bake - October 2017 - 10

technical corner

JOHN UNREIN

Geode
Cake Design
Geode cakes are gaining such notoriety in the
cake decorating world that superstar performing
artist Beyoncé recently requested a black-andgold geode birthday cake from Cake Life Bake
Shop in Philadelphia.

HOW TO MAKE A GEODE CAKE

The custom cake, which costs several thousand

According to cake decorator and blogger Jennifer Johns,
here's a step-by-step method to make a geode cake:

dollars, took two days to construct and featured
the "queen bee" colors of black and gold and
three tiers of honey lavender cake. It was topped
with a gold crown that resembled the one Beyoncé wore at the 2016 Grammy Awards. The
cost of a geode cake can run $3,500 or more,
depending on the level of detail required.
"We heard from her people that Beyoncé loved
the cake," remarks Cake Life's co-owner Lily
Fischer, a big Beyoncé fan.

Prepare cakes and cover in a thin layer of buttercream. Have
6-inch cake on a small, thin cardboard cake board, and the
8-inch cake on a large, white cake board. Roll out two long
logs of white fondant and a long log of blue fondant and
twist together. Continue to twist and roll fondant together
until it is marbled. Using a large fondant rolling pin, roll
fondant out flat into a circle at least 14 inches in diameter
for the small cake, and at least 16 inches in diameter for the
larger cake. Drape fondant over top of each cake and smooth
flat with a fondant smoother.

A geode (or gemstone) cake is made by
removing parts of the center and adding a
gemstone made of rock candy or other edible materials. Popular gemstone cake ideas
incorporate amethyst, rose quartz, agate, and
turquoise and gold.
Wedding cake makers have been proclaiming 2017 as the year of the geode cake. For
one, Mark Seaman is an expert on recognizing
trends and helping brides achieve their dream
wedding cakes, having taught four years as a

Place three wood dowels into the larger cake and cut flush to
the top of the cake. Stack with smaller cake on top of the support dowels. Use an edible ink pen to draw a long oval shape
onto the cake, with half on the top and half on the bottom tiers.
Use a sharp knife to remove a deep groove amount of cake.
Cover the exposed cake in buttercream, and then piping gel.
Start in the center with the darkest blue rock candies and
work outwards with the lighter candies. To use the gold
leaf, cut pieces into small strips by placing sheet of gold in
between two sheets of transfer paper. Gold leaf is extremely
fragile and will move at the slightest movement of air.

chef instructor and master cake artist at the
prestigious French Pastry School after running
his own cake shop for nine years in Chicago at
Marked for Dessert.
Geode wedding cakes "are huge right now," says
Seaman, CMSA, who is culinary applications
chef, specialties, for Barry Callebaut. "I think a
lot of cakes will be created this year based on
the bride's birthstone."

10 < OCT 2017 | bakemag.com

Brush application area of fondant with water and press
gold leaf to that area. Using a large, dry, makeup brush,
press the gold leaf down on to the wet fondant area. Fill in
any gaps between the gold and the crystals with additional
clear crystals. To make the border around the bottom of both
cakes, pipe on a generous amount of piping gel at the bases
and start with the darkest blue at the bottom, working your
way up to the lightest. Pile the large chunk rock candy on a
string on top of the cake as a cake topper.

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bake - October 2017

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