Come with me, we'll go and see, the big rock candy mountain
March 29, 2017 8:37 PM   Subscribe

Holy Crap Chocolate Geode.
posted by latkes (32 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
"Trendy Geode Cake" is the name of my next glitter-disco band.

But that's a pretty cool mashup of geological baking with real-time results! Never even knew it was a thing until now. Thanks!
posted by not_on_display at 8:44 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


Best of the universe!
posted by Room 641-A at 9:01 PM on March 29, 2017


My birthday's coming up in a few months hint hint
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:33 PM on March 29, 2017


I once went with my dad, a now-retired jeweler, to Tucson for the annual big-ass gem and mineral show. We saw amethyst and citrine geodes so big you could literally use them for bathtubs. Which I quickly realized you wouldn't want to do, because them things is pointy inside! Not ass-friendly!

I am however on board with an edible one and am sending him this link for an appraisal.
posted by middleclasstool at 9:37 PM on March 29, 2017 [5 favorites]


This is how you screw with geologists.
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:43 PM on March 29, 2017 [5 favorites]


Wouldn't it be fun to go to a geologist's association after party, where this was cracked open and celebrated? That would be some fun fun party.
posted by yueliang at 11:56 PM on March 29, 2017 [4 favorites]


I would totally be willing to endure the pointiness of a geode bathtub just for the experience/story. Now, don't ask me to own one, because just thinking about what would be involved in keeping it clean makes me shiver. I'd never want to own your standard decorative geode for the same reasons.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:03 AM on March 30, 2017


These are amazing, thanks for sharing! The linked wedding cakes look amazing as well, different take on the same basic technique.

Where the article says he spent six months making them, is that six months of prototyping and refining techniques, or six months of just growing crystals, layering chocolate, etc for those individual geodes?

the annual big-ass gem and mineral show

If this isn't actually the name of that show, up on banners and so forth, then we need a kickstarter to buy the naming rights.
posted by metaBugs at 12:49 AM on March 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


(The Tucson show is actually many different shows all running at the same time.)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 1:31 AM on March 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


How do you make a thing like that?!
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:22 AM on March 30, 2017


My wife is an amateur cake baker/decorator, and she just made a geode cake for our daughter's 16th birthday. Not quite as ambitious as this one, but it still took hours to get the rock candy and gold leaf correct.
posted by Rock Steady at 4:40 AM on March 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


As someone with Type 2 diabetes this both attracts and repels me.
posted by Splunge at 6:23 AM on March 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


I don't understand how this can be called a cake. Candy, sure, sugar sculptures, real works of art, undeniably--but is there any actual cake in these "cakes"?
posted by pupsocket at 6:48 AM on March 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


what would be involved in keeping it clean makes me shiver. I'd never want to own your standard decorative geode for the same reasons.

What the hell do you think people do with geodes?!
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:51 AM on March 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


How do you make a thing like that?!

I imagine it's something like:
  1. Make a big chocolate egg
  2. Fill it with super concentrated sugar syrup
  3. Rotate it gently
  4. Repeat Step 3 daily for the next six months
posted by zamboni at 7:03 AM on March 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


I guess you just hose out a geode when it gets dusty? Or canned air maybe?

I think you could clear-coat it with enough coats of resin to retain the geode ecfect, but make it functional as a tub. If you really wanted to.
posted by blnkfrnk at 7:27 AM on March 30, 2017 [2 favorites]


Unfortunately, there is a huge problem with this story, and it's sad considering the end result is a lot of fun to look at. You can see the story unfold on Facebook comments for this video.

According to one post, which seems backed up elsewhere including by Abby, the other student chef involved:

"I have a quick few "fact check" points to bring up in regard to this video. First, this project was the result of both parties equally, Abby and Alex were EQUAL parts of this project! Both are equally responsible for the awesome end product. Second, this Idea was not the brainchild of Pastry chef Yates. This was a project that was undertaken by two star students in the class taught by the talented Chef Peter Greweling. This Idea is also all around the CIA campus in several forms. You can see this in several Geode cakes and even other eggs that have been around campus. This idea stems from Chef Greweling himself, both Abby and Alex's pastry professor. Keep up the great content! I really enjoy your videos and such! I hope that you will take these changes into consideration either now or in publishing future articles/videos about budding young chefs or even experienced ones! Thank you!"

As this story replicates across the Internet, the co-creater, Abby Lee Wilcox, as well as their mentor Peter Greweling, get mentioned less and less. I'm not sure if it is pure sexism, laziness on the part of media, or Alex failing to appropriately give credit where credit was due in the first place, but these things impact careers.
posted by Muddler at 7:34 AM on March 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


Oh cool, thanks for clarifying. Sounds like a very cool class and school project.
posted by latkes at 8:17 AM on March 30, 2017


These are very pretty but not particularly appetizing. Are these things actually consumed, or are they used strictly for "wow" factor and then discarded?

On a cruise aboard one of the last "classic" liners back in the early 70s I witnessed spectacular dark-on-white chocolate paintings of scenes in Holland being tossed into the sea a few hours after a "show buffet." I had admired the paintings--they were huge--and was scolded when my young fingers tried to snap off a corner to eat. All that gorgeous Dutch chocolate! I was horrified.

Call my a killjoy but I don't like food stunts unless the food stays food.
posted by kinnakeet at 8:28 AM on March 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


ah i love cake decorating videos so much!! one of my friends is a cake decorator for a local vegan spot and has amazing videos on her instagram, including her own version of a geode cake
posted by burgerrr at 9:06 AM on March 30, 2017


Ann Reardon, of How to Cook That on YouTube, has a tutorial on making geode candies, using either base of fondant, or candy melts. Not the same as cracking one open, but looks like a fun (if messy) project to do with kids.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 10:39 AM on March 30, 2017


ilu Teen Vogue, but the river of melted rock candy you mention is just sugar syrup with a lot of food coloring. Slow your roll.
posted by maryr at 11:12 AM on March 30, 2017


You can still have a geode bathtub: you pour a lot of smooth clear waterproof plastic stuff in so it's a smooth surface but you can still see the pretty pointy bits.
posted by hleehowon at 12:16 PM on March 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


The last time chocolate lasted even just 6 days in my house was never so this is unpossible.
posted by srboisvert at 12:28 PM on March 30, 2017 [3 favorites]


Came across this in the same rabbit hole: Hissing cockroach cake with Boston creme filling. A fondon't in my book, but different strokes for different folks...
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:47 PM on March 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


Hissing cockroach cake, you say? Enjoy more culinary creations from Katherine Dey.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:22 PM on March 30, 2017


You could fill one half with enough saltwater to float in, avoiding points, then have someone cover you with the other half, and create a sensory deprivation tank with bonus mystical geode energy. Pre-float LSD and/or Altered States re-watch optional.
posted by Room 641-A at 1:25 PM on March 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:40 PM on March 30, 2017 [4 favorites]


Apparently one of the pastry interns at my most recent job (out of work sculptor!) was a classmate (or something) of the folks who did the chocolate geodes. Their project has been making the rounds of cake/food/event circles. I admit I'm surprised to see it outside that because I thought that stunt pastry was over as an internet item.

From my own experience working in super fancy cakes, sugar is SO COOL and super horrific to work with and/or eat. But good for them! I hope they get fantastic jobs off of this because their school is expensive and pastry chefs aren't paid that well. Maybe they'll both go into food science....
posted by palindromeisnotapalindrome at 5:25 PM on March 30, 2017


> "Wouldn't it be fun to go to a geologist's association after party, where this was cracked open and celebrated? That would be some fun fun party."

There was an Actual Study which showed that geologists are the hardest partying scientists around. Not making this up.
posted by kyrademon at 4:11 AM on March 31, 2017




geologists are the hardest partying scientists around

shhhh, not so loud—barchan is still recovering from last weekend
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:41 AM on March 31, 2017


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