When Marie Antoinette supposedly uttered the words "Let them eat cake" with reference to peasant complaints about bread scarcity, she certainly wasn't discussing the cake of the 21st century! Cakes today are far too decadent now to speak of so flippantly!

Typically, cakes as we know it have always been associated with celebrations; they usually took the form of a simple, round, iced, spongy baked good that, after admired briefly, is simply a memory after a few bites. The past few years however, have brought about GRAND innovations in cake making that might make anyone think twice about scarfing down a slice or two without enjoying the craftsmanship along the way.

What has led to this cake revolution??? Fondant icing alone has given the cake "engineers" a great material to work with that is pliable and flexible enough to become what it is told to become. Be an airplane! You shout...and therein lies an airplane in your grasp. Ok, so I am being a bit dramatic but I have been watching ALOT of "Cake Pro" TV the past few weeks and have seen many a magical result from fondant wrangling, airplanes included. It seems to me that all the TV networks are trying to get in on the Cake Craze and have chosen to highlight those pastry chefs whose work is worthy enough to keep your attention for more than 2 minutes.

My two favorite shows currently are Ace of Cakes on The Food Network and Amazing Wedding Cakes on WEtv.. A close third would be Cake Boss on TLC. Ace of Cakes is centered around Pastry Chef Duff Goldman who has hired a band of crafty merrymen to assist him in his bid for the title of Master Baker. Duff's company, Charm City Cakes produces cakes that could only be called artwork... Artwork so thrilling that it almost makes you want to cry...seriously... Amazing Wedding Cakes follows a few different pastry chefs however, the Cake Girs ,led by sisters Mary and Brenda Maher are continually pushing their cakes to the limit in beauty and functionality.

In the photo montage below Duff's team created the Mario Bros cake, the Blue Henna cake, the Bubbles cake, and the Beer Barrel with cherry blossoms cake. There is painstaking detail and craftsmanship with each creation and it truly does look like what you would get if you asked an artist to make you a cake! The Turntable cake (it actually spins) the yellow mongoram mini cake, the Curious George cake, the beer mug cake and the Bowling cake are all crafted by the Cake Girls.

In my search for the pictures of these amazing cakes, I did come across some other notable mentions. The iPhone cake was made by Sugarcat cakes and the Vegetarian Sushi Cake was mabe by Whipped Bakeshop. The Singer sewing machine cake was made by Zhanna of St. Petersburg Russia.

(Click on pictures for larger images)

As you can see the possibilities are endless. Once you can dream it up, there is some artisan baker who can make your cake dreams come true!! These cakes would fare very well at birthday parties, anniversaries, weddings (grooms' cakes), engagement parties, baby showers, bachelor parties, company launches, you name it! It will no doubt serve as a focal point of the party, but will also provide a yummy treat for your guests!!

I dare you to not to eat these cakes slowly and with a hint of regret :)

Charm City Cakes









Cake Girls Cakes












Miscellaneous Mentions!!