Many people bake cakes. But who can say they’ve baked a three-tiered representation of Juneteenth with a full Underground Railroad or a medical cake that sloughs blood and a “mystery organ”?
Yuki Burton and Omonivie Agboghidi can — on their unexpected but totally delightful run to the finale on Peacock’s “Baking It.” For those not in the know, “Baking It” is a reality show in which teams of bakers make complex treats to please a judging panel of wise grandmothers. It’s hosted by Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler (Andy Samberg hosted in season one), and features episodes with themes like “Bake Your Fears,” “2 Sweet 2 Savory: Crustastrophe” and “Explosive Master Bakes” in which cakes literally explode.
Agboghidi and Burton, who live in Oakland and were sorority sisters at UC Berkeley, got pulled into the show when a casting director noticed Burton’s cakes on social media. (She runs a luxury buttercream-cake business called Barika Bakes.) Burton roped in Agboghidi, an emergency-medicine physician at the Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus, and taught her everything she knew about baking in a span of weeks.
“We came in with very low expectations,” says Agboghidi. “We had no plans to make it to the finals at all. At the end of every episode, we kind of looked at each other like, ‘How are we still here?’”
The duo recently chatted about their experiences on the latest season of “Baking It,” which ended in January, as well as about the Black baking community and how to make diners recoil in horror. (This interview was edited for brevity.)
Q: So, how’d you two meet?
Agboghidi: We both attended UC Berkeley as undergrads living in the African-American Theme Program and have been best friends ever since. I was the maid of honor at her wedding, and she has supported me through my medicine journey, and even flew out to Ohio when I graduated from med school with a cake on her lap.
Q: You’ve described filming the very first episode as stressful. Was there a lot of stress eating on set?
Burton: I wish. But with the food regulations, you’re not allowed to eat (the cake) after, because it’s been sitting out for so long.
Agboghidi: Sometimes I’d be so stressed out, I didn’t even want to taste the cake. And after filming and coming home, I did not want to see, look, stir, whisk or bake a cake. If anyone offered to bake me a cake, I was just like, “I’m out.”
Q: I hope that hasn’t ruined you for life?
Agboghidi: Oh no, it’s definitely faded away. I’m back on my cake diet.
Q: Is there a lot of pressure not to disappoint the grannies?
Burton: Absolutely. We hold them in high, high esteem, and they are just as cute if not cuter in real life. We wanted to impress them every time, and we took their feedback very seriously.
Agboghidi: That’s one thing I wish folks were able to see more of on the show. The fact that, yes, these are judgmental, judgy grandmas, but also they give a lot of insight and advice. Even after judging, they’d come up to us to talk and give learning points to use in the next challenge.
Q: Do you have a favorite granny?
Burton: Definitely GiGi. GiGi’s our girl – so warm and so kind but also critical in a loving way, like she wants you to improve and do your best. She just brought a different type of energy and flavor.
Q: At one point Omonivie broke out into song to time a bake so it wouldn’t burn. What inspired that move?
Agboghidi: People who know me are like, “That’s so you.” Ever since college, we always bust out in songs or remix songs we know – we’re just goofy like that. I think the only thing missing was a glass of wine, otherwise it was just like we’re at home.
Q: For the phobia challenge, you baked a cake that looked like a doctor’s coat and bled when it was cut, making the hosts go “Eww!” Tell us about that?
Agboghidi: I’m proud of that one, not just because we won, but also I was able to use that opportunity to address something important to my career and to a lot of minority communities when you talk about “white-coat syndrome.” (That’s when simply visiting a doctor’s office is enough to cause elevated blood pressure, a documented effect.) There’s just a lot of fear that people have toward doctors and healthcare, and I loved the opportunity to use our bake as a learning moment.
Q: Can you tell us about the Juneteenth cake you made for the finale?
Burton: We wanted to use this platform not just to share about our sisterhood and bond over the past 15 years, but also highlight our culture and pride in being Black women. I just love how detailed we were, that every single tier represented a different time period in African-American history. All the fondant details Omonivie did were handmade – little African drums, a silhouette of Harriet Tubman, and we had edible African-print fabric on the bottom.
Agboghidi: We were really excited to include all these different elements to represent this holiday of Juneteenth, which is the emancipation of enslaved peoples here in America, and do it in a very fun, creative and vibrant way. I hope we were able to make people hungry – hungry for cake but also to learn more about this holiday and ways they can celebrate it in their own communities.
Q: Do you think America needs more Black bakers?
Burton: I’ll even take that to another level. When I first started baking, I’d go searching on Google or YouTube and all I was seeing were white women bakers. They were talented, but it took me a while to find where the women of color, the Black baker community is. It’s not that they’re not there. I think it’s more about making sure Black bakers have access to these platforms and sponsorships and business opportunities.
Q: Are Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph good bakers?
Burton: We didn’t get to see any active baking, but they definitely were helpful with their humor in the kitchen and breaking up the stress and anxiety. But I feel like they would be quick learners, if they wanted to jump in and try and mix anything up.
Q: What was it like working with them?
Agboghidi: They’re absolutely hilarious. And hanging with them is like a reflection of us, like, “Oh, that’s where we’re going to be in another 5 or 10 years.” It’s cool to see another best-friend duo who has shared so much experience together and also works together, too.
Follow the bakers on Instagram at @BarikaBakes and @OmonivieMD. Barika Bakes is accepting custom orders for 2023 at barikabakes.com.
