Wednesday 16 February 2011

Cake Works of Art - Miniature to Grand Designs

Midweek distraction No. 14 - Miniature and Grand Designs in Cake Art.  The two artists I have featured this week have produced works of art, in cake form, where the attention to detail grabs the eye.

Attention to Detail ?
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The first artist from the UK, produces tiny, tiny cakes and other delicacies which although they are not edible, produce a longing in me that they should be so.
I have enlarged the picture so you can see the detail on this Kiwi Gateau. (NB The gateau is filled with 'kiwi buttercream, smothered in coconut dusted kiwi icing & decorated with kiwi slices & fresh cherries'.) I love the detail of the icing on the knife. Catalogue @ Linsminis

Linda Cumming's work first attracted my attention while I was searching cake images and, I was amazed to find that they were not real but clay miniatures. In fact, Linda produces a whole cornucopia of delights on her web site; from game birds, to fruit, to your commissions. Based in Durham in the North East of England, Linda is a fellow member of IGMA (International Guild Of Miniature Artisans), the highest honour that can be achieved in the field of handmade miniatures.

Cake baking on a tiny table. Lots of different products available on Ebay and Etsy too.

Linda aims to supply the discerning collector with highly detailed, unique, handmade 12th scale miniature foods all individually handcrafted to the highest standard. I thought of one of my fellow bloggers and casually asked Linda about macaroons. Well, here they are for you Jill aka Mad About Macaroons;

You can also follow Linda on her blog: http://linsminis.blogspot.com/
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The second artist is from the USA; Margaret Braun produces elegant tiers of celebration cakes adorned with icing sculpture and painted artwork. In contrast, I have the desire to see the cake uncut so I could enjoy gazing at the outside for longer. Of course, there would be a strong possibility that it would only be a passing whim, so get out the camera and pass the knife!

Detail of Cakewalk Through Barcelona - picture courtesy of Margaret Braun

Picture courtesy
of Margaret Braun
From the title of the photograph, you may guess correctly that I found Margaret via research on the Cakewalk, for an earlier blog. Margaret's book is called Cakewalk:  Adventures In Sugar With Margaret Braun which gives lots of detail into her creations and the inspiration behind them.

Large tiered cakes are not new but I still love the 'Wow Factor' that sugarcraft can provide. Icings become more like sugar sculpture and with paint effects, take on new dimensions. I love the detail on Akbar's Cake; the colour and the pearls make for an exotic fabric of icing. 


 
Elaborate detail on Akbar Cake - Picture courtesy of Margaret Braun

The other reassuring thing I noted about Margaret's cakes was the fact that the inside sounded just as good;  this article for an autumn wedding cake called 'Whimsical Art by Margaret Braun': 'This cake is a chocolate buttermilk blackout cake filled with vanilla/toffee crunch buttercream and an October velvet (cinnamon cake) layered with vanilla butter creamcheese icing and preserved cherry.' I could definitely go there, sounds wonderful. For more inspiration I found this YouTube clip from PlumTV, titled a Master Class ; Art and the Cake with Margaret Braun. Lots of tantalising shots of her cakes and some ideas on her techniques make this interesting viewing;




PS. I once titled one of my cakes 'elaborate' but after viewing Margaret's masterpieces decided that 'fairly standard' would be nearer the mark... Lots of enjoyable inspiration here again from both artists , thank you to Linda and Margaret for allowing me to publish your material here too and showcasing what you love to do. Please click on the links for their details or for further information.


19 comments:

  1. These are all so pretty and inspiring! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Wow these cakes are amazing!!!!

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  3. OMG what a gorgeous collection of cakes! I'm pretty sure I would get one side of that detail work done and be too tired to finish! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Beautiful works of art!

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  5. OMG. These are just fantastic!!! Totally breath-taking works of art....I love the miniature and the kiwi ones....

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  6. Thx for sharing... it's always be my obsession that I'll be able to decorate such an artistic piece like those...

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  7. What absolutely stunning cakes. Gosh, Pauline, thank you for the mention on the macaroons! Some of these cakes are difficult to imagine they're edible! Incredible.

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  8. Very pretty, much better than I could ever hope to do. Something about my hands and my temper makes cake decorating exceedingly difficult for me. But I can appreciate others' beautiful work.

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  9. Absolutely stunning! They really are works of art. The attention to detail is truly amazing. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Wow.....those are amazing works of art. Beautiful display of talent.

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  11. Oh my!!! So pretty and so jealous that you have this talent. I am just a mess when it comes to being pretty in the kitchen. You rock!!! Thanks for your post and looking forward to reading and seeing more of your work!

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  12. How beautiful. An affordable alternative to the Fabergé egg!

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  13. Not mine this time, sigh but Linda and Margaret - However, I do have a talent for finding nice things, usually expensive :-)

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  14. That table with all the cakes on should win the Turner Prize!

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  15. Thank you Pauline for featuring my "little" creations! I am totally in awe of Margaret's stunning work...imagine doing that in miniature!

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  16. Wow...gorgeous! I wish I had the ability to do that... it looks incredible.

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  17. Considering that I'm still trying to get my two layer cakes to come out flat instead of obviously lopsided, I think I'll pass on the intricate/detail decorating. Not that I'm sitting here absolutely green with envy and the amazing talent and gifts that these people have. Wow.

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