Itchin’ to best Betty Crocker by baking up new awareness to the plight of our home planet? Take a page from an Aussie zoologist who’s created an astounding series of planetary cakes with scientific accuracy that goes deeper than sugary frosting.
Self-taught chef and food blogger Rhiannon molded different types of batter into the underlying geologies of Earth and Jupiter, and now she’s posted a tutorial so you can create your own consumable cosmos.
She says on her blog, Cakecrumbs, “I didn’t expect (the Earth cake) to get anywhere near the amount of attention it received…it was kind of surreal.” (The confection was picked up on website I F*cking Love Science, and the Jupiter cake is trending strong on Pinterest.)
“The cake was a total experiment on my part, and not one that went flawlessly. There were many imperfections…and I never share recipes unless I know it’s absolutely tried and true. But I also hate letting people down. So I decided to re-visit the concept so I could make a tutorial,” she blogged.
The rock/ice core of her Jupiter is chocolate mudcake, wrapped by a layer of metallic hydrogen composed of almond butter, and a final coat of colored vanilla forms the liquid molecular hydrogen. Her Earth has a similar construction, finished off with green marshmallow continents adrift in calm fondant seas.
Rhiannon said choosing a favorite planet was tough, “As a kid I was fiercely passionate about two things: animals and the solar system. I ended up following the path of the former and never kept up to date with the latter, but the inner passion for astronomy has never died. Space is just so freaking cool.”
She settled on Jupiter for one reason: its Great Red Spot. The giant anticyclonic storm is one of many raging across its massive surface: Jupiter is thrice the size of Earth making the magnitude of that whirlwind incomprehensible to most cake-loving earthlings.
She covered the baked globe with marshmallow fondant, then dry-brushed layers of edible ink. Once the base colors were down, she removed pigment to create the storms, adding highlights with delicate brushes. The whole process took about 8 hours.
This young cake decorator with a fierce passion for wildlife conservation acknowledges that planetary knowledge is mostly theoretical, and reminds her fans that the cakes are “totally not to scale”.
But they are gorgeous to behold, and – with mudcake surrounded by almond butter, wrapped in vanilla Madeira sponge under a crumb coat of vanilla butter-cream – likely taste otherworldly too.
Got room in your kitchen to take on outer space? Check out her detailed tutorial (with video), below:
All images from Cakecrumbs
