Celebrate Your Next Holiday With a Meat Cake

Birthday cakes are generally made of sweet things like ice cream and frosting, but they don't have to be. After all, if it's your birthday, you should be able to have whatever you want. Meat lovers may want to throw the whole sugar idea to the wayside and opt for a pile of steak instead. Such is the case in Japan, where some lucky birthday boys and girls are treated to a savory cake made out of raw meat. This vegetarian-unfriendly dish looks like a cake, but is instead made with steak, pork, or fish.

Despite being a little (extremely) unorthodox, the bright red color certainly makes for some beautiful creations. Some cakes arrange the meat into spirals or complex flower shapes. Others incorporate real flowers and candles. They all look very festive, albeit a little gruesome.

While this might seem strange to some, meat is often considered a special treat in Japan. RocketNews24 explains:

When you consider the culinary landscape of Japan, a heaping helping of meat is every bit as decadent as a dessert of chocolate and cream. High-quality cuts are relatively expensive in Japan, and in many traditional and gourmet meals the few morsels of meat are more of a side dish than the main course.

So maybe for your next office party, you might consider a cake made entirely out of bacon.

[h/t RocketNews24]