These masterpieces not only look like works of art but also contain a few surprises. Dish sponges, Rubik’s Cubes, salad cakes, meat fruits and even beans on toast, we've rounded up some of the most incredible food illusions.

This is definitely not your average chicken dinner. Everything from the dip to the take-out box is edible and even the drumsticks are completely meat-free. The whole dish is in fact a celebration cake, which was made by Tasty Butter Cupcakes.

You would be forgiven for thinking these tiny dishes each contain a pair of olives. In fact, these olives are little pods of cocoa butter which are filled with blood-orange and, to really confuse you, olive flavourings. Disfrustar restaurant in Barcelona are renowned for devising delicious dishes like these olives, which trick their customers into thinking they are eating something completely different.

Sugar artist Becky Jenkins made this delicious-looking pizza feast, complete with a cheesy stuffed crust and plenty of toppings. But don’t expect a meaty mouthful of pepperoni when you take a bite, because this pizza is also made entirely from cake with sugarwork decorations.

French pastry chef Cédric Grolet wowed the internet when he created these stunning Rubik’s Cube cakes earlier this year. Each colourful cube has its own unique flavour and has been lavishly decorated with sugar, flecks of edible gold and nuts. The only problem? They look far too good to eat.

These cute little creatures look like they’re ready to spring up and hop away. These toads are actually another chocolate creation from The Edible Museum. The detail and texture of these chocolate amphibians means they look almost alarmingly realistic.

It’s hard to believe this isn’t a real orange. Perfectly shaped to be the exact size and texture of a mandarin, this fruity fake created by Heston Blumenthal is actually a chicken liver parfait. Based on a medieval recipe, it’s served at Heston’s restaurant Dinner in Mayfair, London, where they sell around 700 each week.

At first glance, this looks like a savoury plate of stilton, brie, camembert, emmental and grapes but this after-dinner platter is far from it. This deceptive cheeseboard has also been handmade with the finest dark, milk and white Belgium chocolate by Chon on Choc.

In July 2017, Ben Churchill told Metro: "The term food illusion just came about as I was creating dishes that fooled the eater and viewer. Made to look like something it isn’t… I think my best example is the edible dish washing sponge (pictured). Looks exactly like a yellow and green scourer, complete with splatters of dirt, washing-up liquid and foam. But it’s actually olive oil sponge, mint sponge, toffee sauce, baked apple coulis and milk foam.’

What could be more traditional on Valentine’s Day than presenting a traditional chocolate heart to a loved one? However, Sarah Hardy’s chocolate hearts might not be exactly what they had in mind, as these edible treats closely mimic the anatomical human organ.

This might look like any old egg from your morning fry-up but this one was actually made from fondant icing. A true expert in baking and trickery, Annabel de Vetten created the fondant fried egg as a decoration for a cake she was baking.

Love cake for breakfast? Here’s the perfect excuse to tuck in. Great British Bake Off 2013 winner Frances Quinn created this Beans on Toast cake for her debut cookery book, Quinntessential Baking. This sweet treat is actually sponge and salted caramel peanuts. Sounds like the perfect start to the day. 

Surreal Tokyo-based artist Hikaru Cho created a series of painted objects in a project named ‘It’s not what it seems’. Using acrylic paints, this banana was transformed into a cucumber.

Although it looks like a heavenly dessert, this guilt-free cake is actually a salad. Made entirely from vegetables, it was created by Vegedeco Salad Café in Nagoya, Japan, and is completely gluten-free, sugar-free, low carb and vegan.

This plate of boiled egg and soldiers is actually a dessert filled with coconut mousse and mango cream. Made at the Taverna Hofmann restaurant in Barcelona, it's one of several items on the menu designed to confuse your taste buds.

This quirky dessert is another popular item served at Taverna Hofmann, Barcelona. Disguised as a cheeseburger, the bun is actually ice cream, the burger is chocolate and the cheese and lettuce have been crafted from sugar.

Also made by the Vegedeco Salad Café, this herb violet cake contains purple potato, white beans and fennel. The inside ‘sponge’ consists of soy flour and tofu frosting. Inventor Misuki Moriyasu told CNN: “It looks like a normal cake, but it's made of only veggies… Each cake tastes different, depending which vegetables we use, but I would say it tastes like something you've never had before."

These little brains have been made completely out of chocolate by the amazing Sarah Hardy from The Edible Museum. The brains are created in incredible detail and, come Halloween, are transformed into spooky, zombified versions.

It’s not the first time Cédric Grolet has been praised for his artistic food presentation. Soon after becoming Head Pâtissier at the Parisian restaurant Le Meurice, the pastry prodigy produced these incredible fruit sculptures.

This battered fish is unlike the kind you’ll find down your local chip shop. Although fish-shaped, this traditional Japanese cake made with pancake or waffle batter is usually filled with sweet red bean paste, custard, chocolate or cheese. You may even find varieties stuffed with sausage, dumplings or noodles.

This full English breakfast was also created by chef and food illusionist Ben Churchill. In this video, he starts with a layer of Chantilly cream topped with lemon custard to create the egg before adding meringue mushrooms, chocolate mousse sausages, marzipan beans in orange syrup, sugar bacon and strawberry ketchup. 

One of Ben Churchill’s most popular food illusions has been this carrot cake featuring a mirror-glazed carrot cake, an edible chocolate plant pot, cookie stones and chocolate soil.

If you remember Push Pop lollies from your childhood, the concept of an edible lipstick will seem very familiar. This quirky dessert, which is a strawberry and raspberry sorbet inside a Perspex tube, was served by exclusive eatery Chai Wu at Harrods. It was part of an eight-course ‘beauty menu’ that also included chicken soup with collagen jelly and a green tea fondant.

When Chiltern Firehouse in London began serving these Instagram-worthy doughnuts they became an instant hit. Just like your average doughnuts, they have a sweet, sugary bun but are filled with white crab meat and crème fraiche rather than jam. This dish, created by Michelin-starred chef Nuno Mendes, is no longer served in the restaurant, but you’ll find the recipe in ‘Chiltern Firehouse: The Cookbook’.

In Channel 4 series Fantastical Food, Heston Blumenthal tricked a group of celebrity diners when he disguised this plate of ice cream as a meat pie and fruit. The ‘pork pie’ was actually apple and date ice cream, with raspberry sorbet treated with liquid nitrogen. He also disguised mangoes as mustard, sweet chocolate as an egg and created marzipan walnuts.

Chef Ben Churchill had been working in restaurants for 10 years before he began creating food illusions in his own kitchen for fun. After receiving a great response on social media, the 30 year old now uploads new creations each week. This Golden Snitch, made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, is a banana and ginger cake sprayed with edible gold.

These sprouts should be a hit with even the fiercest veggie-haters as they’re made entirely of Belgian chocolate. Produced in Somerset, England, by luxury confectioners Choc on Choc, they’re handmade with white chocolate and dyed green.

Martha Stewart created these flowerpot chocolate cakes, which have been baked in small pots and topped with chocolate frosting, crushed biscuits and sprig of mint. Inspired? Check out the recipe on her website.

This may look like a meaty feast, but it’s actually a delicious dish vegetarians could enjoy. It was created by Thomas Buhner at the La Vie restaurant in Germany, where he received his third Michelin star. The dish consists of smoked watermelon carpaccio with Parmesan cheese, pine seeds and balsamic vinegar with a sorbet of potato foam and pumpkin ice cream.

The same artist also transformed an egg into a photo-perfect aubergine. These are widely considered Hikaru Cho's most tame works. The controversial painter has also used her skills to transform human faces with extra eyes and zippers for mouths.

It looks like a savoury snack but this cheese sandwich is sponge with icing. The birthday cake was created by Pink Cake Box, a company founded by pastry chef Anne Heap, who is recognised as one of the most influential cake artists in North America.

A beautiful platter of real sushi is like artwork itself but the cakemakers at Pink Cake Box added a creative twist with this dessert. The sushi rolls and rice have been crafted with sugar while the wooden block was made with peanut buttercream

Ever considered eating an ashtray? This is possibly the most intriguing dish from the food illusionist’s collection. The vanilla panna cotta desert with meringue “ash” and chocolate cigarette butts looks startlingly realistic and is the unlikeliest of tasty treats.

Another impressive food illusion from Chef Ben Churchill is this bar of ultra-realistic bath soap. Although it's actually a delicious desert mousse, it would look right at home in any bathroom – until you took a bite out of it.

Popping cakes into little pots is a great way to fool your friends into thinking they are simply plants. These little cacti by Cook Better Than Your Mom might look spikey and sharp, but dig in and you’ll find a soft and yummy cake with truly inventive presentation.