Sunday, March 29, 2009

Sunday Sweets: The Undead Wed

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Alright, folks, here 'tis: the moment you've all been waiting for. I give you...

UNDEAD WEDDING CAKES
The right way.

Here's the only Tim Burton example I'm going to post, since I'm not sure Burton is "undead" enough for y'all.

James F. was the first to submit this loveliness, and as you can see it's from the one and only Pink Cake Box.

This next one may be more "bare bones", but I think it's rather classic:

Lynn H. actually sent this to me a looong time ago as a Wreck, but I liked it well enough to keep it stashed in the "Sweets" file ever since. It's from Craig's Cake Shop in Wisconsin.

I hear this next one was recently featured on the WE channel's Amazing Wedding Cakes:

It was made by Lauri Ditunno of Cake Alchemy, and Julie T. was the first of many to send it in.

I find this one particularly cool because I think that web was made using a new flexible icing product I saw at last year's ICES convention. You pipe it out as a runny icing, but once it dries it's like an edible rubber - you can pick it up, stretch it, etc. John and I had some fun at the product table playing with the stuff, but this is the first professional cake I've seen using it - assuming that's what it is, of course.

Sorry, sorry - geek out time over. Next!

I'm an art lover, so you know I have to feature at least one Day of the Dead cake:

Looove the colors! This was Janet S.'s wedding cake, and it was made by Kathy of Calamity Cakes.

Check out this dark beauty:

It took me a second to realize, but those tiers are actually coffin-shaped! See, I love that this is such a unique, gothically-inspired cake without being in-your-face. Also, this just might be my favorite Day of the Dead inspired topper ever:

And yes, it was custom-made: Carrie, the bride, wore a red gown and has purple and red hair. [sing-song voice] Gor-geous!!

This was submitted anonymously, but Mistress Carrie (she's a DJ for WAAF in Boston) was kind enough to e-mail me recently with more details. The cake was made by Something Sweet by Michelle, and the custom topper by Skellramics.

Here's another red, black & white gem:

Sabrina found it here, and it's made by Rosebud Bakery. Thanks to all of you in the comments who helped track it down!


And you know I always save my favorite for last, right? Here ya go:

Honestly, I think I'm in love with this cake. Who knew a skull topper with a spider on it could be that adorable? And I love the soft colors, the airbrushing, the purplish black roses - it's really all quite exquisite. What's even better is that this was made by the author of the blog Pumpkin And Spice for her advanced cakes class - she's still in culinary school! Many thanks to Meghan L. for finding it.
Anonymous said...

For the Amazing Wedding Cakes cake - you are correct that is the icing that she used to make the web. I emailed her and asked and she was so kind to email me back! how cool is that!! We had a debate about it over at Cake Central when the show first aired.

- Janel

SchrodingersDuck said...

The site's actually in Portuguese, not Spanish. My Portuguese is very basic, but it certainly doesn't look like it mentions the bakery.

Malibu Niki said...

I LOVE the second cake, the simple "bare bones" one. Even though there are little skulls, it looks so elegant.

Anonymous said...

I can speak Spanish, but cannot help you however because the blog is in Portuguese !

jenn said...

Hey Jen - it's actually in Portugese, not Spanish. Unfortunately, I am terrible with Portugese.

Laura said...

I checked out the Spanish site, but I am pretty sure it is actually Portuguese. While I don't speak Portuguese, it is very similar to Spanish, so from what I could tell, the bakery is not listed.

jenn said...

...Actually, a really bad translation doesn't help.

It's just a post about what makes a gothic wedding -- it's not just a black dress, you need trick or treak flower girls and a skull cake, too! There's no link or credit for the cake, though.

Boozy Tooth said...

Honestly? I'd spend a thou on a cake like one of those. How fun. But then I'm weird that way. I almost got married on Halloween until my better sense made me wait a day. Better to be with the Saints than the Satans.

Anonymous said...

That website for the 2nd to last cake is in Portuguese! I couldn't find anything on it that resembled a bakery name. Way cool, though. :)

Bethanie said...

Tried to help you with the cake site in Spanish--but it's in Portuguese. From what I can understand, though, there isn't a mention of the source of the cake. I think they were submitted photos from someone who was responding to an earlier post on that site.

But I could be wrong... because I speak Spanish, and used it to make educated guesses on the Portuguese.

LOVE the Day of the Dead cakes!

A Slice of Concentrated Love said...

Well, I found my brother's wedding cake if he ever gets married.

Wild Cakes said...

Jen... that one with the 2 skulls on top is without a doubt a product of Rosebud Bakery... they always use that backdrop and I know I've seen that photo in their Flickr stream!

Melinda said...

Wow! Who ever did think that a skull with a spider on its head could be an adorable cake topper? Someone with much more imagination than I have.

Very fun Sunday Sweets!

NYCGirl said...

They are well-done...I have to admit, though, that I don't quite get why someone would want skulls on their wedding cake. But, hey, to each their own. :)

http://leastlikelytoblog.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

the Calamity Cake one is GORGEOUS! I love the dia de los muertos style. those colors are bomb.

john(the hubby of Jen) said...

Yo,

It has now been changed to read "Portuguese."

I shall now wow you all with my phonetically spelled favorite Portuguese statement.

"Oom pato peezu noo meeo pay."

The duck is standing on my foot.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

john

MC said...

Wild Cakes is right, I found the flickr photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14559934@N04/2988534008/in/set-72157602782542810/

Molly said...

Ew. They're all beautifully done, but I will never, ever understand some people's obsession with desiccated human remains.

Of course, many people will never understand my obsession with knitting, but I doubt a cabled sweater ever made someone want to throw up.

Madeline said...

The blog in Portuguese basically says that they posted a previous post about a gothic wedding (of Billy Martin and Linzi Williamson) but someone else posted a comment that that wedding wasn't nearly as gothic as hers. So the bloggers put together a post full of pictures of various different weddings, but they fail to cite where they got any of the pictures from, nor do they reference where the cake was from. You can find their previous post about Gothic weddings if you look on the right sidebar for November 2008 and scroll down to the 16th of November. They do include a cake, though not nearly as "undead" as any you featured here!

Anonymous said...

I'm portuguese and there's absolutely no reference to the bakery, cake shop or whatsoever.
cheers, david.

Wild Cakes said...

yep... Roesbud it is! Here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14559934@N04/2988534008/in/set-72157602326080870/

About the author said...

I am in love with every single one of these cakes! I'm a bit partial to the Corpse Bride cake though. :) Great post!

Dorci said...

Wow, amazing! Is that last cake supposed to be draped in fabric, or what is that?

And I don't care of those are coffin-shaped, they're chocolate and that's all that matters!

Kashmir said...

Beautiful, one and all! Should I ever get married again, I think I would cough up the bucks for a flawless cake such as those.

My name is Michelle. said...

On the coffin shaped cake... So sweet how they gaze into each others eye sockets.

Half Assed Kitchen said...

Yes, I guess that is what can happen after a few decades of living with the same person.

Angie (from over at www.HalfAssedKitchen.com)

Anonymous said...

i translated the portuguese, and it does not mention the "cakey-cake bakery"


-NetFreak
(my account isn't working :( )

Kara said...

The Day of the Dead cake is amazing! You're right, the colors are fantastic.

Unknown said...

Hey, can you...post your wedding cake? Just for kicks. I'd love to see it! (...even if it was a wreck)

Erin said...

I remember seeing that episode of Amazing cakes! It was a gel thing they piped out, then let it set, then oh so gently draped it on the cake.

HorribleLicensePlates said...

Slightly creepy, but I they are done so well that I might say that I even like these too. Neat!!

Anonymous said...

Sorry folks.. I just don't get it. The first time I saw a Tim Burton wedding cake here some time ago just weirded me out, and people saying that they like these cakes is.. well.. just too weird.

I think that if I was at a wedding that had a cake like this, I'd have to run screaming from the reception hall.

Rachel said...

Did I miss the lesson about why skeletons and wedding cakes go together? I guess I'm just a traditionalist. I love cake though, and would eat any of these.

Persnickety Ticker said...

I ADORE all of these cakes!! Almost makes me want to get married again.

Almost.

Samantha Suzuki Photography said...

Now THAT is how you do undead. I wouldn't ever choose one for myself, but wouldn't be grossed out eating them! (unlike last week's wrecks!)

caninecologne said...

those are so awesome! I love the coffin shaped tiers! the day of the dead cakes were also quite amazing.

very cool!

Doktor Calamari said...

Soo... not "Wrecks," then.

Josh said...

That "bare bones" cake seems to be using Day of the Dead skull molds you can get online - I've used them before and they look exactly the same as those.

D.B. Echo said...

I LOVE the Day of the Dead cake. That would be a great cake to have anytime, not just for a wedding! But I am especially fond of the next one down. 'cause it looks like that icing is CHOCOLATE!

I assumed the second cake down was a Day of the Dead cake, too. I woonder if those skulls were purchased ready-made, or if they were cast by the baker?

Pumpkin said...

I'm so flattered that my cake's included in Sweet Sundays! (Better than the other days of the week!)

For our cakes class, we were allowed to choose our own theme. Since I love Halloween, I decided to do a Goth wedding cake. I figured once I was out in the industry, I'd be making a lot of traditional cakes, so I wanted to do something more unusual for class.

Unknown said...

Thw Amazing Wedding Cakes cake isn't the cake they made on the show. It was the inspiration cake for the cake they made. The cake on the show was made by the Cake Atelier you can see the cake made on the show at this site:

http://www.wetv.com/amazing-wedding-cakes/cake-designer-bios/the-cake-atelier
and then click on the link for slideshow. It's the 12th cake.

Thanks for such a great site! I look forward to reading the new post every day!!!

Anonymous said...

I'm so CONFUSED! Beautiful cakes, yes... but that? At your wedding? How does someone come up with that idea, anyways?

Dorci said...

I think the lesson is that even if a cake or a piece of art or an interior isn't quite our own taste, we can still appreciate the giftedness of the artist and their own special brand of beauty.

Yep. We can.

Aja Killian said...

Of course Tim Burton's undead enough...=D I love the Corpse Bride one!!

Unknown said...

The asymmetry and the colors of that fourth cake are driving me crazy. Does anybody else agree, or am I missing something here? (I'm just curious; I definitely respect others' opinions :).)

Anonymous said...

Absolutely love the cakes. If I knew such wonderful cake makers existed I would've had a similar cake for my wedding long ago. But, I had to settle for black roses :)

To the knitter who commented earlier, everyone has their likes and dislikes. Honestly I love the macabre cakes, and I for one would puke if I had to wear a cable knitted sweater. Of course if you knitted some skulls on it I might not :P

norby said...

As someone who adores the different-those cakes are fabulous. Those are the kind of cakes you almost hate to cut into and ruin the beauty of them.

kerry said...

I love these! I like the one with all the little skulls, and the coffin-tiers best. Not so much the Tim Burton one, but at least it's well done.

Anonymous said...

Mira8

well executed, but meh. Goth cakes = whatever. Bored now.

Smoochiefrog said...

Oh yes, Burton is more than undead enough for me.

The coffin cake is very interesting. :)

Anonymous said...

See, if you're going to be "unique" about your wedding (just like the millions of other goths out there), this is the way to do it--these cakes are pleasing to look at, skillfully done, and they are perfectly appetizing. Just because doves and angels isn't your style doesn't mean the only other option is to use tongues and eyeballs.

Personally, I'd rather not have a wedding theme that reflects some fleeting interest I had at the time--I'd want something that's going to be meaningful (and not embarrassing) for the rest of my life. Like someone said the other day, you might think you're being hip and unique today, but God help you when you have to show your wedding photos to your kids, grandkids and possibly great-grandkids.

Unknown said...

I think the first "wreck" from Thursday's post was well done and could have been included in today's post. I especially liked the extra touch of using dried rose petals to add to the dead theme of the cake.

I am also getting tired of the whimsically misshapen tiers like in the Tim Burton cake today. The idea was cute at first, but it seems to be a bit too trendy and overused now.

Suzanne Dargie said...

Yeah! These are all really well done....but for some reason the "bare bones" cake is my favorite. Maybe because I hate any form of airbrushing on cakes. Just one of my peccadillos I guess.

Unknown said...

Oh, my gosh! Fantastic!

I love the one with the coffin shaped tiers, and the one with the rubbery-icing web.
Magnificent.

Although, I'm not real sure what it bodes for the marriage itself. Kind of a bad omen, in my way of thinking.
But nonetheless, cool as can be!

~Amy B.

Wendy said...

I'm so not a goth person, but these are awesome.

Fornax said...

I can only imagine the... beautiful... and handsome brides and grooms in their... stylish... attire

Mandy said...

You definitely need a professional if you're getting an undead wedding cake. These are scary, but in a good way!

Unknown said...

Fantastic!
I love the one with coffin-shaped tiers, and the spiderweb "rubbery" icing. Those are all great.

Though one would wonder what it bodes for the marriage, to have these as wedding cakes. LOL

I love them all.

~Amy B.

Anonymous said...

This is my favorite Sunday Sweets ever! I knew there would be some good Day of the Dead cakes. I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago and I mentioned that (if) I get married, I would like Day of the Dead skull toppers for the bride and groom. From behind me, my boyfriend chimes in "Well, that's stupid". I told him he didn't have to be so offended by it, he wouldn't be there.

Judy / IslandBroad said...

Those are absolutely amazing! It almost makes me want to get married again... Almost! LOL Thank you for sharing!

Anonymous said...

i'm not sure there is a "right" way to do cakes like these... yuck!

janet said...

Dude, I have those same skull molds used in the second cake! They're Day of the Dead skull molds from one of those educational toy catalogs. :D

Anonymous said...

Can anyone tell me what the "rubbery icing" is? I'm a cake decorator and I recently booked a Halloween wedding cake for this year and they want a spiderweb on it. This would be perfect, but I've never even heard of it before!

MomofthePolka-DotPony said...

I have an aquantance that had a haloween wedding who had the cutest little black, white, and orange tim burton cake.

Not my personal tastes, but they had fun! people came to the wedding and reception in their haloween costumes, and they seem to have had a ball!

Anonymous said...

Wow, those are gorgeous! Now *those* are how you do goth wedding cakes. I can't decide whether the first o fifth are my favourite. The Corpse Bride cake makes my inner Burton fangirl squee with joy, but that fifth one...my god, I almost want to get married *just* to have a cake like that!

To the knitter who posted-actually cable knit sweaters *always* make me want to throw up.

Allie said...

The cakes are VERY well done. Just not my style. The whole "undead" (whatever the heck that means) thing and gothic...whatever, just isn't my thing. But like I said, still very impressive cakes!

Miss Addict said...

oooooh If I ever get married I am soooo having a unique cake like those! They are gorgeous and its nice to see spiders on a cake that dont make me reach for the insect spray!

Miss Addict said...

I love all of these!

Jules said...

Love the first and fifth cakes..Very unique.;D
Chocolates...;D

Kate said...

I was going to comment earlier that the first cake in the last installment of dead wrecks wasn't all that bad. Compared to *these* cakes, if it weren't a wedding cake, I'd still say it wasn't all that wrecktacular, but, yes, if it's a pro job (not by a friend in cake school, or whatever), the quality diminishes quickly in comparison.

The Corpse Bride cake would be equally lovely without Victor and Emily on it.

Unknown said...

Cakes!!!!!!!
Love the first one..;D
Yummy..=)

ksaldria said...

Freaking awesome! :D

Jennifer said...

@Cody: You're not the only one bothered by the asymmetry of the 4th cake. I've seen tons of asymmetry that is done where it looks like it's "asymmetrically symmetrical" (if that makes any sense). That one? Not so much. It just looks sorta sloppy to me. I do think the color palette is really cool, though.

Unknown said...

"I doubt a cabled sweater ever made someone want to throw up."

My friend, respetfully, you are very wrong. ;)

I love all these wonderful cakes, its nice to see something different from doves/white/pretty-pretty flowers on Wedding Cakes.

Trevor said...

As Janel mentioned, it is SugarVeil on the skull cake. Though, to be honest, that cake wasn't done by Cake alchemy, but she worked with another woman at the Cake Attilier, but they have since split.

Tara said...

The "rubbery" icing product used by Lauri Ditunno is called Sugar Veil (www.sugarveil.com). It's a pretty good product: Essentially a royal icing mix with some gum additives (there are a few recipes floating around to make your own as well). I love to use it and it's fun to experiment with.

Miranda said...

Now that's more like it!

Ken Sutton said...

The Bare bones cake seems to be inspired and is almost identical tot he one the dead cook makes for Emily and Victor in the corpse bride movie. See here http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd59/staffordmanorhalloween/corpsebridecake.jpg

Anonymous said...

These are incredible!! I love them all! I almost regret not having this as a wedding theme.

Judy said...

Go to http://babelfish.yahoo.com/ They can translate just about anything. Just cut and paste your text.

metalchick666 said...

I absolutely LOVE these cakes.

Hyena Overlord said...

Beautiful work as always on Sunday Sweets.

wv cativ...I was cativated.

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness! On that pretty coffin cake, it's a Grim Fandango cake topper! It's been a few years since I've played through the game, but I'm almost sure I remember there being a character who looked a lot like the groom there. The colors on that cake are just gorgeous too. I think I would be hard-pressed to not take that cake home as a pet, let alone eat it.

(I knit *and* I love cute-spooky stuff like this!)

Carrie said...

These are all so very impressive. The Pink Cake Box is my fav. They all have amazing colors and style.

TheWickedGingersnap said...

Oh, some of these cakes are perfect realizations of the gothic cakey images floating about in my head. Should I ever marry, I would love to have something like the coffin cake, as it's proof that a goth wedding cake can be both elegant and tasteful...and done in colors other than black and orange. These cakes are old-school goth elegance and whimsy in delightful, edible form.

word verification: bibli...what one uses to toast before digging into one of these cakes.

Anonymous said...

In the second to last cake, the skulls look like they were drawn with pastels. Looove it!

TheWantonSeedStitch said...

Oooh, Something Sweet by Michelle is right in Woosta! *makes mental note to remember this joint when I get married*

Marsha Johnson said...

Can you tell me what the "rubber" icing is on the Cake Alchemy cake? I'd love to have the brand name to be able to use it. I saw her doing it on TV and didn't catch what the product was.
Marsha~ Great Cake! of the Outer Banks www.greatcakes.net

Marsha Johnson said...

Can you tell me what the "rubber" icing is on the Cake Alchemy cake? I'd love to have the brand name to be able to use it. I saw her doing it on TV and didn't catch what the product was.
Marsha~ Great Cake! of the Outer Banks www.greatcakes.net

Wedding Skulls said...

Wow, I've been waiting for the day when beautiful gothic cakes would be on Sunday Sweets - thanks! You've made my blog readers very happy:)

My favourite is the coffin cakes - so elegant and tasteful, and so delicious-looking!

Chastity said...

Incredible edible evil!

Anonymous said...

I have a correction to make for you - the first one is an obvious Corpse Bride cake due to the toppers, but the second one is as well! It's the cake the undead made in the movie for Vincent and Emily's wedding. :)

EleriCooks said...

My perkygoth teen daughter now demands one of these for her sweet 16

Larissa said...

omg, everyone was looking for the bakery. if you said so, i'd help to find out.. coz although the blog is in portuguese, i also speak english... lol...

tks 4 the link!

Anonymous said...

I have seen some knit sweater that made my eyes hurt, and the dead cakes are awesome.

Anonymous said...

As far as showing these types of cakes off to my family, heck yes. Especially my children, someday grandchildren. loosen up and not be so critical of being different.

Anonymous said...

ya know, the one with the coffins is still representing the day of the dead you douche.

Unknown said...

I was looking at past entries on this blog since I am a recent addict to your confection humor and when I saw the "bare bones" cake I recognized it...I often buy cakes from Craig's Cake Shop and had seen it on their website. I stopped in that same day for a cake and talked to one of the bakers (a fellow follower) and she said the customer had given them the sugar skulls and bones and requested they be placed on a "smooth traditional wedding cake". Just a little background of how the cake came to be. :)

Kellie said...

*ahem* I know this post is old, but how come no one pointed out the obvious strange comment made by the lovely bloggess??

"You pipe it out as a runny icing, but once it dries it's like an edible rubber - you can pick it up, stretch it, etc."

My dear lady, I consider myself adventurous in the boudoir arts..but I have NEVER heard of an edible rubber, nor do I think i would want to eat one!!
(the flavored ones are nifty, though)

Cupcakes Lady said...

Simply Fantastic! You have to appreciate that type of work. xx

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Anonymous said...

If I ever got married I would love any of these cakes. They make me happy :) I specially love the red roses and skull one.
Olivia