter.
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