Even Duff Goldman Is Creeped Out By This Super Realistic Cake
Duff Goldman is known for making stunning cakes that range from the super realistic to the creatively fantastical. Remember the incredibly real-looking and functional R2-D2 cake he and his team at Charm City Cakes made for "Star Wars" producer George Lucas? The Maryland native also recently made a cake that looked so much like a canister of classic Old Bay Seasoning that some fans thought it was a close-up of the actual spice container. Of course, his most iconic cakes were the series of Harry Potter confections, complete with special effects like lights and smoke effects, for the movie premieres of the films.
So if the "Ace of Cakes" star is wowed by an incredibly realistic-looking cake, you know it has to be amazing. He shared just such a cake, with compliments to the chef via Twitter recently. The baker and cake artist, Natalie Sideserf, of Sideserf Cake Studio in Austin, Texas, made a life-sized wolf spider cake just in time to scare the pants off us for Halloween. This bad boy looks so skin-crawlingly real, arachnophobes will be hesitant to approach the sweet treat, let alone slice into this eight-legged creation. The folks at Nerdist say they're reluctant to stick a fork in Sideserf's cake because "we're not confident it won't spring to life and bite off your face when you do." They couldn't be more right. This cake is the stuff of nightmares. We should warn you: if spiders creep you out, brace yourself before scrolling further.
Duff's followers are equally impressed
Sideserf Cake Studio posted a YouTube video in which Natalie explains how she and her team created this creepy confection. It starts with a cake dyed a hue of pink that, yeah, looks like we imagine the inside of a spider might look like. The cake is small, which somehow makes it scarier. At just over 2 inches, it looks like a real wolf spider. She carves the cake into two segments for the spider's body, and spreads slime-green buttercream over it. After covering the creation in beige fondant, and sculpting spaces for its eight eyes and other features, Sideserf bends fondant into legs. The real artistry comes in the painting phase. Sideserf uses food coloring powder and lemon extract to color this spider in various shades of brown — again, just like a real female wolf spider. The final touch is modeling chocolate for her eyes, brushed with a swipe of piping gel for a lifelike sheen.
Duff's followers were impressed. "Amazing talent. That would be an amazing sculpture even if it didn't have the added difficulties of cake," @mitchbear commented. "That is crazy impressive! However, if I was offered a slice, I'm not sure I could eat it," @choleyoley added.
Sideserf's other cakes are worth seeing. It seems like there's not an object on Earth this talented artist can't turn into a cake: Michael Scott in his purple bandana, a hairbrush, a bunch of asparagus. Sideserf Cake Studio's Instagram is one we're following.