A New Zealand comedian who set out to celebrate her "hero" prime minister in the form of a cake has sent her apologies to Jacinda Ardern after it went horribly wrong.
What was supposed to be a touching tribute from comedian Laura Daniel in a baking competition turned into a bizarre cake with black liquorice hair, googly blue eyes and an extremely lifelike set of teeth.
The cake, made during Hilary Barry’s television show Seven Sharp, was based on a picture of the prime minister on the cover of a recent biography, An Extraordinary Leader.
The pair had been tasked with baking an "iconic Kiwi cake" in two hours minutes without using flour.
Sharing a photograph of her masterpiece on Instagram, Ms Daniel wrote: "They say don't bake your heroes. But I wanted to try anyway.
“I’m deeply sorry Jacinda Ardern. I truly tried my best with what I had available…it’s made from another NZ icon - lolly cake.”
Ms Daniel told the Evening Standard: "I genuinely went into it thinking I was going to do a good job."
After seeing the final result, she said: "I was pretty disappointed it didn't match the vision I had in my head.
"And then I couldn't stop laughing."
Instagram users were quick to comment on the hilarious post, with one saying it was the "stuff of nightmares".
One commented: "Thank you for this, I didn't want to sleep tonight, so this will really help with that."
Another said: "Delicious and terrifying!"
Ms Ardern even replied with two wide-eyed embarrassed emojis.
In another post, Ms Daniel clarified that the set of teeth she used on the cake had come from her her time on television impersonating Ms Ardern.
"For anyone wondering about the teeth on the cake...I impersonated Jacinda for a whole year on television...of course I kept the teeth," she wrote.
New Zealand, a country of almost five million people, currently has 1,400 confirmed cases and nine deaths from the coronavirus outbreak.
On Thursday, Ms Ardern suggested she might be able to lift some lockdown restrictions.
It comes as she and other ministers announced they would take a 20 per cent pay cut for the next six months to show solidarity with those affected by the pandemic.
