This super-geeky cake features the two main characters of the popular webcomic Penny Arcade, Gabe and Tycho. Normally, we don’t see designer cakes based off of indie works, but Penny Arcade has grown so much in the last few years that it’s easily become as popular as a mainstream comic strip.
The designer of this cake is Elizabeth Marek, who also created this fabulous Alice in Wonderland cake and this curiously metallic steampunk cake. Considering the success of her previous masterpieces, it’s not surprising to see that she did a bang-up job of conveying the spirit of Penny Arcade through the medium of cake.
As the webcomic centers around various forms of gaming and nerd culture, it logically follows that the cake would feature some geeky past-times – namely, table-top and console gaming. Gabe is holding up a 20-sided die, on which the 20 has been replaced with a 40, as the cake was made for a 40th birthday celebration. It’s an interesting way to show the age of the cake’s recipient, compared to the the traditional way of writing it on the cake.
Tycho is sitting comfortably beside him on the distinctly purple gaming couch that is frequently featured in the strip. As always, he’s playing video games – to be more specific, he’s playing video games on an NES which has been rendered in minute detail. The NES even has the word Nintendo painted on the side, and even the buttons on the controller have been illustrated flawlessly.
The detail on the pile of Penny Arcade books is practically microscopic, but the cover of the top one is undoubtedly “The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade”, the anthology celebrating the comic strip’s 11 ½ year anniversary.
Turning comic strip characters into believable 3-d figurines is no easy task, and the fondant characters do look a bit lumpy. However, the characters are still smooth enough to feel like they’ve been accurately conveyed in three-dimensions, and they are instantly recognizable as the Penny Arcade protagonists. The vivid colours also contribute to the cake’s cartoon-like atmosphere, and the overall piece is vibrant and fun. Like any good designer confection, the Penny Arcade looks cake way too good to eat.
