Getting Creative with Edible Art

Getting Creative with Edible Art – something yummy in the making (baking).
Contributed by Neleisha Weerasinghe.

Creative work comes in various forms. We are all used to hearing crafters and artisans that make amazing things with their hands such as crochet, jewelry making, sewing, pottery etc but have your ever thought of the makers of your confectionaries? Have you ever given a second thought to the cookies, cakes and cupcakes that you consume as works of art? In a league of their own, they are popularly known as edible art.

What are edible arts?
A popular definition is that it is an artform that uses sugar or other decorative elements to create more interest in food items such as cakes and cookies. Food carving is a different subject altogether and this article looks at the food items that are decorated and edible at the same time. The carved fruits and vegetables are sometimes not edible and are purely decorative.

Trends
A lot of people engage in this as a hobby and creative outlet but there are many professionals in the business who are sought after to create masterpieces for birthdays, weddings and other events. There are specialized schools that teach sugar crafting and other forms of cake decorating. Butter cream, fondant or gelatin, it seems there is no limit to what you can make with these and have them edible too!

Painted cakes: this is to be the latest trend, which is a step up from the water color cakes. The soft splashes of color in water color cakes have moved on in this trend to give artisan and tastefully decorated detailed cakes. They are masterpieces in their own right and very versatile to fit in with any theme you may have in mind.

The drips: the dripping effect is also very popular with cakes that are made to look like they might topple over or have things smashed in to them.

Cookies: custom decorated cookies are a very popular treat these days, at birthdays, christenings etc. they are a sweet treat that needs to be admired a great deal before disappearing in to your tummy.

Freakshakes: these are not your average milkshake they are called freak shakes for a very good reason. The shakes come with a wide variety of things piled on such as fruit, cream, chocolate, cake, popcorn and anything you can imagine!
Here’s how to make your own.
https://www.bakingmad.com/baking-tips/ice-cream/how-to-make-a-freakshake-milkshake

Sculpted cakes: these bakers can make any shape you want and make it edible too. Sculpting involves carving, piling and stacking and whatever means required to make that amazing cake to look great and taste good at the same time.

These are some of the trends so why not change your canvas and give baking a masterpiece a try?

Here is a DIY Marshmallow Fondant to try out. We all know of fondant but the real deal can get a bit complicated and needs ingredients that are sometimes not easily accessible to all. So let’s look at the easy method for your home projects that looks and feels like the real thing!
You will need:
• Marshmallows (white preferably)
• Icing sugar
• Food coloring
Method:
Put the marshmallows in a microwave safe dish, add little bit of water and microwave till they melt. Do 10 seconds at a time so you don’t burn them. Then add the icing sugar and mix mix mix. You can use an electric mixer or do it by hand. When it’s mixed well you will notice that the content turns in to a ball or sticks firmly together and is not runny. When this happens, you can take it out and put it on a surface that is oiled and knead. You will need to keep adding icing sugar as you go along to keep the consistency. Once this is done you can add the colour you need and start sculpting.

See the work of Mario Curtis, artist and pastry chef.

???? Happy Baking and Sculpting Creatives!