28 Ways To Make Desserts That Are Prettier Than You
Don't be jealous...you get to eat them.
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1. Let your inner stargazer run free and paint constellations and astrological signs onto a black cake with a secret ~galaxy swirl~ interior.
Recipe from Sprinkle Bakes here. Check out her recipe for a black velvet nebula cake too!
Special ingredients/materials needed:
-Black Decorator Preferred fondant
-Size 0 or 1 round-tipped brush
-White gel food coloring
-Stiff bristle brush (for flickering on the white speckles, aka "stars")
-Blue, green, and neon purple food coloring (or whatever combination of colors you prefer)
2. Dust some freeze-dried fruit powder on your meringues to make them really POP.
Recipe from The Sugar Hit here.
Special ingredients needed:
-Freeze-dried fruit powders (like pomegranate or black raspberry)
3. Mix together green and blue food coloring to create the most breathtaking mint-colored (and -flavored) macarons ever.
4. Paint watercolor-like strokes on a white iced cake for a subtle yet charming effect.
Tutorial from Sugar and Cloth here.
Special materials needed:
-Various gel icing colors
-Food-specific paintbrushes
-Clear vodka/liquor or almond extract
5. Drizzle homemade lavender glaze over some blackberry white chocolate scones, and then garnish with more blackberries and lavender flowers for an instant Instagram sensation.
6. Dress up your cake with an assortment of fresh, delicate, and edible flowers for a truly nature-inspired gem.
Tutorial from Design Love Fest here.
Special ingredients needed:
-Edible flowers (buy organic ones, since flowers usually aren't grown to be consumed, and be sure to read up on what flowers are actually edible, like carnations and violets).
-Alternatively, you can buy flower cake toppers like these and these.
7. Bust out a chef's torch and fire it up to make some breathtaking strawberry crème brûlées.
Recipe from Hummingbird High here.
Special ingredients/materials:
-Vanilla bean pods (can be subbed with pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste)
8. Use varying amounts of food coloring drops and a tiny spatula to create a stunning ombré petal cake.
Tutorial from A Subtle Revelry here.
Special materials needed:
-Pastry bags filled with each color/shade, attached with #12 tips
-Small spatula (or the back of a metal spoon for spread the frosting out to create the depth of the petals)
9. Lend yourself to the galaxy dessert hype and make colored glaze that's basically a work of (intergalactic) art.
10. Channel your inner Jackson Pollock and splatter-paint the top of a chocolate chili cake with brightly colored frosting.
Recipe from My Name Is Yeh here.
Special ingredients needed (for the splatter paint):
-Water, booze, and milk + powdered sugar for each color
11. Pull out your kitchen torch and toast some marshmallow topping for a beautiful, finishing flourish to your s'mores tarts.
Recipe from Pastry Affair here.
Special ingredients needed:
-Pastry bag or offset spatula (to pipe or spread the marshmallow topping)
-Kitchen torch (or a full-sized blowtorch for more control over toasting the topping)
12. Envelop a three-tier cake with a fluffy blanket of pink cotton candy for a fanciful, day-at-the-state-fair touch.
Get the recipe from Sprinkle Bakes here.
Special ingredients/materials needed:
-Pink vanilla cotton candy (wait to apply right before serving to avoid a wilted presentation)
13. Grill up a batch of glazed brioche doughnuts and stuff them with whipped ricotta cream and fresh strawberries for a mouthwatering dessert sandwich.
14. Paint some nontoxic leaves with melted chocolate and matcha powder for a unique cake garnish.
15. Swirl around a bunch of wild blueberries in a vegan lavender and coconut ice cream concoction for your viewing (and eating) pleasure.
Recipe from Ambitious Kitchen here.
Special ingredients needed:
16. Whip up a delicious filling made up of ricotta cheese, honey/maple syrup, and berries to beautify your French toast casserole.
Recipe from Pinch of Yum here.
17. Take your poppy-seed cake to the next level by adding layers of passion fruit curd and drizzling passion fruit glaze all over and around.
18. Upgrade your fruity popsicles by combining seven different smoothie blends for one magnificent rainbow color scheme.
Get the recipe from The First Year here.
Special materials needed:
-A standard popsicle mold (or a swirly mold for extra oomph)
19. Use a sugar sheet and food coloring to paint ombré mosaic tiles for 360 degrees of edible geometry.
Get the tutorial from The Proper Blog here.
Special ingredients/materials needed:
-Food coloring
-Small paintbrush
-Rotary cutting set (if you want to be very precise, otherwise you could probably just use clean scissors)
20. Save yourself the trouble of actually baking and make these mini heart-shaped strawberry cheesecakes topped with a layer of jelly, white pearls, and green chocolate melts shaped to look like leaves.
Recipe by Vickie Liu for Brit + Co here.
Special ingredients/materials needed:
-Mini white sugar pearls
21. Sprinkle a shit ton of edible gold glitter on your cake (and coat your raspberries with it too) for a magical, regal effect.
Recipe from Spoon Fork Bacon here.
Special ingredients needed:
-Rose water syrup (or any flavored oil of your choice)
-Lots of gold luster dust
22. Deck out your panna cotta with a blackberry, pistachio, and white chocolate garnish for an elegant presentation.
Get the recipe from Spoon Fork Bacon here.
Special ingredients needed:
-Gelatin sheets (or powdered gelatin)
-Blackberries, crushed pistachios, and white chocolate crispy balls (for the garnish)
23. Create stunning rainbow cookies by layering up with almond, strawberry, and matcha powders/pastes.
24. Top off a double chocolate peanut butter layer cake with giant piles of caramel popcorn for no-effort decorations (and yumminess).
Recipe from Top With Cinnamon here.
Special ingredients needed:
-Store-bought caramel popcorn (or, if you're feeling ambitious, you can make your own)
25. Roll up thin, warm apple slices inside layers of puff pastry to make tarts that look like legit just-bloomed flowers.
Recipe from Not Quite Nigella here.
26. Combine the magic of rainbow sprinkles with a massive skillet cookie for a treat your kindergarten self would be in awe of.
Recipe from Raspberri Cupcakes here.
Special ingredients needed:
-Oven-proof skillet
-Heaps of rainbow sprinkles
27. Switch up ordinary churros for lava cakes filled with dark chocolate ganache and coated with sugar/butter/cinnamon for heightened decadence.
28. Cover every inch of your base with icing stars for a cake that looks like it came straight out of The Little Mermaid.
Slightly time-consuming, but damn, that ~ocean of stars~ can't be beat.
Tutorial from The Cookie Writer here.
Special ingredients/materials needed:
-Piping bags with #21 open star decorating tips (one of each for every color)
When a dessert is too beautiful and you're not worthy:
BRB, drooling forever.