Google AI Creates 'Breakie' and 'Cakie' Hybrid Treats

If, like many of you perhaps, you’ve spent the past year experimenting with a wide variety of cookie, bread, and cake recipes, Google has something new in store: a couple of AI-created hybrid desserts, known as the “breakie” and the “cakie.”

The development of these novel treats originated as a demonstration of the company’s AutoML Tables tool, a system for generating models without coding, functioning more as automated spreadsheet manipulation than true “artificial intelligence.” However, let’s avoid excessive detail and move on to the recipes themselves.

The work was conducted by Sara Robinson, who, with an interest in both machine learning and baking, began exploring these tools last spring as initial feelings of isolation began to emerge.

Her initial goal was to create a system capable of analyzing a recipe and automatically classifying it as either bread, cookie, or cake, along with the reasoning behind the classification—for example, a higher proportion of butter and sugar might suggest a cookie, while the presence of yeast would typically indicate bread.

Image Credits: Sara Robinson

However, many recipes don’t fit neatly into these categories, and the tool wasn’t always certain in its assessments. Robinson then considered what a recipe would look like if the system was unable to reach a definitive conclusion.

Through experimentation with ingredient quantities, she discovered a combination that resulted in the machine learning system assigning an equal 50/50 probability to both cookie and cake. This led to the creation—and subsequent baking—of the “cakie.”

A cakie, left, and breakies, right, with Robinson. Image Credits: Sara Robinson / Google

“It’s delicious. And it tastes remarkably like what I would expect from a machine-designed cake-cookie hybrid,” she noted.

The other hybrid she developed was the “breakie,” predictably a combination of bread and cookie. This one had a texture closer to “soft cookies, almost like a muffin.” In fact, they resemble muffin tops without their bases. However, “breakie” is a more appealing name than “muffin tops” (or “brookie,” which was the initial suggestion).

While these ingredient combinations and ratios may have been previously conceived or attempted, this represents a unique approach to recipe creation, utilizing existing recipes through the application of technology.

The recipes provided below are entirely feasible, but it’s important to note that they weren’t fully generated by an algorithm. The system only determined ingredient proportions and didn’t specify flavorings like vanilla or additions like chocolate chips, which Robinson incorporated. The baking instructions also required independent determination, as the AI doesn’t understand concepts like temperature or baking pans. Nevertheless, if you’re seeking a new and different weekend baking project, these could be a good option.

 Image Credits: Sara Robinson / Google Image Credits: Sara Robinson / Google