celebrations

I've fallen a bit behind on the baking updates, so here is a brief catch up of what I've been up to lately!

1) The Human Genome (Cookie) Project 
Several years ago scientists completed a once seemingly impossible task: mapping the entire human genome, down to the last nucleotide base pair. This year I accomplished a seemingly ridiculous task: applying it to cookies.

My friend works for a research hospital and extracts a whole lot of DNA for her job. So naturally, DNA themed cookies were the most appropriate present for her. And what better excuse to combine baking and science?!

Sugar cookies were baked and topped with fondant and icing to create DNA birthday cookies. Above are an example of what might be obtained from a southern blot assay. Or combining sugar, butter, eggs and flour. Same thing, really. Also included in the gift pack were puzzle-y base pair cookies that matched up (A-T, C-G). University biology classes have come in handy in ways I never expected.

2) A sweet&splendid 16
This cake was created for a young lady celebrating a birthday milestone. Vanilla and chocolate cake was filled with caramel buttercream, covered in pink fondant and piped royal icing. This girl is glamorous and wanted a cake to match; so I added a gumpaste flower with Swarovski crystals in the centre. It was the sparkliest accessory I've ever created!

3) Crani-yums, round 2
This next cake was for a young woman's celebration of something very significant: remission from brain cancer. Chocolate cake was carved down and covered in rolled fondant to create a delicious brain that she and her friends and family (and not cancer) would get to enjoy. 

To learn more or to volunteer or donate to a worthy cause, visit http://www.conquercancer.ca.


There's always something to celebrate, what's your occasion?


-Danielle

agar-agar

Nothing makes me happier than combining the two things I love most in life: science and cakes. Many years ago, I spent a good part of my undergraduate degree in a wet lab working with cell cultures. I looked every the bit the part of a scientist; lab coat, goggles, and hollow expression resulting from chronic sleep deprivation. 

My microbiologist friend celebrated his birthday and I took the opportunity to step back into the past, channel my inner biologist, and create a petri dish cake for him.

The top of the dish was covered in yellow fondant agar with petal dust and gel coloured colonies. Sprouting from the biggest colony was a mutant bug. But it's ok, he looks pretty benevolent to me.

Because many scientists share the same incubator and work space, it's very important to label your dish with the culture species, the date it was plated, and the cellular density, to keep track of growth. It's also important to label any dangerous cultures with internationally recognized symbols. Safety first!

Happy birthday Alex, I wish you many more years of geek-dom!

-Danielle

crani-yum.

After almost eight years of studying the brain, it was only a matter of time until I made an edible model. It's too bad I didn't have this during my undergraduate neuroanatomy lab...

I couldn't capture every single sulcus or gyrus, but the corpus callosum is made of buttercream - the most delicious white matter there is.

-Danielle