Terrifying to some, Maidstone mum Francesca Pitcher has proved snakes can also be terrifically tasty.

This Albino Burmese Python, which contains nothing more venomous than Madagascan vanilla bean sponge, has caused something of a stir on the internet.

Since posting pictures of her deadly-looking delicacy, created for her daughter Claudia’s sixth birthday, Francesca has been bombarded with a global reaction of admiration and outrage.

Her Facebook page had more than 2,000 visits in a week including requests for the cake to be shipped to the US and other far flung corners of the earth.

But she’s also had her fair share of detractors, with some posts claiming the pictures were “disgusting” or a “con” because it was thought the snake was real.

Either way, Francesca, 37, from Pine Grove, Penenden Heath, is happy her decorative talents are being noticed.

She said: “Some people despised it and said it made them vomit.
“I had to put a picture of the cut cake online to show it wasn’t real.

“But others wrote saying it was brilliant, especially reptile lovers, who appreciated the time and effort which went in.

“It’s just great to get a reaction, it shows I’m good at what I do.”

Covered in white chocolate fondant, the “Snake Cake” was six hours in the making.

She won’t divulge the full recipe for fear of alerting copycat designers, but its young recipients judged it a success.

Francesca, who also has a son Dylan, two, said: “The kids loved it and their parents took pictures which indicated I’d done something special.”