Some have petals so fine you can see through them, or are hand-painted to look like Chinese tapestry. Others sparkle with edible amethyst, jade and 24-karat gold. The most impressive sweets are so finely sculpted they resemble a modern still life by Canadian artist Malcolm Rains, or a Roman fresco with a surface that has been etched by the ravages of time.
A marbleized dessert by avant-garde cake designer Olga Noskova.
Cakes have always been the dandiest offering on the bakery counter, but lately they’re going beyond pretty to become objets d’art. And their fine craftsmanship, so perfect for the Instagram era and its carefully curated feed of beautiful food, has the masses drooling. Avant-garde cake designers such as Russia’s Tortik Annushka and Olga Noskova have amassed half-a-million followers each on the social media platform, and their elegant towers of Mondrianesque cubes or mirrored layers have inspired a new wave of cake bosses who value aesthetics almost as much as they do taste.
San Francisco artist Jasmine de Lung’s brushstroke cake.
“I’m about evenly split between the two,” says Dalana Fleming, who regularly pushes the boundaries of design at her The Cake & the Giraffe studio in Vancouver. “Some of my contemporaries make cakes that are just for show, but if I see this big, beautiful cake and its taste is less than extraordinary, it’s a downgrade.” On the outside, Fleming’s masterpieces are encased in marbleized finishes or accented with sugar-paste succulents that resemble a terrarium; their interiors feature flavours like garam masala crumb or lavender buttercream. “Most of us want our cakes to be as delicious inside as they are divine to look at. But it’s impossible to overstate what an impact Instagram and social media has had on our profession. It’s elevated cake-making to a whole new level.”
In San Francisco, cake artist Jasmine de Lung says her profession is becoming recognized as an art form unto itself thanks to social media and cake shows on television. She works in a variety of textures to create cakes that look like geodes or mimic delicate lace in muted pastels. “When I visualize new cake designs, I like to soar into the abstract,” says de Lung, who started Jasmine Rae Cakes 12 years ago. “But when I create for my business, with sugar in hand, I reign it in until it’s just palatable enough to be relatable, but novel enough to titillate.”
Toronto-based Genevieve Finley's crystal confection.
Given the hours – sometimes days – it takes to create these showpieces, it’s little wonder prices run into the thousands of dollars. Toronto’s Genevieve Finley, owner of the popular For The Love of Cake, had a team of five spend 120 hours making a scale model of the Royal Ontario Museum that served 700 people. “I’m known for my architectural projects and I think I’ve done every building downtown, but I can’t say they’re my favourites to work on,” she says. Instead, she revels in discovering new ways of combining textures, geometric shapes, floral designs, watercolour hues and patterning.
“I like it when someone comes to me with an invitation and wants it enhanced or embossed on a cake,” says Finley, who believes such aesthetic synergy will be an entertaining trend that will continue through the new year. She also sees burgundy making a comeback for wedding cakes, and succulents taking off for special occasions.
The highly-stylized approach in icing design will likely endure for some time if the tricky treats coming out of Moscow are any indication. There, the Kalabasa bakery is sparking the popularity of brush-stroke cakes (the technique involves melting chocolate on wax paper and using a paintbrush to create ‘feathers” that are placed around a cake once they harden). Celestial details in blues, purples and metallics will also likely pop up on a dessert table near you in the coming months.
Tiers of delicate leaves by The Cake & the Giraffe owner Dalana Fleming.Michelle Doherty
Despite all the attention to finesse and flair, Finley believes there will also be a return to a more rustic look, with cakes resembling birch bark or other elements that pay homage to a natural landscape. “There are people who will always gravitate toward pretty and simple. My followers love it when I post something like a buttercream cake with fresh flowers. It just makes them smile and feel good,” says Fleming.
“But for those who want show stopping, it’s about pushing the boundaries of what you can do with something edible,” she says. “I love it when someone walks by one of my creations, does a double-take, and then says, ‘Oh my God, that’s a cake!’”
Gayle MacDonald