10 Enchanted Garden Cakes That Are Pure Magic

It's National Gardening Day, my friends, and rather than dwell on how TERRIBLE I am at keeping plants alive, I've decided to look at this in a positive light: I'm really good at killing plants.

Another positive?

I can't kill these!

(Mina Bakalova, Bulgaria)

AND LOOK HOW PRETTY. These colors make me so happy. Ahhh.

Today I decided to branch out (heh) from typical gardening cakes, so I started searching for "Secret Garden" cakes... and wow did that pay off:

(Sihirli Pastane, Turkey)

EEEEE! I actually gasped, it's so magical. And I must - MUST! - know what the soft grass is made of. Because I want to pet it. :)

This one is more like a surprise garden:

(Julia Kedyarova, Moscow)

One of the best flower slice cakes I've seen. I especially love the butterflies!

More secret garden vibes:

(By Freehill, Original Design by Karen Portoleo)

That trompe l'oeil painting is so convincing; I though the cake was actually carved out behind her!

Are enchanted gardens a thing? Because I think this qualifies:

(Sweet Symphony, India)

The floating hummingbird! SWOON. Plus I've been staring for a while now, and I *still* can't quite tell which of the top tier flowers are painted and which are 3D.

You know what else is incredible? A wearable enchanted garden, which should totally be a thing;

(Cake Buro, Russia)

Look at the detail in her hair wisps(!!), and the teeny tiny butterflies at the bottom. So much to love here.

Of course I have to include a little Wonderland mushroom garden, right?

(Elena Gnut Cakes, Russia)

RIGHT.

Elena's painting always blows me away! I love that it's the classic Disney Alice with a Tim Burton feel.

This one reminds me of some sun catchers I had as a kid:

(Vinism Sugar Art, world-traveling teacher)

Anyone remember the sun catchers where you melted plastic beads into a frame? (Do they still make those?) These colors are so bright, it's like those: like there's bright sunlight streaming through.

It took me a second to spot the couple in this romantic renaissance number:

(Baker Unknown, help?)

I like the unexpected pops of orange in all those pastels, so pretty!

And finally, my friends, here's an enchanted garden Sweet guaranteed to leave you hanging:

(La Linia Artful Desserts, Pennsylvania, as featured here)

No words! Just a dropped jaw, BIG EYES, and two grabby hands, ha.

Happy Sunday, my friends! May you find many more Sweet things.

*****

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And from my other blog, Epbot:

10 Crafter's Cakes That Will Totally Fool You

You ever stop to think about how far cake art has come in the last 10 years?

No?

Well, you're about to:

(Bakingist, California)

That's not embroidery thread, it's ICING. All of it!

WHAAAAAT.

When I first set out to find crafty cakes for this week I expected the usual sewing baskets and yarn balls, but let me tell you, Sweet friends: Craft cakes have come a loooooong way.

(Lindy's Cakes, UK)

This mosaic tile design looks like actual ceramic! So pretty!

And tell me this doesn't look like a modern stained-glass lamp:

(Maggie Austin Cake, Washington, D.C.)

**drool**

This cross-stitch cake juuust about broke my brain:

(Ana Salinas, Brazil)

Again, yes, really cake, with icing "thread"!

THIS IS AMAZING.

Would you believe I even found a cake for mixed-media scrapbookers?

(Larissa Ubartas, Germany)

Tell me this doesn't scream Tim Holtz to you. Look at that verdigris!

I always love it when bakers use icing "paint":

(Katarzynka Sztuka Cukrowa, Poland)

And I want to see more fondant quilling, bakers! Like this!

(Cecilia Campana Cake Art, Italy)

CHOP CHOP.

Here comes another tile cake, this time with a gorgeous hand-painted design:

(Antonio Ventieri, Italy)

I know we're supposed to be focusing on the tile, but I love all the cheery lemons with it! So sweet with that blue.

And finally, my friends, I found not one, but TWO cakes this week that completely fooled me. I don't say that lightly, either; I consider myself an expert at sussing out what's cake and what's not.

AND YET:

(Magical Edible Art, Canada)

This one totally got me. It it wasn't on a cake board I would have scrolled right on past. As it was, I though someone crocheted a cake & stuck it on a board to be cute.

NOPE IT'S REALLY CAKE.

And while we're all reeling over that, here's an even bigger one that I 100% *refused* to believe was cake until I visited the baker's site:

(American Cake Decorating Magazine, tutorial here)

Frankly, I'm still suspicious, lol. Look at this close-up and tell me you'd ever in a million years think it was made of sugar:

Mind: BLOWN.

Happy Sunday, everyone! Here's hoping it's crafty and happy and Sweet.

*****

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