Pink wrapper of Eti Topkek Çilekli strawberry cupcake with product image

Topkek

2013catchphraseclassic

Published October 3, 2026

Topkek started as a brand of small Turkish cupcakes made by ETi, then got adopted by 4chan's /s4s/ board in 2013 because its name contained the slang term 'kek'. A single thread about the snack pulled more than 6,000 replies before archival, turning a confectionery product into a dedicated piece of imageboard shitposting folklore2.

4chan memes slang memes internet slang origin memes dismissal memes ironic memes

Overview

Topkek works on two levels at once. The literal product is a small packaged cupcake from the Turkish confectionery company ETi, first produced in 1990, where 'kek' simply means cake in Turkish1. The joke layer comes from the slang word 'kek', a WoW-era variant of 'lol' that pairs with 'top' to form a superlative, so 'topkek' lands as something like 'the greatest laugh of them all'3.

The gag depends on this coincidence being perfect. The physical package reads 'TOPKEK' in large letters, which gave /s4s/ posters a real-world artifact that already said their shitpost for them2. Usage is almost always ironic, dropped as a dismissive one-word reply to signal that something is laughably bad rather than genuinely funny3.

Origin & Background

Platform
ETi (product) / 4chan /s4s/ (viral spread)
Date
2013

In Turkish, 'kek' means cake, and the Topkek cupcake brand was introduced in 1990 by ETi, a confectionery company1. The slang usage traces to the chain 'toplel' to 'topkek', built on the Orcish-to-English translation of 'kek' as 'lol' in World of Warcraft3. A 2011 Workaholics episode showing Adam Demamp in a 'Top Gun' hat is cited as part of the phrase's spread, with later mutations swapping 'gun' for 'kek'2.

In May 2013, a 4chan /s4s/ user posting as 'prime minister face' started a thread featuring the cupcake, which pulled over 6,000 replies before it was archived2. The collision between an actual snack labelled 'TOPKEK' and the existing /s4s/ taste for 'kek'-based humor is what pushed it from a one-off thread into a recurring board joke.

How It Spread

Documentation moved quickly after the original thread. An Encyclopedia Dramatica article on Topkek went up on May 18, 2013, roughly alongside the /s4s/ thread, and an Urban Dictionary entry followed in September 20133. The subreddit /r/topkek was created in July 2013, giving the term a home outside the imageboard it came from2.

Video remixes carried the word further. A Flash animation built around the cupcake circulated in 2013, with a censored cut later reuploaded to YouTube that drew around 90,000 views2. In 2014, an edited clip of a Based Tyrone video with the line 'top kek' passed 365,000 views on YouTube, becoming one of the more widely shared audio hooks for the term6. The meme aggregator site Top Kek also launched in 2014, taking the name directly from the slang2.

Timeline

1990

ETi introduces the Topkek cupcake brand in Turkey[1].

2011

Workaholics airs an episode with Adam Demamp wearing a 'Top Gun' embroidered hat, later cited as part of the phrase's mutation path[2].

2013-05

4chan /s4s/ user 'prime minister face' posts the cupcake thread, which collects over 6,000 replies before archival[2].

2013-05-18

An Encyclopedia Dramatica entry on Topkek is created[2].

2013-07

The /r/topkek subreddit is created on Reddit[2].

2013-09

Urban Dictionary adds a definition for 'topkek'[3].

2014

A Based Tyrone YouTube edit using the phrase 'top kek' passes 365,000 views, and the aggregator site Top Kek launches[6].

Frequently Asked Questions