THE QUEEN OF KAWAII CAKES
Baker’s creations take cuteness to edible level
Lyndsay Sung ’s cakes make people happy. And not just because they’re delicious.
The self-taught Vancouverbased baker’s creations are cute enough to make even the most curmudgeonly among us crack a smile. No, really.
One quick scroll through Sung ’s Instagram feed, where she shares artfully created imagery of her even more artfully crafted cakes for her more than 88,000 followers to enjoy, yields smiling, happy faces of foxes, bunnies, unicorns and more.
Each one meticulously crafted using cake batter and icing. And each one undeniably edible, if you’re willing to cut into one of their adorable exteriors, of course.
“Anything with a cute face,” Sung says of the inspiration for her beloved baked goods. “A stuffie in a store window, a hilarious GIF, a drawing; I love turning things into cakes.”
Her cute style has made her a bit of a master of all things Kawaii, otherwise known as the culture of cuteness in Japan, in the cakebaking world.
“Modern-meets-vintage with a heavy emphasis on cuteness and an undying love for buttercream piping,” Sung sums up of her style. “I’ve also been told I’m the queen of Kawaii cakes. I don’t know about queen, maybe jester.”
Playful joking aside, creating cakes has provided more than just an outlet for creativity and cuteness. For Sung, sharing her cakes with her blog readers and social media followers helped her through a particularly difficult personal time as well.
“I think newer fans or followers may now know that I’m a breast cancer survivor,” she says. “I talked about it a lot when I was going through treatment and it was very helpful and therapeutic to share and express myself while going through that painful period.”
But baking boasts a long hold on Sung ’s heart, too, dating back to when she was given a pink stand mixer as a wedding present by her late grandmother, more than 10 years ago.
“My obsession with cakes and baking really took off,” she says of that moment.
Long intrigued by the visual possibilities of cake decorating, she recalls she was “mystified” by how creators could make something so clean and beautiful from an edible medium such as cake. Undeterred by her self doubts, she decided to give it a try.
“I started making them before the huge push of YouTube videos and way before Instagram, so I turned to books to figure things out: crumb-coating a cake, levelling your cake layers, piping tips,” she says.
Sung is the first to admit the original creations were anything but cute.
“I made a lot of super ugly cakes and watery, rock-hard muffins in the early days of experimenting,” she recalls with a laugh.
But, with practice, she honed her skills, and developed that trademark Kawaii style. And she hopes to inspire others to do the same with her new book Coco Cake Land: Cute and Pretty Party Cakes to Bake and Decorate.
“I hope they feel inspired and encouraged by the ideas and themes of the book, which is, that a party needn’t be incredibly fussy or overdone, and that some colour, some crafty ideas and a beautiful, simple or super cute cake made with love can be the key to a great celebration and a lifetime of memories,” she says of her ambition for the book. “And don’t be afraid to make a crappy cake and fail a few times before nailing a technique.”
For Sung, the book opportunity came at the right time — and with the right publishing team, which she felt was confirmed after having to delay the writing and release of her book due to her cancer diagnoses.
“I see the book-writing process as part of a larger journey,” Sung says. “It was emotional, and difficult, picking up again after the fog of treatment. So to have it finally come out is truly thrilling for me.”
Perhaps that’s why Coco Cake Land is as much a reminder of happy memories for Sung as it is a source of pride, right down to the recipes contained within it.
“I love the simple blue bear cake, with the matching pizza/ice cream/blue bear paper garland. I made it for my son Teddy when he turned two years old. It was a happy time in our lives as a little family, and five months before I was diagnosed,” she says of her favourite creation. “I remember the birthday party well, and how excited he was to see his blue bear cake.
“So, that memory is a sunny, happy one for me.”
And it’s sure to be a source of delicious memories for readers, as well.