CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, September 06, 2017

Bold New Mathematical Cake Designs by Dinara Kasko

Colossal: Since we last checked in with Dinara Kasko, the Ukrainian pastry chef has continued to innovate at a dizzying pace, further incorporating her use of mathematical algorithms and 3D printing into her baking process. Many of the cake designs begin as a collaboration with mathematicians or sculptors who help develop the patterns she then utilizes to print special molds. The final desserts are interpretations of cakes, tarts, and other fully edible desserts that might look more at home inside an art gallery than on a dinner table.

12 comments:

Emma Patterson said...

Kasko’s cakes are absolutely mesmerizing. I was lucky enough to be raised in a school in which interdisciplinary exploration was encouraged, and that idea extended beyond the classroom and into our hobbies and passions. Seeing Kasko’s work really reinforces the idea that creativity in two fields that are radically different is not an isolated concept. Innovation comes from our ability to constantly be able to connect the dots that seem universes away. Mathematics and baking seem to be on other sides of the universe, aside from the basic arithmetic involved in measurements; applying mathematics to the aesthetic choices involving cake design is innovation that challenges the norm of what we think something should look like, and it encourages us to step outside the box. Cake is a small scale example of innovation, but seeing this kind of creativity in something so simply can be massively inspirational to apply those same principles and techniques to any number of things, and pushes us all to continue creating.

Vanessa Ramon said...

This is so cool. I really love it when things that you to be considered unrelated get mixed together to create something that no one ever thought could be beautiful. I love the style of these cakes and the interesting patterns that Kasko is using by way of math. I also think its really cool how these cakes are created by way of a collaborative process. A mathematician and a baker come together to make this cake and what they create is a work of art not only in cake but also technically speaking. Its so cool how Kasko is using a 3D printer for cake making. something that can now print for medicine can be used to print yummy cakes too and that's great. Overall, I love how to seemingly unrelated things came together to create something wonderful. I can't wait to see what other combinations art comes from.

Truly Cates said...

This is incredible. I actually found this article, and then Mattox let me know it was also on this site. It takes a very creative mind to decide to do something this unexpected, and an even more passionate mind to actually go through with it. The shapes as well as the colors and the form the fillings take, its all so surprising and visually appealing. Maybe not the same type of "appealing" as most food. But these cakes satisfy your eyes as well as your appetite. These are cakes I'd imagine seeing in an animated movie, maybe a Tim Burton, but never in real life. This woman's innovation is what it takes to get articles in Colossal.

Liz said...

There are many people out in the world who have brought food making to a whole new level. It is just incredible to see how limitless potential one has when one pours passion and dedication to the work they love. These cakes completely exhibit the amazing interaction among pastry, art, and technology – 3D printing, the structure based on mathematical algorithms, innovative appearance design, and the creative use based on the texture of ingredients. Just when you think galaxy mirror glaze cake is the most fantastic thing in the world, with a blink of an eye, someone expose you to a dizzying display of abstractive and impressionist cakes.

I love the fact that she also sells the silicone molds so people can easily make one themselves. This pastry artist is so full of ideas and passionate for more experiments. As fascinating and tempting as they look, I do hope they taste as good.

Rachel Kolb said...

This is a great example of interdisciplinary work. It is always fascinating when two unexpected fields come together to create something truly beautiful and inventive. When people from fields all across the creative and academic spectrum come together the world is their oyster. There is so much you can do when you have a wealth of knowledge at your disposal. This is one reason why I like the fact that Carnegie Mellon is a university and not just an arts school. We have people from all different backgrounds around us every day. We have the option of working with a computer science person and finding a way to integrate technology and coding to make art. Or possibly an engineer to put a robot on stage. Interdisciplinary work fosters an environment where people learn from each other and get exposure to other fields. It’s the place for innovation and pushing the boundaries of what we know.

Monica Skrzypczak said...

I love cake designs especially these designs. They're so innovative and beautiful and on top of that mathematically precise. It brings together the arts and the sciences in a really strange and delicious way. The ball, cube, triangle one is especially impressive since it looks least like a cake, and like it shouldn’t be standing, but they’re all amazing. The extents that cake making and decorating has gone to in the past few years is incredible. Science has gone so far that we can make these silicone molds that can so precisely make mathematical baked goods and not melt in the oven or break apart the cake and instead just peel off. It wasn’t too long ago that the only cake shapes you could make were cylinders and rectangles and if you wanted to do anything else you have to shape it by yourself with a knife. Now with fondant and these molds almost anything is possible. I would love to buy one of these molds but how do you even decide?

Unknown said...

I happen to be a big fan of cooking shows, pastry chefs, and other related cooking-based entertainment, and have been watching a ton of cake videos on youtube in the past year, and I can say with confidence that I have never seen anything like the cakes that this Chef/Artist is creating. On one hand, it makes total sense. Geometric designs are present in any other field that requires any level of creativity, so why not cake? On the other hand, I really have to ask, why hasn't this been done before when people have been carving cakes for decades? These cakes are absolutely beautiful in every way and clearly took tons of time, planning, and measuring to develop. It's also an incredible business move for the chef to be putting out silicone molds for individuals like me who would never be able to carve cakes with this level of precision.

Kelly Simons said...

Ok, I will be the first out of anyone to admit that I don’t like cake. And I especially don’t like math. However, for these cakes I may be able to put my prejudices aside and enjoy both the math and cake side of these pieces of art. These cakes are gorgeous, and the fact that some of them were made with 3 D printing is even cooler. The article states: “Many of the cake designs begin as a collaboration with mathematicians or sculptors who help develop the patterns she then utilizes to print special molds. The final desserts are interpretations of cakes, tarts, and other fully edible desserts that might look more at home inside an art gallery than on a dinner table.” And I couldn’t agree more. The detailing of some of these cakes make me think they need to be placed under glass. It almost seems like a waste to eat these cakes, but I suppose not eating them is even worse, because why bake them then?

Julian Goldman said...

Those are some really surreal and mesmerizing cakes. They also look delicious. I could see a cake like that being great for a fancy party or something similar, since it would serve as a classy decoration, plus there seem to be a wide variety of flavor possibilities. From what I understand, sculptural cakes tends to usually need to have a dense consistency in order to be carvable and hold their shape, but because these seem to be more standard cakes with a decorative shell, I assume there would be less of a limit on what flavors/ varieties of cake would be on the inside. Plus making them molds allows someone to make cakes like this very efficiently, and could be especially useful if you are holding a banquet and want multiple duplicates of same cake. Plus depending on how the molds are made you could scale them down to make mini versions of a larger cake that is a very complex and intricate shape. I’ve always found artistic cakes to be interesting, but I’ve never seen anything like these before.

Katie Pyzowski said...

These cakes are so cool! I ended up reading a few more articles about Kasko and her cake making process. This is an awesome instance of a new form of art made possible with newer technology. Not only does it look stunning, I bet it also tastes fantastic. It is so cool that mathematical formulas and properties are being used to create such unique food shapes. As a lover of math, I believe that math is very interconnected in our everyday lives – baking itself is a great representation of balanced chemistry – and Kasko uses math to further create a beautiful aesthetic. I hope these cakes can show people how beautiful math can be.
3D printing is a tool that is so versatile now: it can be used to build anything from food to housing. I watched a video today about a Shakespeare company that uses 3D printers to create sliding connectors to eliminate the use of fasteners in their sets. I've never been very tech savvy, but I would love to learn how to utilize something like a 3D printer to improve the art form that is theatre.

Ella R said...

This is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I truly believe that baking is an art form and this just confirmed my original belief.

Unknown said...

It doesn't matter that these are made from flour and sugar and eggs, these are pieces of art. The article was spot on when it said that these baked goods would be more at home in a gallery than on a table. I could picture cutting into one of these cakes and eating it. I've always found art that is created just to be destroyed fascinating. In very few mediums does an artist spend days creating something truly beautiful just to have it end up disappeared or destroyed. Usually when people devote a long time the creation of a work the intention is to have it last forever, no matter if that becomes the reality or not. However, with both culinary art and theatre, we know that the eventual end when we begin is that the piece we work on will be gone. Yet we continue to devote our hearts and souls to work that will end up as nothing and it doesn't feel defeatist in the least. In fact, part of what makes both these artforms exciting is the temporary nature of the work. In the end, it only lives on in our hearts (and stomachs).