Floridians stocking up on supplies as Hurricane Dorian approached had mixed reactions to a cake decorated to look like the storm churning toward the state.
However, the cake decorator insisted the design was just a way to break the tension of what is shaping up to be a stressful Labor Day weekend.
The round cake depicts the state of Florida in a green silhouette, with blue frosting for the ocean, ABC News reported. A white, cone-like outline mimics the National Hurricane Center's five-day cone on its graphics, while the storm eye is designed in red frosting.
Jessica Gouin, a decorator at the Publix bakery in Neptune Beach, Florida, said her creation "took off."
"I was with a coworker and said 'I'm going to put a hurricane on a cake!'" Gouin told WFTS. "They took off after I put them in our display case. I haven't stopped making them yet."
The cakes have not been sold at all Publix locations, the television station reported. In places where it is offered, the buttercream cake is selling for $10.99 and a fudge cake is going for $11.99 according to WFTS.
Publix is not the only store in Florida selling Dorian-themed snacks. Cinotti's Bakery in Jacksonville is has been making hurricane-themed doughnuts, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
"It makes my heart happy bringing people joy or a smile during these stressful times," Gouin told WFTS.
Not everyone is happy.
At 110 mph, Dorian is the strongest hurricane this season. If, as forecast, Dorian hits Florida as a Category 4 storm, it will be the strongest hurricane to hit the state's east coast since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, WPLG reported.
"A hurricane is coming and @Publix is making hurricane cookie cakes like it's a Super Bowl party ... what?" one person tweeted.
On Twitter, Publix Helps, the supermarket's customer service account, tweeted " It is never our goal to offend anyone with the products we offer and I apologize that we let you down."
Others took a more humorous view. "Given the size of this hurricane, Publix is gonna have to start baking bigger cakes," one person tweeted.
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