History Main / JailBake

* One criminal who earned a nickname due to a trick like this was Connecticut resident Frederick Merrill, a violent career criminal with a record that dates back to the 60's. One of his many escapes from jail involved his mother smuggling a gun to him in a jar of homemade peanut butter, giving him the nickname "The Peanut Butter Bandit".

* At the end of the ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' episode, "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS3E7FandomPainsRitaHerRights Rita Her Rights]]", Lisa walks into the jail center with a cake that obviously includes a file to try to break Rita out.

* Subverted in the ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' episode "Who Framed Jimmy Neutron". Jimmy, in jail, tries to tell Sheen to bring him escape tools indirectly by telling Sheen to bring a book they read in class named "Drills, Hacksaws, and Shovels." Sheen shows up with a cake, and Carl pops out. When asked by Jimmy where the tools are, [[LiteralMinded Sheen produces a book]] named "Book of Drills, Hacksaws, and Shovels." Carl and Sheen are then jailed with Jimmy for trying to break Jimmy out.

* In ''Film/TheGrandBudapestHotel'', Zero's girlfriend Agatha, who works for renowned baker Mendl's, hides rock hammers and chisels in the ornate pastries sent to Gustave in prison, not even bothering to disguise their shape. Even then, the guard who cuts up all the other food sent to inmates can't bring himself to destroy exquisite Mendl's pastries.

** In ''Super [=DuckTales=]'', when Scrooge gets arrested and thrown into jail, Mrs. Beakley smuggles in a grenade in a cake so that he can blow up the walls and get out. It... doesn't go according to plan (Scrooge refuses to take the cake and Mrs. Beakley gets fed up, resulting in Scrooge accidentally pulls the grenade pin out of the cake and Mrs. Beakley having to throw it away as it blows up), and Huey, Dewey and Louie have to call on Gizmo Duck to break both Scrooge ''and'' Mrs. Beakley out.

* Used by the Beagle Boys in ''WesternAnimation/{{DuckTales|1987}}''.
** In ''Super [=DuckTales=]'', when Scrooge gets arrested and thrown into jail, Mrs. Beakley smuggles in a grenade in a cake so that he can blow up the walls and get out. It... doesn't go according to plan (Scrooge refuses to take the cake and Mrs. Beakley gets fed up, somehow resulting in the nature of the cake being revealed), and Huey, Dewey and Louie have to call on Gizmo Duck to break both Scrooge ''and'' Mrs. Beakley out.
** One particularly amusing variation has the ''cake itself'' be the tool. By now, the guards have gotten wise to the Beagles using the trope and have an X-Ray machine installed. Surprisingly, it contains nothing but actual cake. However, the cake gives Burger Beagle a case of the hiccups so bad his brothers are able to ''[[EquippableAlly use him as a jackhammer]]'' to dig out.
** Another amusing example is from the FiveEpisodePilot when "El Capitan" sends them a package of explosives disguised as chocolates. Burger, being the BigEater of the group, thinks they ''are'' chocolates, and eats one, [[EatTheBomb with rather unpleasant results.]] And even when they realize what they are, [[TooDumbToLive he asks for another later.]] Fortunately, they keep him from eating any more, and use them to escape.

* DoubleSubverted and lampshaded in ''Bewary, Ride'' by Glenn Murrell. TheHero is framed for murder and in jail. The LoveInterest wants to bring him a cake -- just a cake, nothing special. But then her friend, who also believes in the hero's innocence, visits her with an idea to smuggle a gun in there, noting that [[TheOldestTricksInTheBook this trick is so old]] [[CrazyEnoughToWork it might just work]]. She points that a six-shot wouldn't fit into the cake, but he pulls out a Derringer he got earlier from the hero as a gift. It works and the hero gets out using this literal ChekhovsGun.

* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': ''Escaping the Prison'' starts with the titular Henry Stickmin in prison receiving a cake with various items hidden in it; one of these is a file, but Henry can also use a phone, a drill, a teleporter, a NRG drink, or even a rocket launcher (note only three of the items will actually help Henry escape, the rest are the just the start of TheManyDeathsOfYou). Also noteworthy is that Dave Panpa, one of the prison guards, was ''supposed'' to check the cake beforehand [[FailedASpotCheck but clearly forgot to do so]] (and when Rupert Price briefly mentions it to him and Dave realizes he forgot, he tries to save face with bluster, not realizing there ''was'' something in the cake).[[note]]The next game, ''Stealing the Diamond'', shows that Dave got fired over the incident after Henry escaped (his mention of the events provides the page quote).[[/note]] [[spoiler:The OmegaEnding of ''Completing the Mission'' reveals that the package was sent by someone from the Center for Chaos Containment as part of a "multiverse defragmentation" operation.]]

* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': ''Escaping the Prison'' starts with the titular Henry Stickmin in prison receiving a cake with various items hidden in it; one of these is a file, but Henry can also use a phone, a drill, a teleporter, a NRG drink, or even a rocket launcher (note only three of the items will actually help Henry escape, the rest are the just the start of TheManyDeathsOfYou). Also noteworthy is that Dave Panpa, one of the prison guards, was ''supposed'' to check the cake beforehand [[FailedASpotCheck but clearly forgot to do so]] (and when Rupert Price briefly mentions it to him and Dave realizes he forgot, he tries to save face with bluster, not realizing there ''was'' something in the cake).[[note]]The next game, ''Stealing the Diamond'', shows that Dave got fired over the incident after Henry escaped.[[/note]] [[spoiler:The OmegaEnding of ''Completing the Mission'' reveals that the package was sent by someone from the Center for Chaos Containment as part of a "multiverse defragmentation" operation.]]

%%* ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure''. Not in a cake, but in a footlong hot dog. Nice try, Pee-Wee.

* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': ''Escaping the Prison'' starts with the titular Henry Stickmin in prison receiving a cake with various items hidden; one of these is a file, but Henry can also use a phone, a drill, a teleporter, a NRG drink, or even a rocket launcher (note only three of the items will actually help Henry escape, the rest are the just the start of TheManyDeathsOfYou). Also noteworthy is that Dave Panpa, one of the prison guards, was ''supposed'' to check the cake beforehand [[FailedASpotCheck but clearly forgot to do so]] (and when Rupert Price briefly mentions it to him and Dave realizes he forgot, he tries to save face with bluster, not realizing there ''was'' something in the cake).[[note]]The next game, ''Stealing the Diamond'', shows that Dave got fired over the incident after Henry escaped.[[/note]] [[spoiler:The OmegaEnding of ''Completing the Mission'' reveals that the package was sent by someone from the Center for Chaos Containment as part of a "multiverse defragmentation" operation.]]

* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': ''Escaping the Prison'' starts with the titular Henry Stickmin in prison receiving a cake with an item hidden in it that can be a file, but can also be a phone, a drill, a teleporter, a NRG drink, or even a rocket launcher instead (note only three of those will actually help Henry escape, the rest are the just the start of TheManyDeathsOfYou). Also noteworthy is that Dave Panpa, one of the prison guards, was ''supposed'' to check the cake beforehand [[FailedASpotCheck but clearly forgot to do so]] (and when Rupert Price briefly mentions it to him and Dave realizes he forgot, he tries to save face with bluster, not realizing there ''was'' something in the cake). [[spoiler:The OmegaEnding of ''Completing the Mission'' reveals that the package was sent by someone from the Center for Chaos Containment as part of a "multiverse defragmentation" operation.]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SandokanTheTigerOfMalaysia'', Sandokan and crew have been arrested by a local noble who sentences them to death, but nonetheless has his personal cook prepare a sumptuous Last Meal for them, including a huge cake. Sandokan's still-free ally visits the cook, and once the latter's back is turned, discreetly inserts a pair of files and a message in the cake.

* Subverted in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' when a very nervous Quark shows up with a ''hasperat'' soufflé to give to a group of prisoners that includes his brother Rom. The guard (and probably the audience) assumes it's this trope, [[KansasCityShuffle but it's actually a decoy]]; while he's distracted inspecting the soufflé for contraband, Ziyal sneaks up behind him and hits him with an InstantSedation hypospray, causing him to pass out face-first in the soufflé.

* In ''Series/{{Watchmen}}'', due to a bug in his mental programming or whatever, Phillips keeps offering Veidt a horseshoe with his cake. In Episode 8, Veidt notices the horseshoe has been baked into his annual cake and gleefully uses it to start digging himself out of his cell.
* In the ''Series/{{Zorro|1957}}'' TV series, Diego de la Vega is once arrested by Sergeant García (because of a bad joke from an old friend of Diego). Bernardo tries bringing him a file inside a large sausage, but the subterfuge doesn't resist García's appetite. The Sergeant just glares at Bernardo and lets him go, though.

* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': ''Escaping The Prison'' starts with the titular Henry Stickmin in prison receiving a cake with an item hidden in it that can be a file, but can also be a phone, a drill, a teleporter, a NRG drink, or even a rocket launcher instead (note only three of those will actually help Henry escape, the rest are the just the start of TheManyDeathsOfYou). Also noteworthy is that Dave Panpa, one of the prison guards, was ''supposed'' to check the cake beforehand [[FailedASpotCheck but clearly forgot to do so]] (and when Rupert Price briefly mentions it to him and Dave realizes he forgot, he tries to save face with bluster, not realizing there ''was'' something in the cake). [[spoiler:The OmegaEnding of ''Completing the Mission'' reveals that the package was sent by someone from the Center for Chaos Containment as part of a "multiverse defragmentation" operation.]]

* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': ''Escaping The Prison'' starts with the titular Henry in prison receiving a cake with an item hidden in it that can be a file, but can also be a phone, a drill, a teleporter, a NRG drink, or even a rocket launcher instead (note only three of those will actually help Henry escape, the rest are the just the start of TheManyDeathsOfYou). Also noteworthy is that Dave Panpa, one of the prison guards, was ''supposed'' to check the cake beforehand [[FailedASpotCheck but clearly forgot to do so]] (and when Rupert Price mentions it to him and Dave realizes he forgot, he tries to save face with bluster, not realizing there ''was'' something in the cake). [[spoiler:The OmegaEnding of ''Completing the Mission'' reveals that the package was sent by someone from the Center for Chaos Containment as part of a "multiverse defragmentation" operation.]]

* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': In ''Escaping The Prison'', the game starts with Henry in prison receiving a cake with an item hidden in it that can be a file, but can be a phone, a drill, a teleporter, a NRG drink, or even a rocket launcher instead (note only three of those will actually help Henry escape, the rest are the just the start of TheManyDeathsOfYou). Also noteworthy is that Dave, one of the prison guards, was ''supposed'' to check the cake beforehand [[FailedASpotCheck but clearly forgot to do so (and when it's briefly mentioned and he realizes he forgot, he tries to save face with bluster, not realizing there ''was'' something in the cake).]] [[spoiler:The OmegaEnding of ''Completing the Mission'' reveals that the package was sent by someone from the Center for Chaos Containment as part of a "multiverse defragmentation" operation.]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' episode "Jailbreak", Karen visits Plankton in jail and brings him a cake, and he quietly asks her if she put a file in the cake. She just laughs it off, asking who would put a file in a cake. Later, Plankton gets eaten by another prisoner who has a slice of cake and a file in his stomach.

*** The more common use of the explosive 'flour' though was to have a baker turn it into scones, biscuits, or other such small dense baked goods, which the operative could carry around in public without attracting attention. a few biscuits in a pocket looks like a snack or a worker's lunch, not charges for sabotage. combine with some chemical-fuse time detonators disguised as ink pens and you could walk around a city looking perfectly innocent while placing sabotage charges. They would also sometimes mix the explosive with coal dust and glue to create fake pieces of coal. Mixed into normal coal where it would explode when put into the firebox, it was an effective way to damage trains and older civilian ships.

* ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure''. Not in a cake, but in a footlong hot dog. Nice try, Pee-Wee.
* {{Lampshaded}} in ''Film/TheNakedGun 33 1/3''.

* ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheThreeStooges'' used a sandwich.

*** The more common use of the explosive 'flour' though was to have a baker turn it into scones, biscuits, or other such small dense baked goods, which the operative could carry around in public without attracting attention. a few biscuits in a pocket looks like a snack or a worker's lunch, not charges for sabotage. combine with some chemical-fuse time detonators disguised as ink pens and you could walk around a city looking perfectly innocent while placing sabotage charges. they would also sometimes mix the explosive with coal dust and glue to create fake pieces of coal. mixed into normal coal where it would explode when put into the firebox, it was an effective way to damage trains and older civilian ships.

* A ''Series/TheKidsInTheHall'' skit made use of this trope, and adds dramatic tension with the guard asking if he can have a piece, while the prisoner sweats, hoping the guard's knife doesn't touch the saw. Of course the tension is then [[OverlyLongGag taken to ridiculous heights]] with the guard eating most of the cake without finding the saw, leaving an obvious saw-shaped piece of the middle of the cake. The guard looks full and is about to give the cake to the prisoner, but then he decides to have one more piece... * clink*

** In the episode "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime", the boys visit an imprisoned Cartman with a cake with a file in it so he can bust out and participate in their sled race. Cartman is too dumb to understand Kyle explaining the plan to him in PigLatin but it's moot anyway because it turns out he's not allowed to bring food back to his cell, most likely because of situations like this.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3'' episode "Super Koopa" has Toad bring a birthday cake, containing a "?" Block, to Mario and Luigi after Bowser throws them in the Bastille.