Ever since Bompas & Parr demolished the boundaries between architecture and food by emulating the most emblematic part of London's skyline in jellied format, the pairing of the two disciplines has been accepted as a joyfully welcome phenomenon. That pairing has just taken a leap into the future in the manifestation of Dinara Kasko – a Ukrainian pastry chef whose sweet creations would be as much at home in a design museum as they would in the window of a (high-end) pâtisserie.
Cover: Bubbles, Dinara Kasko
Cluster, Dinara Kasko
It's hardly surprising that Kasko began her career working as an architect and a 3D visualiser. These cakes and tarts, seemingly disguised as highly-finished models of buildings and digitally mapped terrains, use silicone moulds modelled with Autodesk's 3ds Max software to create their futuristic forms. There's no wonky fondant, no uneven icing; these treats are a pristine marriage of technology and one of humanity's most traditional crafts – baking.
Voronoi cells with berries – Dinara Kasko
Kasko recently paired up with Venezuelan artist José Margulis to create cake versions of his works of art, which he produces using 3D sculptures and compositions made from different types of colorful plastic sheets affixed onto surfaces. The collaboration gave rise to "Kinetic Tarts" – edible versions works of art which were featured in the food publication So Good.
Tart #4 – Dinara Kasko with José Margulis
Even if Kasko's cakes seem too pristine to be eaten, they are absolutely intended for consumption. Her Bubbles cake was picked up by Italian company SilikoMart, which put her mould into mass production renamed as the Cloud. This means that people all over the world can buy Kasko's mould and recreate the same sweet magic – her recipes are all on her website.
Bubbles / Cloud mould – Dinara Kasko
As food and cutting-edge design continue to develop towards a indistinguishable discipline, Kasko has certainly given us something to sink our teeth into. The cavities will be worth it.
Visit Dinara Kasko's website for more delicious-looking recipes, and take a look at her Instagram account if it's only eye-candy you're after.