El Paso baker goes viral for 'Emo Elmo' cake mix-up
EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — An El Paso baker is going viral on social media for an "Emo Elmo" cake she made.
Brianna Romero said the cake came tofruition when she received a last-minute order from her sister's coworker. The woman requested the cake for her 4-year-old granddaughter's birthday.
Romeo said she quickly glanced at her phone and mistakenly read "Elmo" as "emo."
"I read 'emo' and I ran with it. It wasn’t until I was almost done that I realizedmy mistake and I had to go back and fix it all,” said Romero.
Romero said she ended up giving the customer a cake with black frosting that had an Elmo cake topper.
“I was honest with them right away, like why the frosting was black, because it didn’t make too much sense for an Elmo cake,”Romero said.
"They thought it was super funny. The cake still tasted good and it still ended up with Elmo on it,”Romero explained.
The original cakeRomero made and gave to the client was actually the precursor to the viral "Emo Elmo" cake she created.
Romero said she decided to make a similar cake to the original after people on TikTok commented that they wanted to see an "Emo Elmo" cake.
The viral cake features the head of "Sesame Street" star Elmo with black hair and black bangs covering the left side of the face.
Romero posted a follow-up on TikTok explaining the mixup and a comparison of the actual cake the client received and the separate "Emo Elmo" cake she made.
The video posted in March went viral and has more than 2.1 million views.
"I was happy because I never had that many likes on anything and it grew and grew and grew and stopped at like 800,000 and that was like 2 months ago," said Romero.
A screenshot of the cake was shared on Twitter in May and helped Romero continue her viral streak.
"It's scary but it's fun. I’ve never had like anything go viral,” said Romero.
Romero said she started baking with her mother and grandma when she was younger.
She started selling pastries on her own about a year and a half ago.
"I used to work at a coffee shop and I would sell some, I would make some of the pastries that we sold and through there, I kinda got the confidence to sell on my own,” said Romero.
Romero in February 2022 set up an Instagram page, @brinnicakes, where she takes orders.
She said since her "Emo Elmo" cake went viral, she has seen an influx of orders.Despite having a broken wrist, Romero is still fulfilling orders and she said orders can be placed for the month of June and beyond.
“Now with all the orders, as much as I really appreciate it, it's hard for me to keep up and also I broke my hand, I broke my wrist, so I’m limited on what I can do. But it’s been fun, I do appreciate all the people loving on my cakes,” Romero said.
Romero said she works full-time and part-time while she bakes on the side at home.
RECOMMENDED:2 El Paso teens recipients of National Merit Scholarship program
RECOMMENDED:El Pasoan teaches life is about journey - not destination
Sign up to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.