Sunday Sweets: Classic Beauties
November 14, 2010 Today, we're taking a look at some beautiful cakes with a vintage charm.
Starting with a little old-fashioned design:
Submitted by Gen W., made by Lori of Elegant Cake Creations
The detail here is stunning. Look at the intricate piping on that lace! It looks like delicate tablecloths on each tier. (And those colors are magnificent!)
I am in love with the "rusted" look of this cake:
By Nancy's Cakes
It's flawless! Is it metal? Is it wood? NO! It's CAKE! Awesome.
Let's step into what I like to (affectionately) call, "Grandma era" cakes:
Sub'd by Sara B., made by Catherine Joann Cakes
I'm pretty sure my G-ma still has Tupperware exactly like this on top of her fridge. I love it.
And this cake looks a lot like some yarn-art she had hanging on her wall when I was a kid. (Which might actually still be there.)
This one is immaculate:
Let's take a closer look at some of that detail:
Have I said "flawless" yet? Because I'll say it again: FLAWLESS. Wouldn't you think this was the most fragile of porcelain? And look at the gently embossed vines by the flowers. I can't even draw a straight line. Unbelievable.
Next let's visit some art deco divas.
Sub'd by Libby G., made by Rhianydd Easton
Those feathers are actually edible wafer paper!
Can someone give me another word for "breathtakingly gorgeously beautiful... seriously, this is flawless"? (For some reason this reminds me of Miss Piggy's dream sequence in The Great Muppet Caper.)
This architectural look is amazing.
Made by Rylan T. of Art and Appetite
And this might be my favorite cake of the whole post:
By Lulu Cake Boutique
And maybe my most favorite cake ever. I can't get over that fabulous mint green! I want this as a dress, a cake, and a wallpaper. And a hat. Simply... flawless.
*Note from john: Apparently, you guys are convinced it's a pineapple. Or an artichoke. I happen to think it's a daisy but what do I know?
Reader Comments (136)
Beautiful cakes! Now I think I will go make one. =)
I'm in total agreement with the "How could you ever cut into one of these?" statement. Those are way too pretty.
Wow, that is some amazing cake artistry! Thanks for sharing such amazing eye candy =).
Regarding the pine cone cake, apparently when you see decorations like that on London statues, they're supposed to be pineapples. I can't see it myself - I've always thought they looked like artichokes.
Not an egg or a pine cone! That's an architectural feature you sometimes see as a finial or on a newel post. For some reason, they call them pineapples.
awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wd
That topper looks more like an artichoke to me than an egg or a pinecone.
These are awfully pretty though!
Pretty!
I think the pine cone is actually a pineapple, which is meant to be a symbol of welcome and hospitality.
I think that egg-pine is really a pineapple. It was a symbol of hospitality in colonial days. I have a stencil I bought in Massachusetts years ago that looks sort of like it
between the jadeite green cake and the tin cieling panel looking one.... gorgeous! however, i realize (with my own DISNEY wedding closing in), i think CW feeds both my fears and fantasies as to what kind of cake we'll end up with!!!!
i guess our photographers will be able to make the most of it though, right?? :)
Those are CAKE? You know, things made of flour, sugar and eggs? And the decorations are things that can be eaten???? Who would?
The last cake isn't mint-inspired, it's Absinthe inspired. You can tell by the spoon.
Neither an egg nor a pinecone, it's an artichoke!
Lotus blossom?
Whatever it is, it's incredible. As are all the cakes.
Yes, I agree, I want a dress like the pink one.
And I agree with zebe912. I believe that is an artichoke finial. See http://www.thefind.com/garden/info-artichoke-finial
I just wanted to mention I have a Grandma Ruth too.
I think that thing on top looks more like a hop flower
Egg? Pineapple? Don't be silly! It's so obviously Epcot...
Love the cakes! I think given the feathers on the middle layer that the top is actually a feather-covered egg. While I see where folks think it could be a pine cone, a pineapple, or an artichoke, why would it be in the shape of an egg? We should ask the baker!
I've always seen the Mysterious Object as a magnolia cone, probably because I generally only see it used as a motif when in the classier parts of the South.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gq0vRY91-Y0/RspK3YMGUjI/AAAAAAAAA4E/w8-2tXSoYuM/s800/DSC_0981.JPG ?
This post should be waved in the face of all brides and their mothers:
Attention brides and momzillas: More frou-frou and crap does not make your cake any more classy.
Simple and elegant (LIKE THESE) is way better...any day...than all the rainbow-colored waterfalls and goldfish and "individuality" you can dish out.
And brides? That goes for your dress, too.
WV: Palin...oh, there's just too much to choose from to get started on this one.
Yes indeed, I agree with the other posters. It is definitely a pineapple, based on pineapple figurals.
http://www.history.org/visit/christmas//dec_pineapple.cfm
I did all of the flowers for my sister's wedding 12 years ago. When we were shopping for her bouquet, she was having a total bridezilla moment and being really bitchy to my mom and I. I got mad at her and picked up the first vaguely ball-shaped thing I could find, which happened to be a faux artichoke, and pegged her in the shoulder with it. She clutched her shoulder and said, "Why would you throw an artichoke at me?!" My mother answered her, with a shrug "Nothing says 'I love you' like an artichoke." Since then, we've made the artichoke our secret family symbol of love. Obviously, so have the people who had that cake made for their wedding.
Egg or pinecone? It looks like a white artichoke to me.
*love* the architecture cake, and the granny one with the oversized yarn flowers. I don't like the mint green one at all, though.
I noticed that you had a cake from "I Dream of Cake" in San Francisco. When my husband and I were looking at wedding cakes we went there are not only are their cakes absolutely stunning, they taste amazing too. Unfortunately the price was a little too high for our budget.
Kim
I think I'm gonna say lotus blossom, feathered egg, or Epcot...
You know, I've wondered why anybody would pay $1000 or more for a cake.
The first cake here just showed me why. The bakers and decorators here today are true artists. The absinthe (last) one has such spirit and wit, as well as technical skill.
Now, if only I were rich enough to support Cake Art . . .
Beautiful selection today!
My contribution to the Eggcot scandal: my first thought was that it was a protea flower, but I doubt it unless the cake was made in / for South Africa :)
WTHeck is a protea? http://farm1.static.flickr.com/84/211206381_0ba24c4757.jpg
I thought Jen wrote this post until I got to the "Jen & I . . ." part, so now I'm wondering why John wants a pink dress? :)
I think it's neither an egg nor a pineapple but a protea flower.
Emery on Maui
@jkelsofarrell, that's not a spoon, it's a pie (or cake) server.
I love Sundays.
Yes, they are called pineapple finials, mostly because they were designed by people who had never actually seen a real pineapple, and assumed that they must look rather like pinecones. Personally, I always thought that they looked more like a protea.
I think it's an egg. There are feathers on the cake and it's surrounded by nest-like twigs at the bottom.
Beautiful cakes all around! I love Sundays! =D
Angie
Simply stunning cakes. I could look at pictures of cakes like that all day.
I think it is an egg. The nest materials around the base and the feathers on one tier lead me to think, "egg".
But, what do I know? :P
it has to be a pineapple, a traditional symbol of hospitality.
how could you ever cut into one of these? WITH A KNIFE.
obnoxious sarcasm duty discharged for the day. :D
LUV U!
This is my favorite Sunday Sweets yet.
Sarah
i'm with josin on that one: i don't like the mint (or absinthe) green cake either.
while the artist who made it is clearly extraordinarily skilled the cake looks a bit overdone to me.
get rid of all those bows and sugar-ribbons and the cage like structure on top of the cake and it would be classy and beautiful.
Such perfection. Again, your site is a favorite Sunday morning ritual. Vanilla coffee, flavored creamer and these lovely cakes. Ahhhhhhh...nice! Your book is on my holiday wish list. Thanks for displaying such beauty. There aren't many things in life that are perfect, except my handsome son and these cakes! Thank you! Austin, TX
As gorgeous as these cakes are, how wrong of me to try to envision them as true wrecks? My poor family couldn't understand why I was chuckling at these beautiful creations....
*It's a pineapple. Traditional Colonial American symbol of hospitality... And the embellishment on many a newel post.
i am agog, as usual! the two white cakes in the middle of the post (one w/ pink beadwork, the other with black) are amazing, and the blue w/ white totally reminds me of my grandmother wedgewood.
correct me if i'm wrong, it's the "pinecone" on the top of that one actually supposed to be a pineapple, a symbol of hospitality?
Stunning...I love Sunday Sweets!
Surely it's an egg...there is a feather motif on the cake & a nest around the base. Maybe a feathered egg, but an egg nonetheless.
I agree with Meg that that's a cake/pie server pictured in the last photo -- and what a beautiful jadite cake stand!
But @jkelsofarrell, thanks for the comment about absinthe! I looked it up to learn about the spoon and they are similar to cake servers. It's always fascinating to see how precise and extensive the culture is around alcoholic drinks. Suddenly that cake takes on a whole new meaning if it is indeed absinthe-inspired.
Your magical pine cone is actually a white protea blossom - http://arockridgelife.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/white-protea-2.jpg?w=500&h=334
A pineapple is a symbol of friendship and hospitality. The one on the cake is a styalized version of it. They are all over the place here in New England. For some history behind it:
http://www.mindspring.com/~sixcatpack/pineappl.htm
I don't think the last cake is inspired by absinthe. I think it's a riff on vintage. The cake stand is jadeite, which originated in the 1930s/40s. Jadeite pieces were often included in bags of flour or oatmeal. It was known for being pretty sturdy glassware.
The cake itself also seems to come from the 30s/40s. The flower motif on the cake plus the molded sugar (?) pieces that are affixed to it have an art deco feel.
And that's a vintage silver cake server, not an absinthe spoon.
I think the bride is giving a nod to either a particular era. Either that or she really likes mint green. ;)
wv: rined
Oh, she rined that cake with all the geegaws and doodads!
The feathers. I want me a feather cake like that. Wow.
They are all beautiful...I wish I were that good!