The Off-World Celebration Cake–My Most Bizarre Baking Project Ever

One of the things I love about freelancing is that there’e no way to predict what interesting (sometimes even  bizarre) assignment will pop up next. This past week I’ve been feverishly working on perhaps the strangest project ever—creating the food and a cover pic for a science fiction writer’s upcoming Off
World Cookbook!  Yes, off-world, as in favorite intergalactic dishes served
by an array of human and other out in the universe beings in her Off-World series of futuristic romantic suspense novels.

My task for The Off World Cookbook was to produce food that looked simultaneously appetizing and
other-worldly and a setting suggesting a fairly advanced alien culture existing on a fictional planet called Thindar. The scene depicts a special-occasion cake and feast table during a celebration by the former ruling class, the Farlians, before they were overthrown in a coup by their own servants, the Dorre. O-o-o-kay!

The Off World Cookbook Celebration Cake

To give the image an ethereal, deep-space feel, I chose aqua for both the foreground and background, and used translucent, glittery mini-marbles, crystal dishes, and metal props that would shimmer and bounce a lot of light. The props also have streamlined lines and shapes, presumably the sort a future civilization might use. As you can see by comparing my original shot at right to the finished cover at the top, the cover designer, Su of EarthlyCharms, cleverly cranked up the cosmic, interstellar vibe further by adding in twinkly stars and starbursts around the book title.BTW, The Off World Cookbook will be published in December. Ruth’s story that features the Farlians and Dorre races is called Hero’s Welcome; it’s available on Amazon here.

Since the Farlian cake had to look weirdly wondrous yet be easy enough that the typical Off World
Cookbook buyer could duplicate it, I avoided calling for any tricky pastry piping techniques and jazzed it up mostly with purchased edible glitter and decors, crystal sugar, and a strategically drizzled-on colorful accenting icing. The cake is kept simple  by producing a Bundt cake from a purchased cake mix and baking in a cylindrical pudding mold, angel food tin, or other plain-sized tube cake pan of the size noted on the box. (Some brands even sell mixes that yield red or blue cakes!) For a fairly similar look that’s even quicker, just buy a 9-inch angel food cake and space the toppings out around the center hole.

For the best selection of sparkling sugars, edible glitter, and  shiny balls and decors, look in the cake decorating section of discount department and craft stores. And for the most extraordinary effect, apply them in abundance. As for the fantastical final touch, the spiky glass-like crown of candy shards on the cake top–it’s surprisingly simple to make, too. Really!

Tip: When serving the cake, advise diners to remove the candy shards and larger decors from their slice and to eat them separately as they would hard candy; the pieces are too chunky and brittle to be eaten as part of the frosting.

Use my recipe here or any simple powdered sugar icing recipe you like that makes a large batch.  (Or make a double batch.) Then follow the directions here.

 Adjust the icing by adding in more water or more powdered sugar so it has a smooth, spreadable, but not runny consistency. Remove a scant third of the icing to a smaller bowl to use for drizzling; the larger quantity will be the basecoat. Using drops of food color, tint the two bowls whatever complementing colors you like. Tightly cover the drizzling icing so it doesn’t dry out as you ice the cake.

Brush off and discard any crumbs clinging to the cake. (An angel food cake will have a lot of loose crumbs to remove, and the finished cake
will not look as smooth as the one pictured, but it will still be very attractive.) Spread the base coat evenly over the cake using a table knife or
wide-bladed spatula. If desired, while the icing is still wet, sprinkle sparkling or sanding sugar onto the cake sides, as shown in the Farlian cake photos. Wipe off any drips and sprinkles from the cake plate and let stand until the icing is set and firm to the touch, at least 30 minutes.

If necessary, thin the drizzling icing until just slightly fluid by stirring a few drops of water. Add spoonfuls of icing to the cake top, immediately swirling them to the edges at even intervals all the way around so they drip and form decorative stripes down the sides. If desired, immediately sprinkle the stripes with edible glitter and decors, as shown in the photo at left. Spread a bit more drizzling icing over the cake top to form a layer thick enough to hold the candy shards and sparkling
decors and balls. While the icing is still tacky, embed the shards into the icing so they will stand up, and fill in all around them with as many decors and sprinkles as you like. Let the cake stand until the icings sets, at least 30 minutes, before serving. It will keep, covered, for several days.

How to create glass-look shards from candy.

Clear hard candies of any color you wish are easy to turn into thin, glass-like sheets that when broken into pieces look like beautiful shards of glass. To duplicate the Farlian cake, use mostly colorless candies with a few purple, red and blue candies mixed in. Or create a totally different effect with brightly-colored translucent candies in whatever shades you like. For convenience, the shards can be made well ahead, then packed airtight in a flat box and refrigerated until needed.The amount of candy called for here will produce enough shards to decorate the top of a 9- or 10-inch cake.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Line a 10- by 15-inch with aluminum foil. Don’t skip the foil, as the candy will stick to the panwithout it.  Place the unwrapped whole candies slightly apart on the sheet (no need to crush or break them).Put the baking sheet in the oven and heat until the candies melt and run together, usually 4 to 8 minutes, but sometimes longer. Check frequently, as the melting time varies considerably from brand to brand, and you don’t want the candy to burn.

“Glass” shards made from melted translucent candies

As soon as candy pieces have melted together into a sheet, remove the pan
from the oven. If you want shards with swirled colors like those on the Farlian
cake, immediately dip a metal spoon into boiling water, dry it off, then swirl
it through the candy to create ripples of color as shown at left above. DO NOT TOUCH the molten candy as you work as it will stick to the skin and could cause serious burns. If the candy starts to harden before you’re finished swirling the colors, return it to the oven until molten again and then continue swirling with another hot spoon.

Let the sheet of candy cool on a rack until completely hardened. Then peel it off the foil and break it with your hands into whatever size shards you wish, as shown at right above. Any left-over pieces can be packed airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to a year. Or melt them down again and produce another sheet and more shards.