We all noticed the proliferation of sour dough bakers during quarantine. How could we not, with everyone from priest to chiropractor sharing tips on the best flour to use for a starter? But in my own feed, I also spied a stealth but steady increase in cake decorating posts. I saw as many people discussing buttercream designs as I did the immersive Van Gogh experience.
Once, you just opened a can of Duncan Hines Buttercream Frosting and went at your cake with a butter knife. Now, it’s all about fondant and edible accessories that transform dessert into a museum installation.
One of the decorating trends I’ve enjoyed following most is the geode cake. If you remember high school geology, geode cakes are supposed to replicate natural rock formation. The baker carves out part of the cake and fills the exposed interior with edible crystals, composed of rock candy or bits of Isomalt, a sugar substitute.
The excavated cake can appear a bit vaginal in some designs. So, it’s important to choose the crystal colors with care, so they are neither two garish or genitalic. I prefer designs where the rock blends softly with the cake shape, rather than those boasting large gashes that seem to have hailed straight from a Wes Craven slasher film.
With their gem like qualities, the geode cakes are perfect for weddings or anniversaries where formality and style are key. If you’d wear your diamonds to the event, then your cake should wear some too.
To try your own geode designs, cover your bake cake with fondant. Refrigerate it. While the cake is still cold and firm, start cutting out your geode shape. Only do a little at a time, because it’s easier to increase the hole, as needed, than it is to repair a mistake.
Once you have your hole, cover it with buttercream and get the surface as even and smooth as possible. Then, lightly coat the spot with piping gel to help the rock candy adhere. Finally, insert your rock candy minerals. Voila.
Share your geode cake and other tips with us. Also check out @cakesdaily.gram on instagram for more cake inspiration.