But the snap led to some confusion over what the cake was supposed to be - some guessed it was a tuna or eel, while others assumed it was some version of the iconic Very Hungry Caterpillar.
“What is it supposed to be?” one of her followers asked in the comments section.
“Kia pai Te Rā Whanau mo to kotiro! That’s a great looking Tuna your partner created!” one wrote, with another joking that they weren’t so sure about the “Smarties and fish combo”.
Another seemed to give up on guessing and simply wrote, “Love that rainbow birthday critter. Rā whānau ki a koe Neve.”
Although a tuna cake would have been on brand for the Fish of the Day host, Ardern cleared things up in the comments section, saying the “caterpillar” guess was “correct. A rainbow one.”
Gayford shared a video of his masterpiece on his own Instagram page.
“The tricky 5-year-old client’s cake brief fluctuated wildy, everything from swimming Mermaids to a Disney castle that had its own car wash. Helped in no part by the client’s mum who was very much enjoying my pain,” he wrote.
“Finally, a decision was made, a rainbow caterpillar. My sister asked if it was a sea slug and the client told me off because a rainbow caterpillar has 10 colours not seven, but nonetheless job done for another year and we welcome having a 5-year-old in our house. Happy birthday Nevey, such a big girl now.”
Last year it was then-PM Ardern’s turn to make Neve’s cake, looking to the iconic Women’s Weekly recipe book, which features a ladybug cake on the cover, for inspiration.
“This year was my turn on the birthday cake (or what I’ve come to know as the ‘stress bomb’),” she wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the finished cake.
“Neve requested a ladybug, and after several disasters underneath A LOT of icing, this was the result.”
The result was impressive - but as it turned out, not entirely edible.
“All edible aside from the eyes (I resorted to sharpie on lollipops),” she continued. “Happy birthday Neve Te Aroha!”
