TLC Forum

Well, guys. Today is National Chocolate Cake Day. And because my life is Narnia, my mind hastened to recall a rich loam that looked so much like chocolate, that Edmund tried a bit (though he didn't end up liking it). So taking that as my inspiration, I made cupcakes with some appearance of the four soils Lewis specifically mentions the Trees in PC eating. The cupcakes themselves are Swedish kladdakaka (sticky mud cake). Yes, "mud cake". Too right for this theme. (The feature that earns the "mud cake" name is the sticky, purposely undercooked center.)
Soil #1: Loam. I dipped this one in darkened crumbs from another cake to simulate a rich, dark soil.
Soil #2: Somerset pink. I toasted crumbs from another cupcake (but over-toasted them... ) and patted them into a pink buttercream.
Soil #3: Chalky. I remembered being on an archaeological dig in Israel and coming across these soft chunks of white a lot, so I mixed little bits of white marshmallow fondant into leftover crumbs.
Soil #4: Fine gravels mixed with silver dust. This one has ground almonds patted into the surface, then topped with some silver luster dust.

Wow. This sort of visual cooking is something I wouldn't dare to attempt!

Thanks, marmota!

......dang, now I'm hungry. These look amazing.

Guess you know how Edmund felt now.

Those look great, and like it took time to make them. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, Hermit! The decorating part is what took the longest. All those crumbs, heh-heh....

My word Ariel! You are a cake genius! Those look perfect! and recreating the dryad food is such a fun idea!

Thanks, Swan! This hobby gets me to use my imagination in a different way.

Just do me a favor. Don't fall for Edmund's obsession with Turkish Delight. You may want to put off ordering that huge tin of it from your favorite big box club wholesaler until you've sampled one...which for most folks is the best and worst and first and last piece of Turkish Delight they will ever eat.