Sunday, October 12, 2008

Sunday Sweets: Leaping Lego Lizards, Batman!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

I've got a Geektastic Sunday Sweet for you this week: the cake made for the Lego Batman video game premier. These photos come from creator Elisa Strauss over at Confetti Cakes, who reports that the cake took her and her team 12 straight days to complete, and weighed in at nearly 300 pounds. Three hundred pounds, people! So, you ready to see it?


Here ya go: get a load of the Gotham goodness:


Yep, it's all cake - vanilla cake, chocolate cake, and red velvet cake, to be precise. Don't you just want to gnaw off that water tower? Or is that just me?



Let's move in for a closer look, shall we?


See, now this is the stuff you never notice from a distance: there's an oil slick puddle on the side, and the trash bags are even shiny!


I'm starting to see why this took 12 days...

The water towers are wood-grained, and the "stone" is even chipped in places. Wowza.

I know you're going to find this hard to believe ('cuz I sure did), but the figures are also completely edible. Honest.

Who wouldn't want the whole set on their desk, though? Kinda makes you wonder if anyone had the heart to eat them...


If you want to see more of Elisa's work, you're in luck: her new book Confetti Cakes for Kids comes out in just a few weeks. Her cover cake is "monstrously" appropriate for this month, too:

Cover photo courtesy of Ben Fink

Elisa, I'm pretty sure I've never wanted to hug a cake before now. Can I have this little guy in plush? Or at least a desktop figurine? Please?

Check out Elisa's book on Amazon here.


UPDATE: Click here to watch the Batman cake being made!
HorribleLicensePlates said...

Wow that cake is amazing. Both of them are amazing! Sometimes I want to hug cakes to.

Beth said...

12 days! Sheesh that cake would be stale by the time its fully decorated... Its also too pretty to eat anyway. I love the monster cake too!

Anonymous said...

My boys LOVE the cake.

Anonymous said...

Wow, the people who worked so diligently on the details should be surgeons! My hand is never steady enough to do such minute and perfect detail! Beautiful! My son will flip when he sees this!

Unknown said...

Sunday posts are my favortie. It's like a little vacation from eveyday life to see these beautiful creations. I don't know if I would have the heart to eat any of them.
I would love to have a set of sugary lego characters hanging around. Thank you for your beautiful Sunday posts!

Kat

Nope. said...

No Alfred, no cake.

Although the little Harley is appreciated...

Anonymous said...

My God. Not since Val Kilmer have I wanted to eat Batman so badly.

Mongoose said...

It's amazing, and at the same time, the critical part of my brain finds it weird that there is a cake representation of a Lego representation of a game representation of a movie representation of a comic book.

Anonymous said...

That book cover is amazing! So cute! Gotham never looked better...I love whne you share the fabulous cakes too! I have an event next week, and I am hoping to have NOTHING to share with your blog afterward.

Anonymous said...

Holy Awesomness, Batman!
Great craftsmanship. But does anyone eat a cake twelve days old?

Laura/Notepad said...

oh wow. my boyfriend and i are huge batman fans and he just beat the game. he'd love this xD

Diana said...

I am emailing this picture to my nephew! He's gonna love it! Great find!

Diana
San Antonio

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Outstanding cake. My children are already crazy for Cake Wrecks, when I show them this Lego inspired creation they are going to be over the moon! Thank you for sharing this Sunday Sweet.

Ladytink_534 said...

How could anyone eat these? How?! I want Harley Quinn!!!!!!

Rima said...

Mmm, twelve-day-old cake. Just what I want to serve my party guests. The art is beautiful, but if it isn't fresh and tasty, it doesn't count as cake, IMO.

Jen said...

Love that Batman cake. I'm actually giving away 5 copies of her new cookbook! Enter here.

Morriskats said...

I love cake. And I love to see these types of cakes that are amazing works of art....but I am with all the other posters who think a 12-day old cake just isn't appetizing at all.

Kitt said...

Golly. I'd hate to be the first person to cut into that.

I wonder if there are photos somewhere of it being demolished and devoured.

Anonymous said...

mongoose you said it!

Liz T. said...

Nothing's saying the cake ia 12 days old. I'm guessing most of the time was spent making all the little fussy bits.

Even so, cake enclosed in fondant has an amazing shelf life. These ain't yo mama's sheetcakes with buttercream.

Anonymous said...

OK, I got to thinking. The 12-day thing includes making the figures. They probably made all the frosting pieces first, made the cake last and assembled it. It's not a 12-day-old cake, it just took 12 days to make all the stuff.

Jennifer said...

holy batman that's amazing! up until now, i've loved duff goldman.. but looks like i may have another new cake maker to love! wow!

Jen said...

Gem's got it right, folks: it's not like they baked the cake first and THEN took 12 days to decorate it. Fondant and sugar details can be made ahead of time.

I have no doubt the cake was as delicious as it is gorgeous.

Angie McCullagh said...

Anything but a wreck, huh?

Angie (from over at www.HalfAssedKitchen.com)

Juliet said...

It's an absolutely stunning cake. Wow wow wow!!!

I have one burning question:

How big is that cake? It's 300 pounds, and cake isn't all that heavy. Is that cake the size of a city block? Is it 1 foot tall or 3 feet tall? I don't get a sense of perspective from the photo.

Anonymous said...

...WOW...

A Paperback Writer said...

Argh! The impermanence of such art makes me feel sad. All this for something that is built to be destroyed!
I feel the same way about beautiful chalk art done on sidewalks. I feel guilty walking near them.
And I could never, never take a bite of this cake and participate in its destruction.

Anonymous said...

I was totally imagining myself biting off the water tower... then I read your marvelous comment about gnawing it off.

Anonymous said...

Right down to the fans on the window air units! Incredible detailing. What a work of art.
~Amy B.

Anonymous said...

Elisa Strauss, was she the one in all the Food Network cake competitions? With the sock monkey cake?

Scraplin said...

The cake looks fabulous, and the details are amazing...but I wouldn't want to eat a cake that is 12 days old!

Jesurgislac said...

Juliet - If you go over to the Confetti website there's a link to their video of the cake being cut, so you can see what it looked like scaled to human size. I think it's about 3 foot tall.

Stephanie said...

Wow...totally amazing. Wonder what that oil slick tastes like?

sues2u2 said...

I saw that a couple of people said the cake would be stale in 12 days. Actually it wouldn't. I don't know the chemistry to it but the fondant "seals" the cake up & makes it moist & delicious! Plus the cake was probably stored in a fridge.

So ToTaLly impressive!

Eric said...

I have never before wanted to gnaw on a building like I do right this very moment! WOW another masterpiece work of art. When cakes like this are done right, they deserve wing at the Met.



goinggreenaccidently.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

I really want to bite the heads off of those little lego characters!

no one said...

Twelve days?

I can see why. The Lego Batman cake is amazing. Amazing.

Cathie said...

I want that cake!

ksaldria said...

Holy crap! That is the most attention to detail I have ever seen o.o

Well, short of the infamous baby cake. But that one was just creepy.

C. Beth said...

That monster on the cover reminds me of these awesome little customized plush monsters at this site: http://www.curlyqcuties.com/. I don't have anything to do with the site; I've just wanted to order them for my kids! I've held off, though, as it already seems our house is overrun by stuffed animals.

Unknown said...

That's an amazing cake but....i kind of don't get the point. They worked on it for twelve days? It'll basically taste like sawdust and glue when it's finally 'served'. Blech.

I'll take a made-from-box and home-made-cream-cheese-icing cake *any* day over one that someone poked and prodded and touched for *twelve days*.

Ziggyeor said...

wow! That is an awesome cake! And I love the monster too!

Ziggy

Unknown said...

There's one thing seriously wrong with this cake.

It's not in front of me so I can eat it.

Anonymous said...

Well...it's not a bad effort, I suppose.

CrazyMom said...

Wow! Amazing...

Jenna said...

it might have started out as edible, but after 12 days i'm not sure anybody would want a piece (that and it's too cool to cut into...)

Meg said...

Edible doesn't necessarily mean tasty though... my amateur opinion is that the figurines are made out of gum paste (a sugar paste that hardens when it dries), which I've eaten once and it was not tasty, didn't taste sugary just crunchy and kind of yucky. But it's awesome that they COULD be eaten if you wanted!

Anonymous said...

http://www.eatdrinkordie.com/blog/posts/3592 have you seen this about divorce cakes? I'd think a post on these would be right up your alley!

Robin said...

My boys and I are loving your Sunday posts. Last week, Mario. Today, Lego Batman. Fun, fun, fun!!!

~Amy said...

Holy Cake, Batman!! That's the most awesome cake EVER!!!

Anonymous said...

Hard to think of this as actual cake, more like sculpture using edible sweet materials, in all their 12-day-old tooth-chipping glory. Still, it's amazing!

MyCatsRule said...

Holy awesome cake, Batman. And, all my favorite cake flavors got representation. Dang, that's some talent!

Angie said...

This is simply beautiful. I don't know how I would feel about consuming an edible garbage bag, though.

FreedomFirst said...

Just one question:

How did the cake manage to stay edible for 12 days?!

E.A.D. said...

Wow. Do I eat a piece of the building or one of the characters first? I almost don't want to, but cake is meant to eaten!

jeri said...

I love that little guy on the cover. So cute!

R J Keefe said...

Model Railroader finally goes to the kitchen!

~Jenn ODonnell Danza~ said...

Im not even gonna show my son OR husband! They will both want that cake!!! That is amazing!!!
I'd dive right into the oil slick first....bet its really yummy.

k said...

goodness! that cake is beyond rad.

jevmaster5 said...

im sorry, but it would be SO hard to convince me to eat that. know why? it is, hands down the BEST cake ive ever seen. i think that just might be on a level above that wall-e cake, but thats just me...

Anonymous said...

I suppose it's too late to mention that "the cake took 12 days" really means that all the figurines and other details were started on T-12, and the cake itself was done later just a bit before final assembly?

glam R baby said...

That is an amazing cake!! WOW...I can see why is took 12 days...HECK...it would take me about 2 years! LOL Thanks for posting!! XOXO

Holly Tried It said...

My two year old daughter saw the Confetti Cake and said, "Eat it all up!"

Mad Izatie said...

It looks too pretty to be eaten.

Anonymous said...

People, people!!! You wouldn't want to eat that cake anyway, even fresh. It's probably only about 25% actual cake inside that thing. It's dowels and cardboard, pieces of metal and probably hot glue. Cakes like that require a tremendous amount of support inside.

It doesn't matter how old the cake inside it, cakes like this aren't made for eating and aren't judged on the quality of actual cake. It's strictly for the construction and decorating results.

mechelle said...

really really cute.. i like it
http://ereus.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Amazing!!

Anonymous said...

Did anyone actually eat this cake? And at what point of the 12 days of making did the edible part come into it? I'm just thinking that 12 day old cake is pretty gross... I can appreciate the work that went into it and all, but I guess I just don't quite see the point if no one is going to eat and enjoy.

Anonymous said...

http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2008/10/13/meta-meta-meta/

Stuff like this never fails to delight. It shows just how niche human interests can be, and just how skillful people can become at those niche interests.

Anonymous said...

This woman is awesome! She came to our pastry class to teach us some cake decorating techniques. She's really friendly and loves to say "Did I do that in the demo? No I didn't!" I just wish I can do something half as good as that.

And we do some major showpieces in class just to show that we can do it. I made the David Bowie "Aladdin Sane" CD cover out of chocolate for a project. No one ate it afterwards, it was just for show.

Aaron of Minneapolis said...

"Sweet" is right -- they did a tremendous job on this cake! I hope they kept it refrigerated during those 12 days, though.

Unknown said...

Yep, I'm sure the cake part, under all that fondant, wasn't 12 days old but rather the sculpted bit - what wasn't really meant to be eaten but made of edible materials - was what took so long.

It's...holy crap, Batman. Amazing, amazing.

Glory von Hathor said...

That cake making lady is very talented, but I've looked at her site and the 'Philly cheese steak cake' is several different kinds of wrong.

I am however going to buy her book if I can learn how to make the cupcakes with the rubber ducks on top.

Anonymous said...

As Jess said, No Alfred, no cake...after all that I can't believe there is NO Alfred.
Absolutely Fantastic Cake tho!!!! I am truly amazed and impressed!

Unknown said...

we are playing this game right now on Wii! That cake is unreal! I love it and wish we could have some LOL.

Lisa said...

Holy kraut! That is one sweet looking cake!!

Anonymous said...

i love batman :]

ChibyMethos said...

That has to be the most awesome of the Sunday cakes so far! What a talent!

Poetry Sue said...

This cake is AWESOME!!!! My son would have fits if he saw this cake! Heck I'm even geeking out about it!

clueuin said...

To Jesurgislac: O.k hon, it looks as if someone has to say it just one more time. It was cut into and eaten and from the looks of the video it looked like it was doing a fine job standing up without wire or hot glue.......
Holly!
O.k!
(Mumbles: I'm just glad no one mentioned the O word today!)
O.k
Peace,
Clueuin

C. said...

I couldn't ever eat a cake that looks like that; it's too perfect to ruin!

Anonymous said...

The Batman cake is truly amazing. If I saw that picture on another site, I never would have guessed it was a cake. Wow!

Kateryna of the Cenotaph said...

Just a clue, being a batman superfan, the little Lego figures were happy meal toys, availible for Two Dollars each until the last week in October. The only way I would've known, with the quality of that cake, is if I didn't have them already!

Just That Girl said...

That is outstanding! Must show my 8 yr old when he gets home from school.

~ Carrie

Lizzy Leigh said...

That was one of the coolest things ever! It looks just like the video game.

Anonymous said...

My husband is an uber-geek and still wants to be Batman when he grows up. Christmas gifts to him for the past 2 years have been the Lego Batmobile kit and all 8 Happy Meal characters from the Batman Lego video game. ;)

This is one of the most amazing cakes I have ever seen. We play the video game (of course!) and it looks exactly like it!! The video is fascinating, thank you for the link! I can't believe how spot on the characters are and the attention to detail, wow! Amazing...

InvisibleJester said...

*Jaw drops*

I want that cake. I want it now.

Alternatively, I'll take the Joker and Harley Quinn figures, preserved so I can have them on a shelf somewhere...