An Italian pastry maker landed himself in trouble after baking a cake decorated with an image of Adolf Hitler, as Italy considers introducing a new law that would outlaw the glorification of Nazism and Fascism.

Several passersby complained after seeing the cake displayed in the window of the patisserie in the town of Maratea in the southern region of Basilicata.

The €30 cake bore a striking likeness of the Fuhrer, complete with toothbrush moustache and Nazi insignia.

“It wasn’t my idea, I made it after it was ordered by a customer,” said Umberto Avigliano, the pastry maker. He did not disclose who had ordered the cake, but letters in yellow icing spelt out “Auguri chef” or “Best wishes, chef”.

Putting Hitler’s image on a cake had the effect of “making Nazism banal,” one Italian newspaper commented. “How is it possible that, without batting an eyelid, we have made a sweet treat out of the man responsible for the Holocaust?” La Repubblica asked.