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Sunday, March 15, 2009
Sunday Sweets: Get OUT - That's Cake?!?
Sunday, March 15, 2009
According to these news articles, this life-sized Barbie doll is actually cake. Seriously.
That's pastry chef Jean Michel Raynaud there, too, unveiling his chocolate mud-cake Barbie in honor of the doll's 50th anniversary. (According to an interview he did here, Raynaud is the creative director of Sweet Art in Sydney.)
But let's get back to this "cake", shall we? (Still wrapping my brain around this - bear with me.)
Obviously not all of this creation is edible, but that's true of all cake masterpieces so I'm not going to quibble. Especially because in addition to the gold tulle skirt, two thousand Swarovski crystals were used. Sweet and sparkly - me likey.
Considering that the skirt base is most definitely cake if any of it is, I am particularly wowed by the super realistic "fabric" draping and stretching around the "knees":
When you consider that was carved out of a dense chocolate cake, it truly is a jaw-dropping work of art.
That's Australian model Erika Heynatz "cutting" the cake. Really, I think they just had her stick a knife in to show it's not a mannequin. Unless anyone has photos of this being served up? Let me know!
And thanks to Angela R. for being the first to send me the story.
129 comments | Post a Comment
- ~me said...
holleee crap. Literally gasped when I opened your page today. That's amazing
- March 15, 2009 at 9:31 AM
wow...honestly so awesome:)
- March 15, 2009 at 9:31 AM
- FreedomFirst said...
Okay, I know it's gorgeous and all, but this is a waste of resources (like money) that just sickens me. Like having solid gold fixtures in your bathroom. Maybe I don't always clean my plate, but seriously, did they KNOW there are kids starving in Africa??? And a giant edible Barbie still rated higher? Disgusting.
- March 15, 2009 at 9:33 AM
That IS amazing...but the last picture is kind of disturbing. I feel like she's saying something like, "Skinny b!tch! I'll cut you!" And with 5 little girls right there watching!
- March 15, 2009 at 9:43 AM
- Zoe said...
An Australian Sunday Sweet!
(Sort of.) - March 15, 2009 at 9:50 AM
- Milo and Joey Good said...
I am totally amazed. I mean, that is some serious craftsmanship!
Great sweet to wake up to! Thanks! - March 15, 2009 at 9:56 AM
- Julia G said...
There's a whole lot of pics, including of the eating of Barbie, at Getty
Meanwhile I'm shaking my head at the need to fit the opera house into every documentation of anything that takes place in Sydney. - March 15, 2009 at 10:04 AM
- mustdestroyalltraces said...
wow. that's crazy.
i have to wonder how it would be to get a piece that was just a finger or a hand though... maybe a little weird. i'd ask for part of the dress. - March 15, 2009 at 10:08 AM
- A Slice of Concentrated Love said...
Oh wow! How Crazy is that. And on top of it Barbie doesn't look a day over 27. :-P
- March 15, 2009 at 10:08 AM
- V. Nicharico said...
WOW! Now that's absolutely gorgeous!
- March 15, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Apparently they did use a mannequin - it's just the dress that is cake.
"In their elaborate creation, a mannequin was clad in a couture gown of iced cake topped with coiffure and accessories."
No photos of cut cake found yet - but am still searching. - March 15, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Wow, that cake is just jaw dropping amazing. Hats off to the chef!
- March 15, 2009 at 10:15 AM
- Christina said...
That is the most beautiful, life-like barbie-doll I have ever seen. What a talent he has!
- March 15, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Glad you posted this- it is AWESOME. Barbie toilet holder cake on steroids?
- March 15, 2009 at 10:21 AM
What astounds me is the proximity of this delicate cake to the WATER. Heat and humidity are the bane of fancy sugar work. I'd like to see the construction of this thing!
- March 15, 2009 at 10:29 AM
- very married said...
HOLY COW! that's amazing.
- March 15, 2009 at 10:31 AM
- Amanda Grant said...
Pictures of the cake being served would be good, but pictures of the little girls screaming as they are presented with bits and pieces of Barbie would be even better. ;)
Love your site! - March 15, 2009 at 10:32 AM
- Baking and Mistaking said...
That kind of puts my, "stick a barbie in the top of a cake" to shame.
- March 15, 2009 at 10:45 AM
- Epiphany said...
There are more photos at http://tinyurl.com/ckmanr I'm thinking any food product that gets it's hair done by Joh Bailey & is wearing $50k worth of jewellery isn't likely to be actually eaten (much less photographed being eaten)...lol.
- March 15, 2009 at 10:45 AM
- Janice in GA said...
I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that eating that would read disturbingly like cannibalism.
- March 15, 2009 at 10:48 AM
That is....
Absolutely AMAZING! - March 15, 2009 at 10:49 AM
wow. Just... wow...
- March 15, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Holy cats.
Though I gotta say, biting down on a Swarovski crystal could do some serious damage to your molars. - March 15, 2009 at 10:50 AM
- SnipingMizzy said...
Her knees are waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too low on that dress. Still, it's a great masterpiece.
- March 15, 2009 at 10:51 AM
- Jessi said...
Oh my gosh. I have never seen anything like this and I am pretty into cakes. I gasped when I saw that maniac cutting it. You do not cut that cake.
I am stunned. - March 15, 2009 at 10:52 AM
- Kit Chen said...
Absolutely stunning. But...
Wouldn't eating it be sort of macabre? You know, decapitating it, amputating the limbs, and all that. - March 15, 2009 at 10:55 AM
- Mikey said...
Wow! I'm speechless!
. . . . . . . . . .
Mikey - March 15, 2009 at 10:55 AM
- LiEr said...
That's an amazing cake. That it is even able to stand up and not tip over is amazing enough.
- March 15, 2009 at 10:58 AM
- Sharon said...
I'm thinking that cake is entirely too realistic. I hope they didn't really cut it up in front of those pony-tailed and pig-tailed little girls or their parents and caregivers will be answering screams in the middle of the night from Barbie nightmares for years to come.
- March 15, 2009 at 11:00 AM
At least it's not red velvet??
- March 15, 2009 at 11:23 AM
Well, they did cut it up and serve.
Sixth picture if I remember correctly. At least it was the gown and not Barbie herself who got eaten. Also, kids eat cakes and goodies in shape of animals and even people all the time, so perhaps we can give them credit to not have nightmares about the skirt cake. - March 15, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Uh...I get the hand piece?
Angie (from over at www.HalfAssedKitchen.com) - March 15, 2009 at 11:43 AM
- sendingtheclowns said...
Well, here goes the old crabapple ME again, but I have to say that while the feat is laudable (and lovely in the way a fairy tale is), the whole Barbie thing has always bugged me for its insinuation that the "perfect" woman should have a neck like a giraffe, legs like paint brushes (with feet the size of a hamster's), a bust like a butt, and a smiling, always-agreeable, and fairly blank expression (kinda like the Miss America pageant contestants' requirements). Real women don't look like Barbie, so she's a goofy role model for smart young girls.
I wouldn't worry about the kiddies--I bet they all love to eat cake enough to hack into that!
Mmmmmmm...CHOCOLATE...gggghhhhhaaaauuuuggghhh....(ala Homer Simpson).
WV: "natorel": It's just not natorel the way Barbie is built! - March 15, 2009 at 11:50 AM
- Cole said...
That's AMAZING!!
- March 15, 2009 at 11:50 AM
I think this post holds the record of most quotation marks used in a single Cake Wrecks post...
- March 15, 2009 at 11:52 AM
- Unknown said...
I think I have a bruise on my jaw from where it hit the floor. The cake dress is stunning. The only problem with edible masterpieces is that they don't last long. The good thing is that they're edible.
- March 15, 2009 at 12:00 PM
- Unknown said...
That is amazing. Wow. I wonder how long it took to create.
~Amy B - March 15, 2009 at 12:17 PM
- Ekio Locatiare said...
It's really .....the best stick a barbie in it cake ever. lol!
While I'm not a huge Barbie fan I know most little girls are. That would have been the party of their little lives!
Um...and please...please...don't equate the Miss America system to the image Barbie gives. Yes in the past that was the ideal look....but things have changed there. The pageant is based on knowledge and the person not just their looks. Now the Miss USA system.......yeah....go right ahead and base the whole image thing on that. *gets a funny taste in her mouth just from saying it. lol*
And seriously, I'd so have asked for a chunk of that cake and giggled. - March 15, 2009 at 12:19 PM
- David Moreira said...
I'd hit that. The cake I mean.
- March 15, 2009 at 12:28 PM
So honestly when I first opened this, I thought it was a strikingly well done, but still obnoxious bride-buddy like we've seen in the past. Then when I read it was Barbie, *I* wanted to be the one with the knife.
And in the additional pictures posted in the comments, it totally looks like the model is desperately trying to upstage the cakey beotch. - March 15, 2009 at 12:39 PM
- Dr. Megan said...
it's definitely amazing artistry. I'll give it that. And unlike FreedomFirst I'm okay with stuff like this - after all, it gave the cakemakers work, they had to buy the supplies from somewhere, etc. It stimulates the economy, which lord knows needs it. Plus think of all the happy kids who got free cake.
But I can't get past the whole person-shaped thing. I get that animal crackers are one thing, but...I can't dig cutting up and eating something that looks alarmingly like a human, y'know? - March 15, 2009 at 12:44 PM
- Tometheus said...
Hrmn.. I don't quite get it. Why is this one a 'sweet', while this one was a wreck?
- March 15, 2009 at 12:47 PM
I always find this kind of thing a bit dumb really. I like cakes to look nice when you present them but I also want them to look like you would want to eat them. I mean, why bother make something like that out of cake? Sorry Jen, I've been thinking that about some of the things you've posted for a while 'pretty but ... pointless' The 'Gee whizz, it's made out of cake!' doesn't do it for me, I guess. Shrug.
- March 15, 2009 at 12:50 PM
- sharalyns said...
See, I actually find this kind of wrecky! They used a mannequin for the top, and the top doesn't match the bottom if you know anatomy! The mannequin has the beginning of the hips, but the hips are repeated below. It just looks very disjointed to me.
Sorry, that's the nurse in me talking. This lady's anatomy just looks *wrong* - March 15, 2009 at 1:09 PM
I think I made the same face as the little girl in the bottom picture at the thought of actually cutting and eating that cake. If you've ever actually chewed on a Barbie or her clothes, you'd know that they taste kinda gross.
- March 15, 2009 at 1:10 PM
- jackie31337 said...
Janice in GA said I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that eating that would read disturbingly like cannibalism.
Tasty, tasty cannibalism.... with chocolate! - March 15, 2009 at 1:16 PM
- Christina M. said...
Amazing piece of work! But I wouldn't have the slightest idea of how to cut it - images of Dexter begin to swirl through my head. :-p
- March 15, 2009 at 1:25 PM
- TheresaXXX said...
Honestly, there needs to be someting in the description on the main page that clearly states that the cake is ONLY in the dress!
The upper body, head, hair, etc are NOT cake! They are mannequin parts. - March 15, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Does anyone on here read the comments before posting? Obviously the whole thing is not made out of cake! It's a mannequin. As for the "children starving in Africa" argument. Well then hey, why not just stop all art, music, and industry that are "pointless" because they're such a waste of money. Obviously that is a ridiculous statement. People are allowed to create art no matter what! Come on!
Also, it's not cannibalistic or traumatizing. The whole thing is not made out of cake. It's just the DRESS SKIRT and the rest is a plastic mannequin. Again, READ people, before you comment the same inane statements repeatedly. Educate yourselves!
the reason that atrocious wedding cake bride dup was a wreck is because it looks awful! It looks like a fat slouching hot mess and the barbie one actually looks gorgeous. The craftsmanship between the two is like night and day. - March 15, 2009 at 1:43 PM
- WM said...
Not to be a spoilsport about this...but I think that the dress, from the hips down is the actual cake part, which doesn't take away any of it's awesomeness. The top looks like actual fabric with the crystals and it is definitely a mannequin. There is still an amazing artistic ability in sculpting the bottom half of the dress and the train(which appears to a have a tulle overskirt attached). Oddly, there are no photos of the Barbie as they are cutting into it, which leads me to believe that the cake was built up around the mannequin, which is also why she isn't falling over.
Sorry to rain on your parade, Jen. The work is still lovely, but in reality, the baker that made the Bride Cake that Tometheus linked showed an extraordinary amount of talent in sculpting the whole face and arms over the stacked cakes(regardless of how wrecky the concept was). - March 15, 2009 at 1:44 PM
- My Big Fat Super Super Obese Blog said...
Wow! if all cakes were like this, I'd be a thing girl as I wouldn't want to cut into it!
- March 15, 2009 at 1:47 PM
Hm, FreedomFirst - are you willing to give up your internet connection and send the money you save to feed those starving kids? Life is hard, it's OK for people to have some fun with cake, really!
- March 15, 2009 at 1:48 PM
- Clair said...
Now thats how you do a Barbie cake instead of a toilet roll cosy skirt!
- March 15, 2009 at 1:49 PM
Sorry, what? My inner six-year-old has been stuck on "oooooh, pretty Barbie cake!" since I clicked on this post.
Lovely piece-though like dottiepark said, heat+humidity+sugar= disaster. I hope they finished pictures and started serving before things started slipping too much.
Beautiful cake, and a lovely birthday tribute to the girl who has been everything we big and little kids could dream up.
Still a Barbie lover,
Cygirljun - March 15, 2009 at 2:43 PM
wolfmom- the bride cake's head and upper body were also sculpted separately, and were not cake.
- March 15, 2009 at 3:25 PM
- the ginabean said...
WOW! That's just AMAZING.
How tall is this Barbie, by the way? - March 15, 2009 at 3:38 PM
- Tatersmama said...
I've gotta say that it's AMAZING...I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I saw it!
My only problem is the way the cake is presented. I understand that the cake was made by a Sydney baker, but why is the Sydney Opera House and the the Sydney Harbor Bridge featured predominantly in almost all of the shots? They're Australian icons, yes... but Barbie isn't. The background kind of takes away from the celebratory nature of the photos, but maybe that's just my opinion.
And that model? Get 'er out of there!
Still, it's a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL cake, and the "artist" did a fantastic job !! - March 15, 2009 at 3:39 PM
- Kisa 'Yuki' J. said...
That's amazing!! and if THAT is what the 50th anniversary barbie looks like I'm getting the doll! Both the cake and the doll are beautiful!
- March 15, 2009 at 3:43 PM
- fuzzandfuzzlet said...
ummm, wow. That is amazing.
- March 15, 2009 at 4:00 PM
- Scritzy said...
What I would like to see is Barbie after her skirt is eaten, and all that's left are crumbs and frosting glops stuck to her legs.
(Insert devil horns here.)
It's really good work. But I was watching Ace of Cakes with spouse the other night, and I can't help but wonder — are some of those magnificant cakes honestly meant to be eaten? I know wedding cakes are, yes, but some contest cakes I wonder about. - March 15, 2009 at 4:05 PM
- Bedlam said...
that is so beautiful. wow !!
- March 15, 2009 at 4:45 PM
- Mella said...
eating would feel like cannibalism
- March 15, 2009 at 4:54 PM
you know, they don't actually show the barbie cake being eaten, just CAKE being eaten...
It would be nice (and maybe a little sadistic!) to see them actually cut up the dress skirt cake and serve it. Though, granted, I'm sure they did that behind a curtain since it would involve severing dear, ginormous Barbie in two. While, yes, 6 and 8 year old girls are not going to be traumatized by eating Barbie's dress, I'm sure there would have been a few minor freak-outs if they'd seen Barbie's top half get removed before her (chocolate cake) legs were sliced in to and divided onto plates. ... just like many a girl freaks out when she pops one of Barbie's arms or legs off, or her head...
It does look quite gorgeous though. And hardly anything beats chocolate cake! - March 15, 2009 at 4:56 PM
- Unknown said...
That is an amazing cake! WOWZERS!!! loving it!
- March 15, 2009 at 5:07 PM
What's that sound? Oh, don't worry, 5 Aussie kids just started choking on the crystals in the Barbie cake.
How is this monstrosity any different from the life-sized Bridezilla cake? - March 15, 2009 at 5:30 PM
- sendingtheclowns said...
alison said...
"...just like many a girl freaks out when she pops one of Barbie's arms or legs off, or her head..."
Heh-hehhh....we used to do those things to Barbie just for fun.
(I had a play doctor's kit.)
=^~~^= - March 15, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Sweet Art made my wedding cake about 12 years ago, and even though it's a work of art, you may consider it a Cake Wreck. I'll find a pic and email it through.
You should check out the rest of their work on their website - it's just amazing! - March 15, 2009 at 6:17 PM
I watch Ace of Cakes all the time and I remember watching one episode where they made the cake for the Harry Potter 5 premier. At the end, they were saying the purposely went to find a knife and plates to cut it because no one else at the party wanted to cut it and they feel that cake is meant to be eaten.
And Jessi, why would you not cut that cake? What's the point of making it out of cake if you're not going to eat it? Otherwise, it just goes in the garbage and that's a huge waste. - March 15, 2009 at 6:36 PM
- smiles :) said...
ack! who would cut that cake?!! I'd want to save it forever.. until it got all gross, then you can cut it up :) And Sydney is pretty warm, surprised that they'd unveil this outdoors- daring.
- March 15, 2009 at 6:56 PM
I saw them cutting great chunks out of her bottom on the news the other night. I know you can't see it in the photos, but it did happen!
Funnily enough, I immediately thought of you. - March 15, 2009 at 7:10 PM
- sendingtheclowns said...
Ekio Locatiare,
This has nothing to do with cake, but...
It's the Miss Universe scam that really gets my hackles up. I mean--sure, there are women from all over the world, but not once yet--EVER-- have I seen one single representative from anywhere else. Not EVEN from another planet in our own Solar System, let alone any OTHER planets in the universe!
Such blatant discrimination and misrepresentation is abhorrant, and for this it should be boycotted. At the very least! - March 15, 2009 at 7:38 PM
Hi Every one,
My name is jean Michel, and I actually did this barbie from our kitchen in Sweet Art.
Thank you for this blog, I was a little worried when I saw the name of the site but am grateful for the compliments. It took a week of work but the final product came out ok.
Thank you again for the comments
JM - March 15, 2009 at 7:39 PM
Being a Sydney Sider I wonder how they kept the Seagulls away - think the ones in Finding Nemo, and you've got the right idea. I hope they got some, I'm not a big Barbie fan.
Cake Barbie beats the 'Model'
(never heard of her to be honest) hands down, which is a tribute to the decorators and gives her some more respect from me - Classy Barbie, that is. :)
And its a habit here to show off by putting too many Swarovski crystals on anything :/ - March 15, 2009 at 8:40 PM
- Laurie Black said...
There are pics here http://www.wireimage.com/ItemListings.aspx?igi=357712&nbc1=1 of them eating the cake. From what I can tell, they cut from Barbie's backside to serve the cake. Yikes. Or something.
~Laurie - March 15, 2009 at 8:44 PM
- Kimpossible said...
WOW!!! That is unbelievable!! I's speechless. Barbie looks good enough to eat!!!
- March 15, 2009 at 10:03 PM
I like this cake very much, even though "only" the skirt is cake. Still awesome. And Barbie is too--really, it's not as if she's the sole source of poor body image in girls and the rest of society's ills. If you're actually trying to parent, you can probably combat 11 inches of plastic.
Go Barbie. Go Barbie cake. - March 15, 2009 at 10:09 PM
- Unknown said...
That's unbelievable!
- March 15, 2009 at 11:24 PM
- Jenn J said...
This is exquisite! Great choice for Sunday's sweet, it was truly a treat.
- March 15, 2009 at 11:37 PM
- Heidi D said...
That's so beautiful and amazing! It's more like art, shame to cut into it. That art, is the best art, of all the other art. ;)
- March 16, 2009 at 1:10 AM
Haha, you have a doll cake on Sunday sweets, who woulda thunk it? Is it just me, or are Barbie's "assets" a little smaller than they used to be?
- March 16, 2009 at 1:25 AM
- Wolverine Girl said...
I love the irony of impossibly proportioned Barbie being made out of mud cake. If it's true that "you are what you eat" I think I should go on a mud cake diet and maybe then I'll have legs to my armpits and boobs that defy gravity.
Word verification: rucis
I bet there was a rucis over who got to keep the mannequin part. - March 16, 2009 at 2:07 AM
Sweet Art is fantastic, so happy to see them featured on Sunday Sweets (I submitted their My Little Pony cake for the 80's theme). They made my 40th birthday cake using the colour and style of my favourite 1920s teaset - amazing. Such a gorgeous cake, and extremely delicious too.
- March 16, 2009 at 2:10 AM
- staceyrebecca said...
Holy Poop! that's probably the most glorious cake I've ever seen!
Amazing artistry! Seriously Amazing.
Well done, world. Well done. - March 16, 2009 at 3:46 AM
I haven't been able to find the video of it, but the story of the barbie cake, and Barbie's birthday celebrations where on the news here in Australia.
They cut the slices of cake out of Barbie's *ahem&* derriere, it was quite interesting. - March 16, 2009 at 5:31 AM
- Erin said...
Here's some video from the Sydney Morning Herald site.
http://media.smh.com.au/national/breaking-news/barbies-50th-birthday-bash-410861.html - March 16, 2009 at 7:56 AM
- Trevor said...
I don't think the top part is cake. I mean, we know the hair isn't, obviously, but I think the whole top IS something else. She's cutting the dress and not the top part.
- March 16, 2009 at 8:52 AM
It would be disturbingly interesting to watch one of the girls go at the head... I mean, it's an awesome piece of art, but I personally always have trouble eating food that stares back at me. Or points.
- March 16, 2009 at 9:08 AM
- Mary Ellen said...
what an awesome cake!... and i have to be bad and comment on Tometheus' comment....
while its totally cool to say eat barbie (because she's fake!) its so totally NOT cool at one's wedding to basically say "eat me"... or at least eat my cake that looks like me. ick - March 16, 2009 at 9:45 AM
- FreedomFirst said...
Just to clarify, for the benefit of the Anonymous posters who took offense at my comment: It isn't the idea of a Barbie cake that got me upset. It was the 2,000 Swarovski crystals. That's why I was equating it with solid gold fixtures as being wasteful and excessive. And I stand by that. Excess is never appropriate in my opinion. No matter how important you are, or how much money you have.
- March 16, 2009 at 11:30 AM
But why are all the little girls so...caucasian? Australia is surely more diverse than that! Sends just the right message to the kids who aren't blonde...
- March 16, 2009 at 1:05 PM
ah, as always, barbie stirs up controversy...
seriously people, this was posted as a testament to artistic endeavors in cake. get off your damn soapboxes and just admire it for what it is. as someone pointed out, this is truly the best example of a 'stick the barbie in the cake' cake. (and a great bit of promotion for the adept cake designer!) - March 16, 2009 at 2:00 PM
- Norkio said...
I love the look on the face of that little girl in the last picture. Sort of a frozen, freaked out smile, like she's saying "oh, what a pretty cake...I want my mommy!"
- March 16, 2009 at 2:28 PM
- Christine said...
I love the horrified cringe I like to imagine the little girl in the foreground is doing as they stick a serrated knife into her beloved doll. If she were chubby this would be an entirely different story.
- March 16, 2009 at 2:57 PM
- barbie2be said...
WOW! that's gorgeous!
- March 16, 2009 at 3:57 PM
Lends a whole different connotation to "bite me". Funny how the model went straight for the arse. ;)
- March 16, 2009 at 8:08 PM
- sendingtheclowns said...
"... get off your damn soapboxes and just admire it for what it is."
(posted by "mp.")
SIR YES SIR ! *salutes*
I WILL admire Barbie Cake! (drops & gives you 10)
I WILL get off my soapbox! (drops and gives you 10 more)
I want to be JUST like her in my next life. Rich, sparkly, and cakey. But without the knife in the ass.
(Is "mp." for military police?) - March 16, 2009 at 8:26 PM
Oh, very pretty.
Why is it always the harbour, though? Can't anything ever happen in sight of Parliament House, or some other city's landmark?
@ Mardek, about 90% of Australians are white (compared to the US's 80%). Since there are 11 children, it's only just out of proportion to the general population. So too, I'd say, is the approximate degree of blondeness (as in, I think there's only about one more blonde than there should be statistically).
Having an Asian or Aboriginal kid would have been better, but probably they didn't think any of them looked Barbieish enough. After all, Barbie's standard friends of colour are African and Latina, neither ethnicity common in Australia. - March 16, 2009 at 8:28 PM
- Ekio Locatiare said...
sendingtheclowns, I so hear that! *chuckles* I would love to see some outer rim of the galaxy gals show up. That would be the best day ever in the pageant world.
Back on the cake...I would have loved to have been the gal carving into the cake part. And I wonder how they kept up with all the crystals. 0-o - March 17, 2009 at 12:30 AM
There is an article about it in today's Sydney Morning Herald. I spent my lunch break drooling over it. It's a huge dolly vardon cake we all had as kids!
- March 17, 2009 at 12:31 AM
- Kisa 'Yuki' J. said...
*sigh* the doll isn't as pretty as the freakin' cake.. So.. no 50th Anni Barbie for me..
- March 17, 2009 at 12:34 AM
- imiss said...
The little girls face (looking at the camera)is priceless, shes thinking... "ok so can we eat the damn thing or what"? haha
www.thingswemiss.blogspot.com - March 17, 2009 at 12:57 AM
I thought the bridezilla cake was creepy because it was like...an effigy. It was beautifully done, which added to the ick factor. The cake just resembled an individual human way too closely for my comfort.
The Barbie cake looks like a toy. - March 17, 2009 at 3:51 PM
Isnt 'life sized' here like 10 inches tall - that's human sized!
- March 17, 2009 at 5:00 PM
- Chris Okay said...
technically, a life-sized barbie cake would stand only eleven-point-five inches tall; a human-sized barbie cake, now that's a whole other story.
love the page. thanks for all the good laughs, and the few wonderful examples of what true cakemanship is all about. - March 18, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Hiya! I live in Australia and watched the news report showing the Barbie Cake. I'm not sure how much of the upper torso is cake but her waist down certainly is! As they filmed the Sweet Art Chef cutting into her ass! and serving it on plates lol. I will see if there is a link to show the cake being vut and post the link :)
- March 18, 2009 at 9:48 PM
*also an aussie*
yeah... it somehow managed to be shown on all of the "news" programs that night in aus. The slice they showed being cut was taken from her left "cheek".
i tried youtubing it but didn't come up with anything :( - March 19, 2009 at 6:37 AM
Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was red velvet cake?
- March 20, 2009 at 8:56 PM
- Simon said...
Frankly, I'm spending too much time giggling at the photo of someone stabbing Barbie in the thigh.
- March 23, 2009 at 7:46 AM
I went to see that cake in the shop. Cake? Who was talking about a cake. It is a a mannequin. From the top to the bottom! If there was any cake at all it was just a little under a skirt on the backside. It is why you can't see a real cut on all those photos.
- March 23, 2009 at 8:30 AM
- Angelus said...
that last picture is like "OH my god, cAke, I can't eat that I"d have to purge...
Eat it lady, you'll wind up looking less like a horse head on a stick. - March 25, 2009 at 12:16 AM
I saw this on the news while I was actually IN Sydney. I was kicking myself for not going through with my intial plan of spending that afternoon downtown....wandering around the Quay and the Botanical Gardens!!
Does anyone know how much of her was actually cake??? I should have known it'd be on cake wrecks, my fav blog! =)
Cheers! - April 1, 2009 at 10:50 AM
- Coca Cola Cake said...
hiii that is dress for wedding??
- April 29, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Sweet Art made my wedding cake and it was incredible, they are so so so talented. if anyone is ever in sydney, check out the amazing display cakes they have in their store, you'll be amazed!
- September 13, 2009 at 5:23 PM
- Quickie Divorce Blog said...
A white chocolate mud cake? from other pics online of the model and girls eating slices, it is a white cake.
http://cache1.asset-cache.net/xc/85305969.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193B946C5A518E7D4C1AA475EBC1E04232AB01E70F2B3269972 - November 2, 2009 at 4:24 PM
OMG! That is AWESOME!!!
(I wouldn't like to eat parts of the body though- it would freak me out!!!!) - April 26, 2010 at 12:14 PM
- Unknown said...
Amazing! What can I say except that this cake is amazingly flawless!
Check out my blog: nikkiscakery.blogspot.com - May 11, 2010 at 9:55 PM
- Unknown said...
To Freedom First: You feel it's disgusting to waste money on Swarovski crystals on a cake. I agree with you. But here's the thing: If we're getting right down to it, making that cake at all is wasteful. Spending money on a party to celebrate the anniversary of a doll is wasteful. Taking photos of the wasteful party is wasteful, and spending our time arguing about it on a blog is wasteful. We could be spending all this time and money trying to help those starving children in Africa, but we're not. I'm not saying you shouldn't be disgusted with the excess, I'm just saying that maybe if you're REALLY interested in helping the starving children of Africa or anyone else in need, you should do something more productive than making negative posts on a cake blog. Perhaps instead of just calling it disgusting, you could have provided a link to the website of a worthwhile cause and suggested that people spend the same amount of time learning about that cause as they spent ogling the Barbie cake and reading your self-righteous post... and mine, for that matter.
On that note...
I'm on my way there myself. - May 20, 2010 at 3:33 PM
- Amber said...
Photos of it being eaten :)
-Amber - June 9, 2010 at 9:28 PM
Damn, that is the most beautiful mannequin/cake model I have ever seen! Damn, big props to the cake creator and sculptor of the first part.
But I am like FreedomFirst in that I CRINGED when I heard that 2,000 crystals were used for it. I mean, I know people sort of do it all the time, especially with art (i.e. edible gold dust for mock Oscar modeled desserts, etc.) and not that that is particularly wrong. But I will say that I am glad the crystals were used on the mannequin portion only (it looks like it,who would EAT crystals?) so that there is a chance that the crystals and even the gown will be reused or preserved for future use. And that way, unlike the cake portion, the top part will be preserved so his art will be appreciated longer. The skirt-only cake portion is actually a great idea in terms of preserving the art, as well as show off the skills of the artist without excessive energy wasted on a limited time-product such as a cake.
However, I do think that using crystals (which I can humbly assume were used for the glamour affect and its high status) instead of cubic circoniums and other products that could've possibly had the same affect, produce the same beautiful art and appreciation without the placement of the reputable crystals, was a bit much.
While FreedomFirst and Suburban Hypocrite seem "self-righteous", why have gold fixtures in your bathroom when you can have fake gold fixtures, why care about the spending habits of others (especially if the end product is good) and why try to impose an agenda completely different from the context this cake/mannequin was illustrated as?
Wee, run-on sentences ftw :) Beautiful cake, he has got some skillz. - June 14, 2010 at 11:36 PM
- TaylorM said...
Well, I guess it saves you the trouble of putting the girl *into* the cake if the girl *is* the cake.
- June 17, 2010 at 11:18 AM
I miss the old Barbie. Even with the size DD bra, she was more realistic than this one. This cake's hips are skinnier than her knees for pete's sake!!!! Is she supposed to be a commentary on modern woman's lack of need for birthing hips?
- July 9, 2010 at 3:45 PM
Shut the Cake Up! That is amazing! It's almost sad to cut into it.
- July 16, 2010 at 1:36 PM
If she unbent her arm, it would be longer than the other. :/
- October 18, 2010 at 3:54 PM
My husband works in the industry and when they elaborate cakes, a lot of time, they are decorated styrofoam with a single piece of cake just to show that it can be "cut". I think it's ridiculous, but it's apparently very common. Chances are that's what this "cake" is, and why it's so intricately sculpted.
Personally, my husband prides himself on making cakes that are not only 100% edible, but 100% cake (meaning no rice and marshmallow "cakes"). - December 9, 2010 at 11:46 AM
- Hannahkay said...
Carlo's bakery did a life-size cake version of Carlo's wife for her birthday. you should check it out.
- December 17, 2010 at 9:22 AM
Hmmm cake! really?
You decide
I think more a sculpture made by a cake artist - January 9, 2011 at 9:01 PM
And I thought I've seen everything in life...
The big-giant-wonder Barbie Cake just scared me! Wow, 1000x wow... - February 27, 2011 at 1:29 PM
LOL - February 28, 2011 at 3:11 PM
wow that is amazing but it must of been werid to cut the cake
- July 3, 2011 at 4:06 PM
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text:
Amanda II
(Intro from Amanda I)
JAY: I had never thought about having a child. My wife, L.A., thought otherwise. I of course fell in love with Amanda and started photographing her even before she was born.
She is now a young woman who has wit, wisdom, and a wicked sense of humor. I stand in awe of her. She is amazing. She also hates when I compliment her so I'm getting great joy here.
I followed her everywhere, inside the bank and everywhere else. I was so afraid of missing moments that I had extra cameras hanging on hooks outside of each room.
L.A. was instrumental in making this all happen. She was, and is, the best mom this kid could have had.
I was 62 when she was born and I just knew that this kid was going to be a Lulu. So I decided that she should be named Lulu.
The nurse-administrator thought otherwise.
"No child that I do the paperwork for is going to be stuck with that name just cause her dumbass father thinks it's cute."
Hence, Amanda.
Amanda did turn out to be a lulu and a joy. She claims I "ruined her life" and embarrassed her a "million times" by always pointing my damn camera at her (she loves looking at the pictures now).
As I'm now crowding 90, I beg her not to take pictures of my half dressed, decrepit self. She just continues, smiles and says, "Payback's a bitch, ain't it Dad?"
And L.A. just laughs and laughs.
PS – There are 54 more boxes, of 750 slides each, of Amanda to edit…
when I'm older.
AMANDA: Most fathers take their children inside during a snowstorm. Most fathers tell their children not to use expensive technical equipment as a jungle gym. Most father do not publish pictures of their toddlers—via feats of incredible gymnastic flexibility—inspecting their own reproductive anatomy. My father is not most fathers. He is a man who looked at all of the above scenarios and thought to himself, "what a shot!" best not disturb the creature in her natural environment. But that impulse is exactly what makes this body of work more than just the saccharine showing off of an old, doting father.
These photos are evidence of the fact that I had much more freedom than most children. My mother and father let me paint my body and surrounding with just about any material—or food group—that caught my interest. They did not discipline me when I pulled apart drawers, suitcases, or pocketbooks. They did not yell when I poured out all of my sand sculptures on the ground to create a "beach" in front of the area heater in our bathroom, or when I filled it with about twenty rolls of shredded toilet paper so that my mom would not be sad that we hadn't gotten any snow that winter. My father, who is by no means a patient man, even spared my young life, upon one occasion, when I thought it would be an exciting experiment to crouch down and pee directly into a box of slides he was about to edit. All for the sake of keeping my young imagination free.
People who have never met me, regularly tell my father that these are their favorite of his photos, and I used to wonder how that could be. But, with age, I have come to love these photos just as much, because I have realized what they really are: they are just as much a portrait of my father as they are of me. Taking pictures of me playing was his form of play and, in that way, he was always just another kid in the room.
My dad is a big kid. He looks at the world with the same sense of wonder and curiosity as kids do. He likes to take things apart to see how they work, just like kids do—he is really just a toddler with access to cameras, cigars, and a budget. But that is exactly what makes his work what it is: he is not concerned with presenting something complex to his viewer—he is concerned with sharing with them his excitement of what he is seeing and with bringing them into his world of play.
He has said his whole philosophy can be summarized by two words, "Hey, look!" And in these photos, he is discovering me as I discover the world and all its beauty and baffling complexity. When I look at these photos it is hard to tell who is having more fun, my father, or me. That is his magic: the world is always as new to him as it is to a child. He has never lost that sense of wonder and curiosity and joy. And he has always tried to instill in me the same sense of boundless wonder. For that, I thank him—and my mother, who is always behind the scenes making sure neither of us inadvertently kill ourselves in the process of seeking that joy.

subset: commoncrawl