Nelson Pantano is the baker behind The King Cake. The Brazilian foodie began making confections with his mother when he was just 11 years old. Today The King Cake is known for its “sweet sugar flowers that imitate natural specimens.” Unlike other hyperrealistic cakes, Pantano’s focus isn’t on deception so much as aesthetics.
Each of his cakes is recognizable as a cake before cutting into it. Most of them have a traditional round base. However, the edible flowers he uses to adorn the desserts are quite convincing.
Patano showed off one of his flowers on Instagram in July. It’s a light pink dahlia with a green stem. It looks as soft and delicate as any real one.
“Made of rice paper, all edible!” Patano assured in the caption.
His floral talent was especially highlighted in a wedding cake. Patano used a traditional base of stacked white cakes ascending from largest to smallest. The frosting had no design, pattern or embellishments. Instead, the rice paper flowers were the decorative element.
Pale pink, peach, yellow, red and white flowers cascaded down the cake from top to bottom. To make it ultra-realistic Patano added leaves, stems and vines that made the cake seem like it was bursting with nature.
“Perfect. Looks harvested from the garden,” one Instagram user said.
“Beautiful composition,” one person wrote.
“Perfection,” another added.
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also enjoy this recipe for a chocolate funfetti cake.
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