If you’ve ever followed a meme trend and thought: “This would make a great TV show”, look no further than Netflix’s coming baking show, Is It Cake?
Combining one of social media’s favourite food fads with a traditional reality baking competition series, Is It Cake? is based on the popular meme of the same name, which involves people posting pictures of items such as vegetables, bags, shoes and savoury foods, and asking “Is it cake?”
Only by cutting into the item are they revealed to be made up of sponge cake and frosting.
Hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Mikey Day, the show brings together nine talented bakers from around the world to create hyper-realistic cakes.
Their offerings will then be judged by an evolving panel of celebrity judges including Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown and internet singing sensation Rebecca Black of Friday fame.
The three bakers who manage to fool the judges week after week will go on to compete for the $50,000 prize money.
“What I do is the weirdest thing in the world,” baker Jonny Manganello says. “Like, there are people saving lives and I am making cake look like other things.”
From all-action cakes to bakers who are more friend than foe, here are four more baking shows to cut yourself a slice of.
‘Bake Squad’, Netflix
If you prefer competitive baking shows that err on the gentler side, this is the one for you.
Yes, the four bakers are technically competing against each other, but, as each auteur is a master of their own corner of the baking world, the show has the word “squad” in the title for a reason.
Rather than disparage the opposition, this show is all about helping one another and hyping up their competitor’s creations as they battle to be the one to bake for the weekly guests, who come armed with a list of requirements and an emotional story to tell.
‘Britain’s Best Home Cook’, OSN
It’s the show on which The Great British Bake-Off favourite Mary Berry ended up after it moved to Channel 4.
Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the show invites 10 amateur home cooks to compete in a series of challenges.
Mary’s Ultimate round focuses on the cooks creating their signature dishes, while in host Chris Bavin’s Rustle Up round, contestants are given a handful of ingredients to whip up into something delicious.
‘The American Baking Competition’, Apple TV+
Inspired by The Great British Bake-Off, the contest is transferred across the pond to the US, where 10 home bakers swap their kitchens for the studio, for a chance to win $250,000.
With Paul Hollywood hosting alongside comedian Jeff Foxworthy and TV chef and author Marcela Valladolid, the show adds a sweet human element to the traditional contest.
Across seven episodes of season one, viewers can watch a firefighter accidentally set his own creation on flames and a shared fridge become a battleground of human emotions.
‘Baking Impossible’, Netflix
Combining concepts for TV shows are all the rage, and Baking Impossible is pretty much what would happen if MacGyver were in the producer’s room when this series came together.
Bakers not only have to whip up a glorious (and delicious) dish, the cake also has to be able to do something special as bakers and engineers are put to work together.
Create a watertight cake boat that must sail six metres in 45 seconds? Check. Put together an edible, working mini-golf course? Check. Not to mention the construction of a wearable dessert that has to make it down the catwalk intact.
Is It Cake? is out on March 18 on Netflix
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
'Cheb%20Khaled'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKhaled%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBelieve%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
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6.30pm Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200
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8.50pm Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 1,400m
9.25pm Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm Underwriter
7.05pm Rayig
7.40pm Torno Subito
8.15pm Talento Puma
8.50pm Etisalat
9.25pm Gundogdu
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
The biog
Name: Capt Shadia Khasif
Position: Head of the Criminal Registration Department at Hatta police
Family: Five sons and three daughters
The first female investigator in Hatta.
Role Model: Father
She believes that there is a solution to every problem
