Last week, Instagram stopped me dead in my tracks. One of my friends found an Among Us cake at Tous les Jours, an upscale South Korean bakery chain with a location right in the beating heart of Manhattan. I was smitten. One quick look at the cake told me everything: It was weird, out of place, absolutely inappropriate for a higher-end bakery, and had an uncanny valley effect where it looked like an Among Us crewmate but had a bizarre pop-out effect from its papery decorations.
In other words, it was pretty sus. Take a look for yourself.
This did not convince me to stay away. If anything, I knew I had to have a bite. So, my friend and I got together with a third, hit up Tous Les Jours, and dug in. And believe me, dear reader, it was a trip from start to finish.
OK, so, what the hell is the ‘Among Us’ cake?
First revealed in March 2022, Tous les Jours introduced the “Among Us Imposter Cake” as a delicacy “perfect for birthday parties or just sharing with fellow fans of the game,” as Marketing Manager Joon Kwon said in a press release. Underneath a delicious red-and-white glaze hides chocolate cake, ganache-infused whipped cream, and choco crunch balls. In sum, the cake looks like a shushing red imposter popping out of a vent, except it’s served on a platter filled with Among Us crewmates doing what they do best: standing around and dying.
The whole Among Us collab comes in an adorable cake box adorned with Among Us images, which must make it a total trip to bring to zoomers’ birthday parties on your post-work commute. But be warned, if you just want the dish just for the memes, get ready to shell out a little over $30 for a cake that’s about the width of a dodgeball. This is Tous les Jours we’re talking about, not your local Acme.
Split between three people, the Imposter cake is actually pretty good for the cost. The flavors are rich for what’s essentially a specialized chocolate layer cake, and the different kinds of chocolate mean the center never feels like a boring trip to the end. No need for a knife, either, just dig right in, scooping between cake and whipped cream until you hit the crunchy middle deep into the imposter’s head. It’s pretty delicious, especially because the cake’s ingredients are a step up from your average Carvel birthday cake. For a themed treat, this dessert doesn’t cut corners by any means.
That said, the Tous les Jours partnership is a strange one, delicious as it is. As my friends and I dug in, it struck me right away that we were laughing and joking about this cake right next to people clearly either grabbing some post-date night dessert, or wrapping up work after leaving their white-collar Midtown jobs. Yes, we went late at night on a Tuesday, but: Who goes to an upscale bakery for a sussy Among Us cake? Families, maybe. Slightly well-off millennials and zoomers who are in on the joke, sure. Oh, and me, a shitposty writer for The Mary Sue who thinks an Among Us cake is a bit of a fever dream. That too.
But I would assume the Among Us cake would, at most, get an eye roll from the average Tous les Jours regular. “[The cake] was good but really random,” as my friend who originally found it told me. “Where are the kids, why wasn’t anything else branded? The only collab was amogus, which I thought was extra funny.”
While I wouldn’t call Tous les Jours a luxury bakery by any means, it’s not really catering to the kind of audience that would hoot and holler for an Among Us cake. My first pick for that clientele would actually be Stop & Shop, Carvel, Baskin-Robbins, or even at Starbucks, if the cake were turned into a pastryāyou know, places where high schoolers might go, either after school or with their family. Each place seems like better fit for what’s essentially a meme cake cashing in on the Among Us hype.
Then again, I’m a gaming journalist, not a foodie, and my friends and I bought the cake purely because we thought it was hilarious. Even if Tous les Jours sounds like the last place I’d imagine for an Among Us cake, I’m definitely buying this cake again to surprise friends on their birthday. And I recommend you do, as well. It’s a good bit.
(Featured Image: Ana Valens and Innersloth, Remix by Ana Valens)
