Sunday Sweets: Watercolor Cakes
November 10, 2013 Apparently watercolors date back as far as the cave paintings of Paleolithic Europe. (Thanks Wikipedia!) It was done on things like stone, leather, papyrus, and now ...
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(By AK Cake Design)
You guessed it! Cake!
Heck, maybe it was always done on cake, but everyone ate the evidence back in those days.
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(By Nevie-Pie Cakes)
I mean, given the choice between a slice of beautifully watercolored cake such as this one, or a hunk of buffalo carcass, I'd go for the cake.
I probably wouldn't have survived very long back then.
But enough talk of carcasses. (Carcassi?) Back to the pretty cakes!
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(By Hey There, Cupcake!, Photography by Siegel Thurston Photography)
And this pretty cake is particularly stunning. Look at all those bright beautiful colors!
I love the transparency here, almost like the cake was wrapped in tissue paper:
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(By A's Exquisite Cakes & Chocolates; Photo by Jessica Schmitt Photography)
(Dear wreckorators: PLEASE do not go and actually wrap a cake in tissue paper. Please. No, really. Put. The paper. DOWN.)
Did your art teacher in school ever show you that trick of sprinkling salt over your watercolors? It gives it this super-nifty texture, kind of like... this!
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(By neli)
It's like an ocean wave of the night sky, with pretty flowers for stars. Love it.
Of course, my watercolors all tended to be a drippy mess - but thanks to this next one, I know drips can be deeeeeLIGHTful:
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(By The Art of Cake; Photo by Erik Hornung Photography)
Like rain down a window, or tears down a cheek, or something equally poetical and artsy.
Or how about a modern Jackson Pollack approach, with random splatters and splashes?
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(By I Dream of Cake)
Bonsai!!
Edible paints are sweet, of course, but good ol' buttercream can also give you that soft watercolory look:
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(By Miso Bakes)
It's like springtime on a plate! I love those dreamy pastel roses.
And how's this for a painting come to life?
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(By CakeCentral member Panel7124)
Once again I'm not sure I could bear to let anyone actually CUT this cake. I just want to put it on a shelf and stare at it forever and always.
And finally, check out this frothy, watercolory wonderfulness:
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(By Lucia Simeone Cake Design)
I dub thee... rhapsody in blue!
Curious which bakers in your area we've featured here on Sweets? Then check out our Sunday Sweet Directory!
Reader Comments (35)
*sigh* So preeetttyyyy....
Such works of art, how could you eat them??
Gorgeous! My fave color is blue and while those two are beautiful, the second cake just makes me smile.
Wow. Those are so beautiful. I didn't know they could make cakes look like that. I wish I could paint like that. Thanks for sharing those, they were really lovely.
I love the rhapsody in blue cake, (and not just because "Rhapsody in Blue" is one of my favorite pieces of music).The gorgeous lace-doily look makes this cake seem like it's being sprayed with sea foam, at the ocean's edge. The poppies cake is also simply WOWgeous. I rate this triple-S* !
*StupendousSundaySweets!! =^~.~^=
For John... DAISIES! I couldn't stop thinking that after I saw those awesome poppies. Such beautiful cakework. And thank you for warning the decorators away from the tissue paper.
Absolutely my favorite Sunday Sweets! There have been beautiful cakes here, but I'm such a fool for watercolors- that I was just in love today! Thank-you! (Now back to go look at them one more time!)
Wow! So great to see some beautiful cakes in a totally new style (new to me, anyway).
The blue and gold cake by neli is absolutely stunning! That cake wins! Wins what, you ask? Er, everything! Just beautiful. I like the poppy cake a lot too.
But how . . . How did they make that coral-like froth on the last one?
The fifth one looks like cloisonné with those bits of gold worked through the blue and white. I love it!
I need that poppy cake in my life. Like right now.
I hope nobody uses those as inspiration cakes with their local bakers. That's just asking for wreckery.
Divine.
Wellllll...I like the last few, but the first few in the soft colors remind me of bad couches/wall art of the 80s and 90s.
Did they... actually use salt on that one? I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's a neat visual effect, sure, but once the dozen or so pictures have been taken from different angles and it comes time to eat the thing, well. Extra servings of that fancified punch with seltzer in it for everybody.
Also, the trees one has great lineart, but... I'm no art aficionado, but the green splotches don't work for me. I think they'd actually make me wary if I didn't know they were put there with human intent.
I'd love to see the wreck versions of these cakes :P
Particularly like the poppy cake especially as it's Remembrance day. Very fitting.
Such lovely cakes! Watercolor it amazing!!
It's so flattering to me that you liked my cake, and to be in such amazingly talented company. xxx
EEEEEEEEEE I want the last one for my birthday! Not that I'll get it, but OMGs wantwantwant SO PRETTY!
At some point in my life, I need to have the poppies cake in front of me!
Beautiful! Thanks for finding these!
Someone bring me the one by Nevie-Pie Cakes!! It is amazing!!!!
OMG the Poppies win it hands down. What a cake.
wow! amazing work
Cake 6 -- Name that tune: "Someone left the cake out in the rain! " :-)
Wow. Just wow. Love the impression-y one and the last one. Sooooooooooo pretty.
I'd say that those cakes that in this post ARE really artistic, are that for another reasons than watercolors - the drawn or sculpted details, for example. Those watercolors are mostly just blotched (or sprinkled) on about at the level of a child who just got acquainted with paints. Especially it is obvious with the cake No. 3 (but hey, at least the tiers are more or less straight).
Gorgeous article. The one "unknown artist" one (seigle thurston photography) is from me, my company Hey there, Cupcake! :) thanks so much for including it!
i just wanted to tell you that i totally LOVE your Sunday Sweets column! they are always so amazing!! thank you!
There have been some truly stunning cakes on Cake Wrecks. But these - well, these take the cake as far as I am concerned. The cake from Nevie Pie and the Poppy cake - oh my stars!!!
When I've had a bad day, I always come here to get a smile back, the Sunday sweets never disappoint. Not sure why the Poppy cake brought tears to my eyes, maybe it's due to Remembrance day? Reminds me of my Grandpa.
Rhapsody in Blue. These cakes are all exquisite but did anyone consider wedding photos with blue teeth? I had to make a dark teal with dark Ultramarine Blue ROSES wedding cake once for Pete's sake. Color combo on your wedding outfits fine, cake, not so much. I really would have paid good money for photos after the cake cutting thing. Especially with the industrial food colors and the face smearing part,. ROFL!
I'm working on some watercolour projects right now and, mine are always drippy too!!!