Sunday, August 15, 2010

Star Wars Sweets

Sunday, August 15, 2010

John and I are having a blast at the Star Wars Celebration here in Orlando this weekend, so I figured I'd keep the theme going with today's Sweets. (Although I'll try to keep the Admiral Ackbar jokes to a minimum.)



Major props to Donna for actually sculpting these LEGO minifigs out of gumpaste, instead of taking the easy route and plopping on some toys. :)


More fantastic figures on this sweet wedding cake:


AWESOME.
Somebody watch the droids, though; I hear R2 is a bit of a lush.


Submitted by Carlie S., made by Sweet Libertine Cakes

You said it, fella.


Some of the sweetest Star Wars cookies you'll ever see:



You might think a light saber cake would be easy to make, but believe me: it's not. That's why I'm so impressed with this fondant-free gem:

Made by crazEbake

I love the shading and all the detail on the handle. Truly excellent.


Hold on to your blasters, old-school icing purists, because I have another completely fondant-free sweet for you:

Sub'd by Angela H., made by Mondelli's Bake Shop

The background is airbrushed, but the ship is all piping. Now that's using the force.



Here's an engineering marvel you won't believe is actually cake:

By Crazy Cake Company

But it is!

See?

How amazing is this?!? Lots more pics and details on Lien's blog here.


This perfect R2* has me seeing red:

Sub'd by Amelie M., made by Mark Joseph Cakes.

Go here for a step-by-step photo guide.
The detail on the legs is especially amazing.


Here's the best possible use for the Wilton bear pan:

Made by artist Antvar's wife.

Ewok cake!!


And finally, we have a new contender for the Coolest Baby Shower Cake Ever:

Sub'd By Abby G., made by Irma Rode

THIS IS DEFINITELY THE DROID I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR.

C'mon, baby Vader with a pacifier, PLUS a baby R2? This just might be better than our last Vader shower cake. Even if it doesn't make any more sense. Heh.


Oh, and if you like Star Wars, you're going to love my pictures from this weekend over on Epbot. Srsly. Check out the craziness here.

*We think this may actually be R4-P17. We think this because people who seem to know these things told us so. We could be wrong. Who really knows?

PS - Hey, Jane F. in Berkeley: Epi Burf Day!! May your day's forecast include lots of sprinkles.
Jenniffer said...

OMG! These are AWESOME! Wish we could be there at the convention with you!!

Don't forget to vote for Icing Smiles in the Pepsi Refresh Project!

http://www.refresheverything.com/icingsmiles

Donna M. said...

Awesome...love the Lego figs on the first one.

Of course, you really should mention the Millennium Falcon that Duff and his crew did on Ace of Cakes, that one was awesome.

Suzanne said...

Oh, could that Ewok cake be any cuter? And I nearly collapsed in a fit of ecstasy when I saw the baby Vader and R2. Awwwww.....

WV: tatiouse. Is that the language spoken on Tatooine?

MegsKathy said...

my only issue is.....is that Luke and Leia on the wedding cake?? that seems a little.....creepy....

SonofSycorax said...

Wow-wee! These are incredible. BUT... I can't help but ponder and ponder and ponder some more WHY LEIA AND LUKE ARE THE BRIDE AND GROOM ON THAT WEDDING CAKE!! Creepy!

But I love the Vader Baby. I think I fainted a little.

Vague Rant said...

Ugh, I hate that I'm this much of a nerd, but that droid isn't R2-D2. R2-D2 is a specific droid/character, not like, a type of robot. There are other R2 units (and a number of similar looking droids from later in-universe production lines) any number of which might be red, but the individual known as R2-D2 is not.

It might be R2-M5, a red-striped R2 unit which was in The Phantom Menace.

Anonymous said...

Is anyone else only able to see about half of the pictures??? Never had that problem before!

Anonymous said...

While the decorating is really well done, I seriously wonder about a brother and sister wedding cake topper.

Wendy said...

What great talent out there! Thanks for sharing!!

~M said...

Vague Rant covered my nerdy comment for the day.

Other than that, let's just say these are AWESOME and the kids LOVED 'em. :)

crydwynn said...

An incestuous wedding cake. Ewww.

Anonymous said...

Awww who knew the evil one was such a sweet lad. But those cakes are amazing

Heavenly Anarchist said...

Awesome cakes (though I was also a bit concerned about Luke and Leia).
My dh and 9 year old son are now debating which R2 unit it may be - ds reckons R2-D4. Maybe R2-R9?

Jules AF said...

Spike TV better be having a Star Wars marathon today because I need to watch them today after reading this.
Also, LUKE AND LEAH?!?

Veet Voojagig said...

Lightsabers are hard to make! One of my friends and I spent a couple hours trying to figure out how to make one with emoticons. *shifty eyes* Yes, we are huge geeks, why do you ask? Anyway, this is what we came up with:

::::::::::::::::[{[%]}]////[]]})

Back to the point, those cakes are so awesome.

Amy Guskin said...

Count me in as another who blinked and had jaw-drop syndrome when I saw Luke and Leia atop a wedding cake. Arguably, from her outfit you could say this is from the first film, and if someone had only seen the first film, they might not actually *know* that Luke and Leia are brother and sister...but still, dude, seriously?

WV: blessne: what you say when you and someone else sneeze at the same time.

Katie said...

Does it bother anyone else that Luke and Leia are getting married?

Nate said...

I'm in agreement about the Luke and Leia cake. Only somebody who isn't a real SW fan would make that kind of faux pas. Besides, the roguish and swashbuckling Han is so much cooler than the whiny Luke. What might be awesome for a birthday cake is definitely not kosher on a wedding cake!

Heidi said...

My son (who is 5) says the red droid is R2-KT from Clone Wars.

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE that baby shower cake!

The Beans said...

Must...have...Ewok...cake! So cute!

-French Bean

Bridget said...

Yeah, the whole Luke/Leia wedding cake thing threw me off, too. Talk about a creepy element on an otherwise excellent cake.

Anonymous said...

...gotta love Sunday Sweets. So great to showcase the totally amazing and beautiful cakes to contrast with the wrecks. Good can overcome evil!
I don't know how anyone can cut into such masterpieces. Breaks my heart!

tangeria said...

baby vader! my head goes kersplody from too much cute....=)

Jasry said...

I almost want another boy baby, just so I can have the baby Vader cake!
I will definately have to show today's blog to my resident SW superfan. He's going to want that lightsaber cake for his next bday, I just know it.

Katy said...

OK, count me another person weirded out by the Luke/Leia wedding cake topper...

Very cool sweets today, though.

Anonymous said...

My son insists the little red and white droid is R4-P17, Obi Wan Kenobi's droid. Either way, very cool cakes. :)

Che'Marie said...

Totally agree about Luke and Leia. While the cake is very well done, it's just wrong!!

And I'm relieved to see others pointing out that R2-D2 is not red... my husband called me a nerd for pointing it out!

Anonymous said...

Love the gumpaste LEGO characters! I'll bet they don't hurt as much when you step on them at 3 am! :)

Anonymous said...

Unfortunate that the wedding toppers are Leia and LUKE...
Perhaps Han might've been a better choice...

Anonymous said...

Vague Rant took the words straight out of my mouth.

Amy D said...

What about showing us how hard it is to make a lightsaber cake by showing us all the ones that didn't work? Lightsaber wreck day maybe?

Tatum said...

Ahhhh The cookies are AWESOME!

Anonymous said...

I'm with Jennie's son, I think it's R4. And I love being in the company of nerds.

Tiffany in Topeka said...

That X-wing fighter is completely unbelievable!!!!!! WHOA! Such talent!

The Sweet Moments Bakery said...

I lover the baby shower cake! Adorable! :) I love the baby blue shade for R2!

Rachel said...

Those are some of the coolest cakes that I have seen. I was totally geeked out looking at those. But does that one cake company realize that Luke and Leia are siblings? I love that baby cake. That was sooo funny!!!

ksaldria said...

I love the X-wing cake, and the idea behind the ewok cake is pure genius. But I don't know if I'd put Luke and Leia on a wedding cake together. Seems a little...incesty.

mickeyp415 said...

ok... i feel better knowing that i'm not the only one geeky enough to know that yes, luke & leia on a wedding cake is just a little wrong. gorgeously rendered, but a little yucky.
but it's not the cake maker's fault -- if the couple ordering were really that into sw, wouldn't they have specified which characters go on the cake? oh well, it's still a fantastic group of cakes!

Kayla said...

Every time I see the Sunday Sweets that are based on movies and whatnot I wonder how much the professional bakeries paid to get past the copyright issues for licensed characters or if they ignore it and hope they don't get in trouble for it...especially if they feature them on their websites. At the shop I work at we can do a cake inspired by licensed material and then put the little toys or what-have-you on so we don't get sued...

Calvin said...

I do believe that's an R4-D6.
Or is it D7?
Ahh, whatever.

Maureen said...

According to my Star Wars obsessed 7 year old the "red R2-D2" is actually named R4-P17. :) Just thought you'd want to know. :P

jennyandcompany said...

yep, my 6yo agrees it is in fact R4-P17. He would know, I can assure you! ;)

and yes, I am also bothered by luke and leia. beautiful cake though!

cath c said...

my star wars freak sons thoroughly enjoyed this, however, according to one of them the red r2 is actually R4-P17, who appears in the ep 2, and briefly appears in episode 3, before having his head ripped off by a buzz droid in the opening space battle above coruscant.

however, i don't know this, and shall promptly delete it from my memory. (help me)

Unknown said...

Since the Luke and Leia wedding cake has been covered, I'll just say:
Wow, that AT-AT is amazing! And those cookies are really cute!

BADKarma! said...

Given that Luke and Leia are siblings, that wedding cake is more than a little creepy, really...

Anonymous said...

In Jen's defense, in her caption for the red R2 unit, she wrote "This perfect R2 is . . ."
NOT
"This perfect R2-D2 is . . ."
She used the appropriate general class to refer to the unit.

And to get my geek cred for the day, I checked Wookieepedia. Of the 50ish R2 units, these are the most likely:
1) R2-A3 (astromech for Wedge Antilles)
2) R2-M5 (aboard Queen Amidala's ship in the Naboo Space Battle)

CharlesP said...

That R2 cake was what I used for inspiration when I was making my son's R2 cake last year.

We do one layer per year, and last year he was 6 for R2... today he's 7 and we've got a Despicable Me minion on the table.

All our birthday cake creations are on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bfedrec/sets/72157616150053524/

(I was supposed to send you pics of my 13yo's Monty Python Trojan Rabbit cake wasn't I? OOPS!)

Shayna said...

Amazing! The X-wing cake has shading on it and everything.
But, as lovely as it is, the fact that Luke and Leia are on a wedding cake is just a bit disturbing. Maybe the couple hasn't seen the Return of the Jedi. =\ Hmmmmmm.

Fysh Phoenix-- said...

Wrecktifiers,

I don't know if any other commenters picked-up on this, but I believe the lovely red-machine you labeled as an R2 unit is none other than Obe Wan Kenobe's *R4* unit! Why do I say that? Because it's a *4th* birthday cake. Talk about some sweet thinking.

angisson said...

OK, I'm normally a lurker, but that first cake made me go "ooooohhhhhh" out loud in a baby-talk tone. The gumpaste lego figures were what did it.

Also - the lightsaber cake? I was trying to figure out how it was lit up like that. Awesome.

Anonymous said...

Kudos to all today's featured cake artists, and thanks to Jen, John, and all involved in sharing them with us.

One note: The Luke/Leia wedding cake topper made me do a double take, but my second thought was...what if the GROOM was blonde, and the bride really does resemble Leia? Anyone know?

In any event, yes, I think dressing the groom to look like Han Solo would've been a better choice, even if he is blonde...

Awesome skills though.

~~Swan

Sherry said...

I'm another one whose jaw dropped at Luke and Leia on a wedding cake. Yikes. Perhaps there's something about the bride and groom we would rather not know. . .

Gale said...

Oh Amazing! I just brought my boys over to see cause they love Star Wars...I even made my oldest a Star Wars cake for his last party, and it was cool, but not half (ok...not even a tenth) as cool as these. (You can see if here...http://texifornia.blogspot.com/2010/03/star-wars-party.html...it's the cupcake tie fighter idea, only I just used one on a regular cake cause one took quite enough time. And yeah, if I'm gonna use yellow icing on black I SHOULD do star wars lettering, but though I can do florishy stuff, I suck at geometrical, and that's too geometrical for me).

Anyways...my boys did want to inform you that the R2D2 cake is actually R3SX. Rocks either way! (Rice Crispy Feet! Aweseomeness!)

just wondering said...

I, too, noticed that is Luke and Leia on the wedding cake. Except for that flub they are awesome cakes. I'm a Star Wars nut, too, so this is right up my alley. I just wish they had put Han on the wedding cake........incest is not cool.

Lisa M. said...

All awesome!

Although.... the wedding cake is a little iffy to me since it's Luke and Leia on top of it. I'm guessing the baker didn't really watch the movies or hear that they were brother and sister. I wonder if the bride and groom noticed.

Lynn said...

The figures on that Luke and Leia wedding cake ARE adorable...but a little creepy...and made me think of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5eVGyCVxAM

Tricia L said...

Poor Jen. Little did she know that a simple cutline about R2 would lead to a repeat of the EPCOT incident.

k said...

Yeah, that's a nice R2-type cake (though on Google I found a nicer one,) but there's one problem: they paid someone else to make it.

This is possibly the worst-looking R2D2 cake ever made (don't go making it a "wreck," please,) but this kid's mother made it with him, and that's probably what's going to be the best thing that he remembers about that birthday, not, "Daddy spent a lot of money on me.")

http://www.easy-birthday-cakes.com/r2d2-birthday-cake.html

Oh, there's another problem: instead of the ugly block the center is sitting on, he could have put in the R2's center leg: http://planetbizzle.blogspot.com/2009/06/star-wars-cakes.html

Ah, one more thing regarding the Luke and Leia cake. Before Chapter 5 came out, Lucas authorized a book by Alan Dean Foster called, "Splinter of the Mind's Eye," in which there is a lot of romantic stuff between the two. They even kiss. I bought it when it first came out.

VeggieT said...

loved the baby light-sabers all over the last one!

W.V. craven i.e. "...Who gave out the parts for this? Miss Craven? The Gargoyle?..." - Hilary Booth (Remember WENN)

k said...

Somebody wanted to see the worst lightsaber cake ever. Now, this mom did an amazing personal job of designing a Star Wars-themed birthday party her son will never forget, but after all the work she put into it, no matter how much love, the cake was just such a let-down: http://www.makeandtakes.com/star-wars-birthday-party-ideas

:/

I forgot props to the baker who made the x-wing fighter all with real frosting.

I'm way bored. Here's another Luke and Leia cake: http://www.geekologie.com/2008/03/13/wrong-starwars-cake.jpg

Yes, gents, this wedding cake illustrates exactly what will happen to you when we get you in our clutches: http://www.forcesofgeek.com/2010/07/dead-tauntaun-wedding-cake-when-star.html (Cake Nouveau)

And I'm sure everyone's seen this cake of their mother-in-law: http://prewife.com/jabba-hutt-groom-cake/

Bree said...

The baby Vader and R2 cake was precious. I loved the little lightsabers on the side!

Ditto on the Luke/Leia wedding cake. Luke and Mara Jade or Leia and Han would have been the appropriate choice, but I don't think the baker has read the novels. And yes, I do think they are cannon even though many fans don't want to believe that.

The fondant free ones were great too. I love how the lightsaber looks like it's lit up!

Why? said...

Some of those were really amazing, really!

Given that, I don't want to be a downer...but why the * would you want a Star Wars wedding cake?

Nikki said...

Sweet cakes, as always!

I'm giving the benefit of the doubt and assuming the baker of the so-called "Leia and Luke" cake did not actually intend to make a "Leia and Luke" cake, but instead was mimicking the bride and groom's hair colors, which made it appear to be a "Leia and Luke" cake. I have to believe this - the other explanation is...gross.

Lori said...

I just feel the need to point out that Luke & Leia on a wedding cake together is wrong on so many levels... otherwise, gorgeous geekery!

Anonymous said...

The *MOVIE* R4-P17 is a red droid with a red head, trimmed in silver, the opposite of this droid. (In games it has the cake's color).

I'd have to agree with those who say "R2-M5" or "R2-KT" (which has a real-world story behind it).

Unknown said...

The Force is strong in Irma Rode.

Anneke (Mudhooks) said...

Why am I seeing naked little Darths astride carrots????

Veggie said...

I don't know if it's just me or not but Luke on the 2nd cake looks like Steve Irwin!

Honeymoon registry said...

I love the wedding cake. Simple yet beautiful.

Arlene said...

I love all of these cakes but is that a Luke and Leia substitution for the bride and groom on that wedding cake? Lol..that is pretty funny if not a bit wrong.

jessica said...

I'm so tired of nerd cakes every Sunday.

shikishinobi said...

Jeebers crisp, that's detail! I always would have thought May 4th to 5th to be the best Star Wars days, but there you go.
I can think of how to make a light saber cake in structure but the icing is another question, as is the detail. Any attempt will appear as a failure upon this site. No matter!
May the frosting be with you, and do not turn to the dark side of the whisk.

john (the hubby of Jen) said...

Hey Jessica,

Two weeks ago, we had flowers.
Before that was sports.

If you have an idea for Sunday Sweets, please let us know.

john

Becca said...

the Star Wars cupcakes that Crupbs and Doilies baked & blogged are also amazing
http://www.crumbsanddoilies.co.uk/blog.php?id=431462636537382278
I love the happy birthday text cupcake!

SarahJ said...

yes Jessica...
Anyway - I have an idea! I want to see some nice international cakes, celebrating things found only in other countries... whaddya say?

Hariharan said...

best best

best

SarahJ said...

Actually screw it - Mah jong cakes - just google it you'll see what I mean!!!!!

Malinda said...

I love the "nerd cakes". Keep them coming. My kids (junior nerds) are big fans of Sunday Sweets. They ask to see first thing on Sunday mornings and seriously were looking forward to Star Wars cakes all week.

BTW, my son made a cool R2 and an R4 out of Perler beads last week. I thought Jen might like to see them.
http://malinate.blogspot.com/2010/08/rediscovered.html

Maggie said...

I love that there are about 70 other people who had the same reaction to that wedding cake that I did.

I totally squealed out loud when I saw that Ewok cake. LOVE!!!

Curly-T said...

So my icky feeling about Luke and Leia? Glad to see I'm not alone!
And I know it will be my third baby, and you usually don't have baby showers for #3, but I need a Darth Vader baby shower cake!

Miriam said...

Isn't it inappropriate to have luke and leia on top of a cake.Brother and sister as bride and groom. Hmmm. Cake Wreck!

Miss Kitty Fantastico said...

You know why I love coming here? Because I wasn't the only person who noticed Luke and Leia on a wedding cake and thought it was creepy. <3

Dan Pearce said...

Well, this has to be the first non-geeky star wars thing to ever exist!

Single Dad Laughing

Debby said...

Cool cakes...however, I feel the need to point out something about the comment concerning making figures out of gum paste instead of doing the "easy" thing and plopping some plastic characters around it.
As cute and amazing as those cakes are, they are probably illegal. Unless a cake baker writes to the company (in this case, LucasFilm...you know, small company... folks who surely don't care too much about licensing...) and pays lotsa $$ for the rights to create the images, a baker cannot *legally* create any licensed image that will be sold to someone else-- even if that something is consummable, like cake.
So please give us cake bakers a break here and don't issue blanket statements that sound like not shelling out thousands of dollars for the right to sell a cake with a licensed image is the "easy" way. I know we see cakes with characters on them all over the place all the time..some amazing, like these, and some.....well, not so amazing. If the cake you see a photo of was sold for money (in other words, not made by mom herself and eaten in her own house), then the cake is illegal, and the cake baker is risking losing everything they have over a little cake. Most people do it anyway, thinking no one cares, and no one will find out about THEIR little small potato cake shop anyway... until their photo gets posted on the internet by some website... ;) Suddenly Disney et. all. comes knocking on their door with a $50,000 law suit. (And yes, it's happening, with increasing frequency lately.) Unless you're someone like Duff who can afford to apply for the licensing fees because your minimum order is thousands of dollars per cake, it's just not feasible for us small guys.

AJ said...

Haha, Hilarious collection of cakes. How did you get all these or did you bake them?

john (the hubby of Jen) said...

Debbie,

I don't know quite what to say. I think you took what was an incredibly harmless statement and turned it into far more than was ever intended. Placing a plastic figurine on a cake is indeed easier than sculpting a figure by hand. That's all that was meant I assure you.

Regarding the issue of legality, you are correct. I would love to argue about fair use and parody, about the technicalities and incredibly vague language involved in copyright law but, in the end, it's always safer to not use any image you don't own the rights to. I do have to say, though, that one is far more likely to receive a cease and desist order than for a corporation to go through the time and incredible expense to sue a small bakery. Just saying...

As always, no offense was meant by this post.

*I can't believe I'm saying this about a Sweets post*

john

Anonymous said...

I love the cakes, but I also love all the comments where people complain about it being Leia and Luke instead of Han. Good to know I'm far from the only one who caught that.

Debby said...

Oh, no worry, no offense taken. :) I just see these as opportunities to get the word out a little, because LITERALLY I get requests several times a week for character cakes, and I have to write back the same "not legally allowed to do that, yeah, I know you see those cakes all over the place, blah, blah, blah, yeah, you can likely call the next baker on your list and she'll make that cake for you, but it's still illegal, blah blah blah..." But that next baker doesn't happen to be married to a lawyer who happens to have lunch with a patent attorney friend who happens to be one who is involved in patent suits. Sooooooo....I'm well versed in what I can and cannot legally do as a cake business. :-)

And I really agree about right of fair use..it ticks me off every time I think about it. Especially the issue of using those shaped Wilton character cake pans, which are not supposed to be used for anything other than "home use" either. If I BUY that cake pan, shouldn't I do with it what I want, if I make it according to the prescribed directions and not make Mickey Mouse giving an obscene gesture?

Love your website BTW. :)

Unknown said...

I find it completely and totally squicky that a *wedding* cake has Luke and Leia on top of it. Dude. Are you seriously from West Virginia, or what? A brother & sister should not be sitting together on top of a wedding cake. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Anonymous said...

Um can I just say it's SUPER creepy that the one wedding cake is topped with Luke and Leia?! Um, ew.

Anonymous said...

the cake with r2-d2 is actually r4, r2 is blue, r4 is red.
Star Wars geek has said her piece and is now done.

Notebook In Hand Creativity said...

Awww, baby! :D
And I'm loving the Ewok cake. Do want.

Eliza. A. said...

Best cakes of my life!!
So impressed right now.

Anonymous said...

I am, however, a wee bit creeped out that the wedding cake had Luke and Leia, who are siblings...

Mags said...

WOW!!!
Those are fantastic!!!
The AT-AT is amazing!

Sam Kamens said...

Speaking of Ace of Cakes, they also did an amazing R2 Unit (I think it was the real R2-D2, but I'll leave it to the true Star Wars experts to confirm) for LucasFilms. It was related to the Clone Wars animated series.

Here's one link about it:

http://www.starwars.com/fans/rocks/aceofcakes2010/index.html

Unknown said...

I feel left out! I guess it could have been worse and been included as a wreck!

Kris

http://krazykakebakers.com/wp-content/gallery/r2-d2_cake/r2-d2_cake011.jpg