Sunday Sweets: Inspiration
June 13, 2010 As much as I love themed and sculpted cakes, I'm still a huge fan of the "just plain gorgeous" style. Perfect colors, flawless design, bows so clever you'd swear they're made of ribbon - they get me every time.
You know, like this:
(I believe this is by Slice of Cake, but the site doesn't seem to exist anymore.Let me know if you have a url for them!)
I literally "ooooh"ed at this cake. Heh. It's the perfect "something blue" for a wedding, don't you think?
I'm in love with this modern tropical design, and not just because it's in my favorite color:
Another great design from Rick & Sasha of Cake Lava:
Love the hibiscus pattern! (Someday I want to try a custom stencil pattern; it's hard to believe anyone can get edges that crisp!) Also, how perfect is that fade from red to orange?Some of you may remember this next one: it was in the background of Ryan I.'s Mario groom's cake that we featured a while back:
This Eiffel tower is made of sugar, believe it or not:
By Wrecks reader Leah K., who - get this, guys - is NOT a professional. (!!)[Update: see more of Leah's cakes on Cake Central here.]
Or how about something Mondrian-inspired?
Sub'd by Seanna L., made by Cakes to RememberTidbit for the day: Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter who developed an art form called "Neo-Plasticism," which consisted of a white background, black grid work, and the three primary colors. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)
And if you want to go the extra mile, you could even have a Mondrian homage *inside* the cake:
Sub'd by Isara, made by Caitlin Williams for the SF MoMA's coffee barWow. Seriously. How cool is that?
By CC member EneqAh...perfection. It's like the Cat in the Hat's baby shower cake!
(Take a close look at those bows, too - I seriously need Eneq to give me lessons on bow-making.)
And as always, I saved my favorite for last:
If I had to do it all over again, this would be a top contender for my dream wedding cake. I think it's the flowers. And the pattern. And the round/square tier combination. But really, does love need a reason? ;)
Have a Sweet to nominate? Then send it to Sunday Sweets (at) Cake Wrecks (dot) com!
Oh, and speaking of things I love: one of my favorite charities, Give Kids the World, is participating in the Pepsi Refresh Challenge right now. If they get enough votes, they'll be given $250,000 to renovate the villas in the GKTW Village. (Woohoo!) GKTW is an amazing organization that provides children with life-threatening illnesses the vacation of a lifetime right here in Orlando. (Check out some of the photos on their site; this place is awesome.) They host, feed, and entertain an average of 7,000 families a year - all at no cost to the families.
For a whole week, these boys and girls can be pirates, princesses - or just plain kids! - while enjoying the GKTW village and local theme parks like Disney and Universal. The Challenge ends June 3oth, and you can vote every day. GKTW is currently in 11th place. Ahead of them are things like weight rooms and a horror film festival. So please - please - vote. Set a reminder, like I am, and vote every day! If you already have a Facebook account, it's a simple click: ten seconds, tops. (If not, some sign-up info is required.)
You guys know I don't do this very often; it's just that important to me and John. So thanks for reading this, and thanks in advance for voting - 'cuz I know you are just awesome enough to help GKTW win this thing. :)
Reader Comments (99)
Now THAT was a perfect end to a perfect Sunday Sweets! Thanks - I'm going to vote now...
WV: mathlac - defines my algebra skills perfectly!
My family was privileged to stay at GKTW in 2007. We had a wonderful time (I've even got some pictures of my son and daughter posing by the larger than life Candy Land pieces, and pretending to be eaten in the giant bowl outside of the ice cream shop). It's an amazing place, and I'm so grateful that you have featured it in Cake Wrecks. Thank you!!!
OH! Mondrian INSIDE the CAKE?
I Oh-em-geed out loud when I saw that.
My fave color is orange too! Thought I was the only wierd one...lol!
Just voted! Thanks for posting that, Jen. A friend of mine took her daughters to the GKTW village last year and their experience was amazing.
LET'S ALL VOTE, WRECKIES!!
My family stayed at GKTW back in the early 90s when it was a lot smaller, but still amazing. My sister (who was my family's Wish Kid) now works there as the Reservationist. Fun fact: the cottage that we stayed in all those years ago has been renovated into the ice cream parlor! :) It really brightened my morning to see that you posted this -- thanks, Jen!
Awww, the voting is only for US. I'll have to use Plan B of sending good luck vibes!
Voted then ran through the top ten. Let us just say that there is really only two other causes I feel should even be listed. GKTW is the only Southern cause and the only cause giving mental respite for kids with life threatening diseases. Go GKTW!!!
Oh, to go back in time to my wedding day and replace my cupcakes (NOT a CCC, mind you) with that amazing hibiscus cake. I moved to Hawaii with my hubby after the wedding, and I so wanted to include that in our theme, but I found it difficult to work into our otherwise geeky schemes without it being gaudy. But that cake is gorgeous.
PS - going to vote now.
I voted! :) What a great organization and a great idea.
Also, LOVE the Mondrian inside the cake. WOW.
Those cakes are gorgeous
Hey Jen, much as I'd like to vote, the site won't accept Canadians, or I guess anyone but US citizens. The Mondrian cake interior had my brain going immediately...how the ***MEEP** did they do that? Love the site, turned on all my coworkers to it, we start each day with a visit to CakeWrecks. Then nothing that the "poo-flinging monkeys" throw at us seems quite so bad! THANKS!
I just voted. My cousin's former fiancee was killed in a car crash in FL earlier this year. They asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to GKTW. I'd never met her, and had never heard of the charity before, but I sent a donation anyway, because my family was hurting so much. I'm happy to vote for it now and will try to remember to vote every day.
The Mondrian on the inside of the cake..... W. O. W. !!! There are no words. How much work would that be??? Forget that, how would one even DO that? Is it possible?!? I'm in awe.
PS - I voted just like you asked. :) Thanks for the link.
I love the De Stijl cake! (I used to think the Mondrian Dress was the coolest adaptation of one of his paintings, but the cake is way better.)
Those cakes are nice, but seriously you should check this girls stuff out - she's amazing
flickr.com/annaelizabethcakes
The two Mondrian-inspired cakes just made my morning...and nearly made me faint. The interior-Mondrian one looks like it might be akin to those yummy rainbow layer cookies you can get at Italian bakeries, so I'm nearly salivating now. %)
Jen,
First, I voted!
And second, I agree with you about that last cake. In fact, it's going in my "inspiration" file for if/when I ever get hitched. Love it!
The first cake that you refer to as Mondrian actually reminds me more of Frank Lloyd Wright's windows--particularly with the other shapes added around the edge. Thoughts?
LOVE the Mondrian cakes. I teach a Mondrian art lesson to my first graders...I am soooo going to show them them these pictures!
WV: ottormov - what you say to your pet mustelid when he's in your spot on the couch
You may be on to something JE Melton. Not only are there curved shapes (circles, and possibly a cone, I can't tell) which would have totally gotten the baker kicked out of neoplasticism, but there are secondary colors as well.
Still a gorgeous cake though.
the mondrian pattern INSIDE the cake -- that is just beyond amazing!! as always, love the sunday sweets!
OMG... That Mondrian cake is amazing. I am an art historian who isn't much of a fan of Mondrian's paintings, but I can totally get on board with the cake. Awesome.
Wow, I am in love with that Mondrian cake. I think this is only my first or second comment. That is amazing.
Jen I'm so pooped that I can't vote for GKTW. It sounds like the worthiest of causes. I love that in amongst all the wrecky goodness you take the time to garner support for all these charities.
Well done you, for using your wreckery powers for good!
@JE Melton: My mind went to FLW too. I went to college at a FLW designed school (Florida Southern College in Lakeland) and it totally reminded me of the chapel on campus. Love it!
It's pretty cool that Mondrian is featured in this post. Back in '08, I volunteered for my high school's marching band as a prop team person (I was in the band in high school). The show was based on art, being called "Art at the Speed of Life", and Mondrian was one of the featured artists.
Some of it is shown at 00:15 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qJAK9moRPI )
For a potluck dinner, I made a cake to match some of Mondrian's artwork: http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v1516/149/89/774760077/n774760077_5173597_7286.jpg
First, I voted and have it in my favorites list to do so every day.
Second, I have to agree with JE Melton that it is a Frank Lloyd Wright (or someone in the Prairie School) design for the cake. The slice is Mondrian, and, yes, I would be delighted to have a piece, thank you.
That first cake is gorgeous BTW. Too bad they don't make fondant that tastes as good as it looks.
wv: angstess: feminine equiv. of male angst
One more thing, to anyone reading this in
LONDON, ENGLAND.
Would you please go to the bakery in Selfridges Department Store near Marble Arch and take photos of the lovely little hat cakes and send them in. They are so cute and easy to do, it would be nice to share them. I never thought to take photos on one of my visits.
Definitely will be voting daily for GKtW. I went there myself when I was younger on a wish. Thank you Jen for putting the word out!
I've also seen a cake that, when you slice it, looks like a Mark Rothko painting.
Gorgeous cakes! I especially loved the one with the hot pink gerbera daisies and dark brown spots. It's so amazing how much you care about people by featuring things like GKTW on CW. :)
gorgeous cakes. i love the mondrian inside the cake. it's funny, i am an architect, and when i saw the first mondrian cake i thought: hey a gerrit rietveld cake (he built buildings in 'de stijl' the style of mondrian paintings...
Thank you for letting us know about the pepsi challenge. I voted and promoted. Hopefully they'll move up in the ranks.
I've had the Mondrian cake at SFMOMA, and they get full credit: not only does it look EXACTLY like that in real life (not just the promotional shot), it tasted fantastic, too. Props.
I spent half the time I was eating it figuring out how to do it. It's very clever, and surely time-consuming, but probably wouldn't be all that hard if you wanted to impress guests at home. They've come up with a design that doesn't take any special ingredients or implements...which impresses me as much as the execution.
i couldn't help but vote..that adorable princess melted my heart. :)
on the voting site, though, i find it kind of strange that the number one idea is to build a gym for 1700 kids. while i approve of the idea in general, i do not understand why this idea should be the winner, when there are dozens of ideas that would benefit double or triple the amount of people.
(i know this is unrelated to cake, i just wanted to speak my mind)
i love the topsy-turvy cake. and orange is my favorite color as well. :)
The Piet Mondrian cake was my favorite, because the theme was carried into the cake layer. Perfect. But if I'm to be tiny bit nit-picky, green and orange are not primary colors. That being said, it's a beautiful cake and I'd love to have a slice. :)
I had to show my 7 year-old the Mondrian-inspired cakes. She studied the artist last year in first grade and then did an art project in his style. She actually screamed when she saw the cakes. 7 year-old girls...you gotta love 'em ;)
Your favorite color is orange too??
I think I love your blog even more now. hehe.
These Sunday Sweets were beautiful. I hope to have a wedding cake that gorgeous when I get married....
-Katie
The Piet Mondrian cake is beautiful, however, green and orange are not primary colors. That's just me being nit-picky, and the cake is a masterpiece. So...yeah, I'd eat it.
voted! and the mondrian cake interior is AMAZING. would LOVE to have it or make it!
Oh.
My.
God!!
That Mondrian-cake (the one INSIDE the cake) just astounded me!! That is so amazing!!
Sadly it seems like the Pepsi voting is one big circle jerk. "Oh well I will vote for your (~~currently the most popular~~) cause in your bracket every day IF you vote for mine in my bracket everyday! Kkthnx for your support!"
We DO have Pepsi in New Zealand, but some of us prefer the "other" stuff! Great thing they're doing, 'tho.
I volunteer for Make A Wish in NZ, so any cause like that is close to my heart.
My family and I LOOOOVVVEEE Cake Wrecks- the Sweet Sunday's are great (even if we see it on Monday!), but my faves are the actual wrecks. If only I'd taken a photo of my own cake wreck for my son's 1st birthday.....
Cheers from NZ, Helen
The Mondrian cake?
Mostly made me think of the Partridge Family Bus!
come on down, there's a song that we're singin...c'mon get HAPPY!!!
Canadian, just voted with no issues... so maybe it's just N. American?
"Anonymous said...
i couldn't help but vote..that adorable princess melted my heart. :)"
Here's a fun fact-- the photo of the girl in the tiara featured on this blog, lovingly nicknamed "Princess Alyssa," is the SAME girl that is featured in the video on GKTW's Pepsi Refresh page. She credits GKTW for saving her life!
Awesome Sunday Sweets, as usual. I love the color of the first one!
Wow...Modrian interior rocks. I want to make one of those!
Oh. My. Gosh. While they were all beautiful, the Mondrian may have been the best- it was simple abut it didn't even look like a cake.... and then when I scrolled down and saw the picture of the inside I actually gasped out loud. Amazing! AMAZING!!
Do you have a picture of your wedding cake?