Lifelike ‘Succulent Cakes’ Turn Prickly Plants into Delicious Desserts

Just last month, we developed a sweet tooth for the spring-themed buttercream creations of Instagram’s best bakers, like Ivenoven. Jakarta-based pastry chef Iven Kawi says she made her first honest attempt at baking in December of 2013 when she made a batch of Christmas cookies for her daughter’s school. As you can see, things have progressed quite a bit.

Much like her flower cakes, Ivenoven’s succulent-inspired sweets feature flora sculpted with frosting made from powdered sugar, butter, and food coloring. Once her desired consistency and colors are achieved, she uses a piping technique to create realistic leaves, spines, and needles. Like real-life cacti and other water storing plants, each buttercream figure is unique in color, size, and shape. When grouped together in the bunch-like arrangements characteristic of Ivenoven’s aesthetic, the buttercream succulents bloom into verdant gardens and transform into cake-topping terrariums.

Kawi now runs a bakery shop out of her home in Lippo Karawaci called Iven Oven where she creates elaborately decorated baked goods. Among her specialties are cakes adorned with terrarium environments where buttercream frosting is sculpted into an abundance of cacti and flower petals atop beds of crumbly sand or dirt. You can follow more of her work on Instagram.