Sunday Sweets: Gothic Elegance
October 19, 2014 Who says dark has to be dreary? These gorgeous Gothic cakes will have you cheering:
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(By Sweet Lake Cakes)
Sweet Lake seems to specialize in Gothic designs, and I couldn't pick just one favorite!
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(By Sweet Lake Cakes)
Look at that lace and "fabric" draping. INCREDIBLE.
One more:
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(By Sweet Lake Cakes)
The bird skull cameo is the perfect touch.
And speaking of cameos, check out the raven head design on this little top hat:
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(By Cake Central member ChrisJack1)
The feather, the hand painted skulls and swirls, the roses - just beautiful.
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(By Candytuft Cakes)
It doesn't get much more classic than rich black and blood-red roses!
I really love the contrast of the white tiers under all this heavy scrollwork:
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(Baker unknown. Anyone recognize it?)
WOW. The bottom tier looks like a wrought iron gate, and the second has architectural arch ways. The longer you look, the more detail you see!
On the other hand, sometimes simple can be just as dramatic:
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(By Connie Cupcake)
Love.
Now welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion cake:
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(By WDW's Contemporary Resort bakery, found here)
That wallpaper and perfect draping has this Dizgeek all atwitter, you guys. Great color on the roses, too!
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(By Antonelli di Maria Torte & Design)
One of my personal favorites today; I can't believe that fabric draping, and the perfect color fade on the spider web!
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(Baker unknown)
This purple practically glows, it's so vivid. If you look closely, you can see the layered acanthus leaves making up the second tier. Beautiful.
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(By Cake Opera Company, featured here)
Another astounding, can't-believe-it's-cake design. That heavy embroidery is insanely intricate, and I've been so busy staring at the cake itself that I just now noticed the cake stand is wrapped in fur!
Ha!
And finally, arguably the simplest design of them all today, but I'm just so smitten with the unusual floral swag:
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(By Artistic Bites, featured here)
This wedding cake was made for a "Red Riding Hood marries the Wolf" themed photo shoot, and I highly recommend hitting that link up there to see the rest. It's the perfect blend of dark elegance and fairy-tale whimsy, and I LOVE the succulents and fuzzy mosses they used on the cake.
Hope you enjoyed the Gothic Sweets, everyone! Happy Sunday!
Be sure to check out our Sunday Sweets Directory to see which bakers in your area have been featured here on Sweets!
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Reader Comments (44)
These dark cakes aren't my cup of tea, but I still appreciate the artistry. Mostly what I think when I look at them, though, is how colorful the poop of the people who eat these cakes is going to be. :)
Awesome skills displayed in these cakes. Amazeballs.
I don't know - as objects d'art, these cakes are simply gorgeous - but would I order, pay for, or eat one? Probably not.... Just not to my taste, literally. But I'd sure love to be graced with the skill and talent to make them!
But thanks for showing them to us - I never would have thought black was a wise choice for icing color, except at Halloween...
These are beautiful! But I'm wondering what the guests' mouths and teeth look like after everyone has eaten this cake. Could make a reception VERY interesting!
They're ALL over-the top/over the moon/insane. Some even look as much like architecture as they do "dessert".
(Scene from the 8th cake down: "Oh, Jeeves~we'll take our sherry up on the topper...it's a lovely evening, and one can see the gallows from here...") The one right below that one (9th down)...(scroll, scroll)...Now, that one looks like something I might have seen down at the Long Branch Saloon, on one of Miss Kitty's girls. Either there, or at the "Follies".
Lovely choices for this chilly, darkening time of year (where I am, anyway). Oh! A Mr. Poe called. He wants his top hat back. Just send it by carrier raven. =^0.0^=
Wowsers! Some of those cakes would be perfect for the upcoming Halloween holiday!
Everything about that 2nd cake is marvelous, down to the cake stand. I'd order that one, black teeth be hanged.
These are just GORGEOUS!
These cakes show artistry and skill but they are not appealing as food items!
@kerrokoala, I was going to express the same sentiments you did! My thoughts exactly, in that order.
I think these are beautiful and the artistry and detail are astounding. But I, too, can't stop thinking about how that black icing would probably stain your teeth and tongue. Not sure they would be as tasty as they are beautiful.
I looked up the "Red Riding Hood marries the Wolf" photo shoot and the photos are just gorgeous, though I would have liked to have seen the groom! Anyway, thanks for sharing that one. I think that was my favorite cake.
I saw that there were just four comments postet and came to say that, while those cakes really do look dark and broody and elegant at the same time, the guests teeth sure did not, after consuming those confections. Only to realize that at least two people before me had the same thought.
My experience with black and red icing......they TASTE TERRIBLE!!
Extremely talented decorators. Just wish they had not used black. If you want to stain your guests' lips, gums, teeth, hands, and clothes, it is a great choice. However, we decided the black is from squid ink when we had to get it out of fabric chair seats.
I love them all but the embroidered one makes me think of Jaba the hut from Star Wars for some reason.
Beautiful, but that dark frosting will stain your teeth something fierce! My husband's groom cake at our wedding had dark blue icing and my FIL is on our wedding video smiling away with his blue-stained mouth :/
Yay! A non-fondant one! More of those, please.
They all are beautiful; great craftsmanship and detail. But I keep thinking about how much coloring had to be used to get the icing black...geeesh.
Clicked the link, no wolf darn it. Would he be like the wolf from Fables or from the 10th Kingdom or Into the Woods? Or maybe more like the one from Once Upon a Time which might explain why you only see Red. Anyway nice concept but if they included a wolf groom or bride it would have been better. At least Grandma wasn't served up as the main course.
Adore them all except the skulls! Even the skulls is BEAUTIFUL artistry, only I'm not into skulls... 'specially for a wedding cake. I think my favorite is the black one with the red roses and subtle white lace... soooo pretty, dark but not over-the-top.
as soon as I saw these beautiful cakes, my thought was they will taste terrible. Not a great idea for a wedding, in my opinion anyway.
beautiful.....more pics of cakes like this please!!!
The one with the bird skull reminds me of Bellatrix Lestrange's necklace in Harry Potter. ( I really, really love Harry Potter.). My favorite one is the first one. Just beautiful.
Those worried about black teeth and lips... Most of these are fondant. I'd bet with non black icing under them. So no staining. :) beautiful cakes!
All I could think of was how all that black fondant would stain your mouth when you ate it!
The Red and Wolf cake would have been better than perfect if the cake inside were Red Velvet
Perfect post for this time of year!
And thanks for sharing the Red Riding Hood / Wolf wedding photo link - that has some beautiful images.
Dying to see the full photo shoot that went with the Red Riding Hood cake. Post a link, pleeeeeeease!!
Roses are red, you say, you say...
Not all the roses here today.
A purple shine, a dusky grey -
All the shades have come to play.
Blue-grey blossoms set with white,
A lilac pale, a crimson bright,
Soft petals dripping black as night -
All the shades have caught the light.
Burgundy blooms, lavender ruffs,
Sharp violet sparkles, clear gold puffs,
Pink and green with mossy tufts,
All the shades have come to us.
I love the Red and Wolf photo shoot. That team put together an amazing work of art. That moss covered table! To die for!
.....But surely those flowers and greenery on the cake must be real! They echo the greenery in the table centrepiece too perfectly...
These are all so beautifully done. The colors wouldn't be my choice, but I would absolutely LOVE to see the brides' and bridesmaids' dresses for the weddings!
I went to see the big bad wolf... alas he did not make an appearance in that photo shoot. However, that was a magical setting and a very beautiful bride.
The cakes are beautiful, but I'm particularly concerned about the last one. If you eat a cake covered in black icing, you'll think you're dying when it comes out! At least when it's fondant you can pick it off, but I pity the guests who ate the last cake!
Lovely to look at, and the cake stands from Sweet Lake Cakes are perfect!
@Seabird:
That was lovely!!
=^~.~^=
Hey! Loving these cake, but I just wanted to say as a former floral designer, the "mossy" flowers on the last, gorgeous cake are green trick carnations. I love love love them. https://www.google.com/search?q=green+trick+carnations&rlz=1C1CHWA_enUS550US550&espv=2&biw=1821&bih=800&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=wf5EVOi3M4S5yQTQlYKoCg&ved=0CB0QsAQ&dpr=0.75
Well done all of them, too pretty to eat
Not sure if this will help for you, but this link is to the site of the photographer for the unknown cake with wrought iron
http://www.ronmphoto.com/category/cake/
Ok... all of these cakes are amazing. But the photograph on the last one... it looks 3D!
My inner child is squealing with delight (she's a Goth. :-) ) I especially love the wrought-iron on white cake and the next one with the black rose melting down the side. The detail on the former is exquisite; the contrast of black/white and freeform curves/straight geomentric on the latter is striking.
One sad thought though. Can you imagine what these cakes would look like in the hands of a less-talented decorator?
These cakes will make you poop funny colors for at least a couple days.
SO. PRETTY.
I would GLADLY run around the rest of the day with a black mouth if it meant enjoying one of these maaavelous cakes.
After I saw these cool looking Goth cakes, Abby from NCIS immediately came to mind. The cakes seem to remind me of her.
Just a thought.
Okay, someone has to point this out: all that dark food colouring is going to lead to some very disturbing "movements" in the oncoming days...
It's hard to leave the page!!!!!!!!