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Lotus Flower Centerpiece 2
Published: 2011-01-18 03:36:52 +0000 UTC; Views: 28728; Favourites: 1710; Downloads: 722
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Description
Another version....Final image for the 3rd and final in a How To series for Dessert Professional Magazine that hits the shelves any day.
All elements in the glass centerpiece are edible.
If you follow me, you'll recognize some of the components from earlier deviations I've posted.
All hand-sculpted and painted.
Lotus flower and lilly pad are wafer paper painted with Cocoa Butter and are completely free-floating.
Frog is sculpted from fondant, gum paste and royal icing painted with Cocoa Butter.
Fish are reverse-painted with Cocoa Butter on the inside of the glass.
"Pebbles" are edible molecular gastronomy caviar.
Now that Series 1 on Wafer Paper is done and to the presses, I've started Series 2.
BTW.... my class sign up can be found at www.chefrubber.com
Photo by ~Zathros
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Comments: 322
"Edible molecular gastronomy caviar" O.O xD
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Yep.
Specification was Β *thing" well before the cake flavored glob became all the rage...
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hahaha 
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Hello!! I have featured this lovely piece in my journal: Snakes and Frogs
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too bad it tastes like shortening and rice cakes!
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I like rice cakes but I don't know if I like shortening...
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Amazing! The best food art I've seen in a long time!
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Thank you very much!
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I would love to see how this looked sliced and served.
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The glass bowl is filled with water and edibles...
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Wow, that's impressive! I couldn't believe it was all edible at first!
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You're welcome!
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This centerpiece looks stunning!I love the detail you gave the fish and frog and how your flower technique gives a beautiful 'artistic' feel(as appose to gumpaste). May i ask how long it took you from start to finish?
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Thank you! I can't really keep track of my time when I'm developing a technique... and there were 3 distinct stages to this.
I do work hard to have the final techniques be reproducable and viable for busy bakeries...
If I had to do each element over again, with established designs and materials all set up, I'd estimate:
Koi Fish - Reverse painted. 20-30 minutes each.
Frog - Sculpting - 2 hours. Painting 20-30 minutes. (Not including drying time for the fondant/gum-paste.)
Lillypad - Sculpting - 20 minutes. Painting 10 minutes
Lotus - Sculpting, painting & Assembly - 2 hours
If multiples are required, I'd "assembly line" to streamline the process which can speed up the times per piece.
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This is really cool, I gotta say. I recently learned both how to sculpt with gum paste AND the chemistry of molecular gastronomy, and this is a pretty epic way to combine those two elements.
Gotta ask... what flavour are the pebbles?
(I've only made pseudo-caviar out of mountain dew lol)
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Thank you for the kind words!
Since the caviar was made for the shoot, we didn't bother to flavor it.
We've been experimenting with reverse-sphereification so we could make absinthe caviar....
There really are a ton of creative possibilities - just not enough time in the day.
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First of all.. You really amaze me.
I'm a cake decorator myself but this is just "wow" Of course I looked up your website immediatly and I want tot thank you for the really nice introduction to wafer paper molding! It's a technique that I have never seen before and it looks so great and refined.
So big thank you! I'm going to order wafer paper right now!
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Thank you!
And, I'm glad the How-To PDF can be of some use.
It took almost a year for me to develop and perfect the technique, so I'm always gratified to see it receive such a positive welcome with culinary artists.
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I did have one question! I don't have a heating lamp or box, but is it possible to use the oven on 50 degrees? Or is that too hot?
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I suggest a $10 heat lamp bulb - it will fit in a regular light socket. It is easier to control the heat/distance to the bulb. AND, it's a lot less expensive than running an oven.
Wafer paper is most brittle when it is just finished drying - it actually does better when humidity equalizes. It NEEDS some moisture - which is why it is more tolerant of humid environments.
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AMAZING WORK! How did you do the water? Is it just glass or Fiberglass? The frog, fish, and lilypad give it so much life! Great job on this wondeful masterpiece! 
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Thank you!
The water is water....
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Your welcome! I just thought that because i sometimes see those suspended "bulb fish" stuck in clear glass "water" at art shows. I wonder how they even do that.
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I've seen those, too...
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at first i thought the thumbnail was a box of tissue
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This has turned out Stunningly! I was looking forward to seeing how it all came together for you.
Congratulations on a fantastic piece of work.
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Oh my good this is beatuful....
I could really image to see this in art museum or something like that, it's amazing
You're really talented
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Hahaha, when I first looked at this, I didn't think it was something edible! Good job!
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this is officially the best thing i've seen all day
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You're very welcome!~
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Wow... Words fail me.
The first time I saw this, I thought "Wow, how cool would that be as a centerpiece in a house?"
The second time, I looked closer and thought "It'd be even cooler if the fish were real..."
The third time, I read the artists comments and said out loud "WAIT. THAT'S EDIBLE?!"
It's an incredibly realistic piece, and so beautifully painted... Definitely a well deserved DD in my book, congrats.
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