On the Netflix game show Is It Cake?, hosted by Saturday Night Live cast member Mikey Day, a panel of celebrity judges are presented with multiple versions of the same items including shoes, rubber duckies and framed replicas of the Mona Lisa. The twist? One of the items is a cake and the judges – a rotating trio that has included singer King Princess, comedian Bobby Moynihan and Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown – spends the show guessing which one it is. The show is based on the 2020 “Is it cake?” internet meme, where items like Crocs or toilet paper rolls are revealed to, actually, be cake.

New CBD bakery Le Yeahllow is home to one of Melbourne’s best Is It Cake?-ian creations: a balloon puppy that could easily be mistaken for one of Jeff Koons’s balloon dog sculptures – but is actually a cake.

“[Le Yeahllow pastry chef] Steven [He] and I were strolling along Coventry Street in South Melbourne one afternoon when we spotted a huge balloon art dog on display in a party store,” explains Le Yeahllow owner Samsky Yeung. “This sparked in us the challenge to see if we could create edible balloon art inspired by the childlike whimsy of this sight.”

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Turns out they could. The duo created a cake that consists of two parts: a base that layers whipped black tea ganache and sour cherry compote, and a balloon puppy made from white chocolate that comes in yellow, pink, blue, gold and shiny rose copper.

Le Yeahllow started in 2021 when Yeung (who also founded the White Mojo coffee shops) took over the former Adriano Zumbo Patisserie space in South Yarra and started baking and delivering cakes around Melbourne. (The South Yarra spot now has around 10 seats for dine-in customers, offers espresso drinks and has a pastry case so customers can drop in and purchase cakes to take away).

At the end of 2023, Le Yeahllow opened a second location, this time in the CBD. Everything for the CBD store is made in South Yarra and while Le Yeahllow also sells other patisserie favourites including canelés, Paris-Brests, and financiers, the shop’s playful and inventive petit gateaux and whole cakes remain its standout creations.

In addition to the balloon puppy number, other cakes include an ice-blue-coloured mountain-shaped Earl Grey and bergamot treat; a nutty honey and chocolate dessert that resembles a pecan shell; and a cake that looks like a surrealist version of a mandarin which, Yeung says, was inspired by pastry chef Cédric Grolet of Paris’s La Patisserie du Meurice par Cédric Grolet. The Le Yeahllow team introduces new cake designs monthly and is currently getting ready to unveil Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day creations.

Le Yeahllow CBD
366 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
9600 1129

Hours:
Mon to Fri 8am–6.30pm
Sat & Sun 11am–6.30pm

shop.leyeahllow.com.au