Is It Cake? Valentines: celebrity judges, competing couples, and what to expect
Inside Netflix’s “Is It Cake? Valentines”: Celebrity Judges, Guest Couples, and the Must-Know Details
Netflix gave Is It Cake? the Valentine’s Day treatment with a couple-vs-couple twist: the judges are couples, and so are the competitors. If you’re here to find out who the celebrity judges are and which real-life baking couples compete, you’re in the right place.
Release date: February 4, 2026 • Format: one standalone special episode • Host: Mikey Day
Quick facts
| Show | Is It Cake? Valentines (Netflix special) |
|---|---|
| Host | Mikey Day |
| Celebrity judges | Ashlee Simpson & Evan Ross; Casey Wilson & David Caspe |
| Competing couples | Alex & Amanda; Jason & Tyler; Kimberly & Taurus |
| Core premise | Hyper-realistic cakes that try to fool the judges (and each other) |
A quick Instagram detour into “how is that edible?” cake art
If you’re in the mood for the classic Is It Cake? brain-melt (the kind where your eyes refuse to believe your brain), these hyper-real cake reels are a fun warm-up before you press play on the Valentine’s special.
Celebrity judges on “Is It Cake? Valentines”
The Valentine’s gimmick is simple (and honestly perfect for the show): the judges show up as couples, and they judge as couples—meaning you get built-in playful arguing, rapid-fire reactions, and those “wait… are we sure?” moments that the franchise lives on.
Ashlee Simpson & Evan Ross
- Ashlee Simpson is a singer, actress, and TV personality best known for early-2000s pop-rock hits.
- Evan Ross is an actor and musician (and yes, he’s the son of music icon Diana Ross).
Casey Wilson & David Caspe
- Casey Wilson is an actress, comedian, and writer known for TV comedy work (including Saturday Night Live and Happy Endings).
- David Caspe is a comedy writer/producer and the creator of the sitcom Happy Endings.
Why this judging setup works: when judges are couples, they tend to process what they’re seeing out loud—debating textures, seams, paint-like finishes, and “too-perfect” details. That back-and-forth is basically a live commentary track for viewers trying to guess along.
Guest Couples: the real-life baking pairs competing
The competitors are also couples—three teams of cake artists working side-by-side under a tight clock. In Netflix’s promo materials, the couples are listed by first names:
- Alex & Amanda
- Jason & Tyler
- Kimberly & Taurus
The big difference from a regular season is teamwork pressure: planning, carving, sculpting, painting, and finishing have to be split up in real time. That makes the “final 20 seconds” judging window even more brutal—because if one detail is off, both people feel it.
How the Valentine’s special works (and what’s new)
The core Is It Cake? DNA stays the same: bakers create realistic decoys, judges scan a lineup, and someone gets dramatically sliced. But this special adds two Valentine-flavored twists:
- Couple-focused gameplay built around collaboration and strategy.
- Viewer-style games designed for people watching at home (a first for the franchise).
If you’ve watched earlier seasons, you already know what makes people lose: edges that are too clean, paint strokes that look “too edible,” or surfaces that don’t behave like the real object under studio lighting. Expect the Valentine’s theme to push more glossy finishes, gift-like shapes, and “romantic object” silhouettes that are deceptively hard to fake.
Official trailer (YouTube)
What Reddit theories say about this
Reddit discussions about Is It Cake? usually fall into a few predictable (and entertaining) buckets: whether “tweaking the decoys” feels like cheating, which cakes were actually the most realistic, and whether the show is best enjoyed as pure chaos rather than strict competition.
Is It Cake?
And if you want something more Valentine-coded (but still very “is it cake?” energy), cake decorating threads become mini optical-illusion museums around February.
Valentine's cakes but mini
FAQ
Who are the celebrity judges on “Is It Cake? Valentines”?
The judges are two celebrity couples: Ashlee Simpson & Evan Ross, plus Casey Wilson & David Caspe.
Who are the guest couples competing?
The competing teams are listed as: Alex & Amanda, Jason & Tyler, and Kimberly & Taurus.
Is this a full season?
No—this is a standalone Valentine’s special episode.
Where can I watch it?
It’s streaming on Netflix.
What makes the Valentine’s special different from regular seasons?
It’s couple-based (teams compete together), and it introduces viewer-style games designed for people watching at home.
More social chatter (X/Twitter + Instagram)
One reason Is It Cake? keeps getting spin-offs is that the concept is basically built for scrolling: instant “wait—what?” visuals, quick reactions, and satisfying reveals.
If your favorite part is the craft (airbrushing, sculpting, texture work), Instagram is still the best place to go down the hyper-real cake rabbit hole. Here are a couple more cake-illusion reels you can swipe into after the episode: