[Showcase] Psychic's Nerdy Food Gallery

[Psychic]

Psychic's Nerdy Dessert Gallery​

There was a time a few years ago when television was taken over by shows all about cake-making, and I shamelessly admit that I was hooked. It wasn't until I started watching baking tutorials on Youtube that I finally decided to give it go, and made a fun cake for a friend. Then I made another. And another. And now it's kind of my thing!

I usually make cakes and cupcakes for friends' birthday parties based on their interests, which is often a video game or TV show. Sometimes I just
want to try new things. This thread kind of chronicles my growth as a baker, including the embarrassing old stuff!

I've stuck everything in different sections based on theme, and each section is in chronological order, with the oldest desserts being at the top of each section.

Pokémon
As one might imagine, I am always looking for excuses to make Pokémon desserts. Cakes, cupcakes, chocolate and more abound!​

Spoiler:

My first ever attempt at Pokemon cupcakes! These were for my friend Peter in 2012, for whom I have made many cupcakes over the years. You will notice that I have improved significantly since then.

My first cake commission! Peter wanted a Charmander cake for his girlfriend's birthday, and I was happy to oblige! This was my first time using the buttercream icing transfer method of decorating, and while the icing consistency wasn't right, I feel in love with this method and have been using it ever since!

My second go at Pokemon cupcakes, again for Peter! I used the Pokemon Trozei artwork for tracing and am pretty happy with how they came out! From left to right, we have Froakie, Honedge, Amaura, Goomy, Mewtwo, Mega Gardevoir, Gardevoir, Mega Charizard Y, Greninja, Aegislash, Aurorus and Goodra!

I had some extra icing from that batch, and decided to make some more cupcakes! I made some of my favourite psychic Pokemon, and also took requests from my fellow Serebii mods for some of them! Here's Dunsparce, Chesnaught, Delphox, Espurr, female Meowstic, Espeon, Sylveon, Celebi and Mew! Dunsparce was (jokingly) suggested by Psynergy, and Chesnaught was Moogles' suggestion.

Alex is another friend for whom I've made a few cakes! One of her favourite Pokemon is Arcanine, and I was stoked to make another Pokemon cake! I'm really happy with how this one came out.

Alex's second favourite Pokemon is Raichu, so I made her a little cake for her birthday in 2015! This was my first time decorating freehand in awhile, but I think Raichu came out great!

I made this Pokemon GO dessert for my brother's birthday! He's on Team Valor (since his favourite colour is red), so I stuck with a red and chocolate theme! The Valor emblem and Pokéball are made entirely out of chocolate!

I finally tried out my 3D-printed Substitute doll cookie cutter! I received it during a Pokémon merchandise swap on pkmncollectors, where I had requested something I could use to make fun Pokémon treats. :>

"Candy bombs" based on Candy from Pokémon GO! I made white chocolate Bulbasaur Candy, Charmander Candy, Squirtle Candy, and Pikachu Candy. They're hollow and are filled with Mini M&Ms and little print-out images of the given Pokémon.

Candy Gastly for Halloween! I had so much fun making my Pokemon GO candy that I wanted to see what else I could do with the concept, and I was excited when I realized I could make some edible ghost Pokemon for the holiday season!

Zombie Pikachu cakes for Halloween! Using a silicone Pikachu mold from Japan, I dyed my cake batter green and to get this gnarly result! I then made pink buttercream icing, put it in a makeshift piping bag and made the squiggly brains. Then I added some red food gel to add the gore, and viola!

These cupcakes have got Alolan Muk both on the outside and on the inside - double the Muk! I baked the cupcakes so you would see Alolan Muk's signature colours when you cut them open, and I also decorated the tops with layers of icing, plus white chocolate/mini marshmallows for the toxic crystals. I'm really proud of the final result!

This was my first attempt at freehand Pokémon cookies, so I made Ralts, Alolan Diglett, Alolan Exeggutor, Shinx, Swablu, Pikachu, Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio! Ralts, Swablu and Litten are my favourites.

Santa Pikachu based on the holiday 'chu from Pokémon GO! The Pikachu heads are pound cake dyed yellow in a Pikachu-shaped mold, and the Santa hats are strawberries with vanilla icing and sugar for the white trim, plus half a mini marshmallow for the pom pom!

I made Pokémon-themed malasadas! Ever since I first saw the malasada shop in the Pokémon Sun and Moon demo, I was fascinated! Of course, the beautiful colours of the malasadas in the shop windows completely sparked my imagination, so I had to make not only rainbow malasadas, but malasadas based on Pokémon!

Alolan and standard Meowth sugar cookies! I printed out a Meowth face template (with just the face and ears), and used that as a stencil to cut my dough.

Alolan Dugtrio brownie bites! These cuties are brownies and chocolate custard in a chocolate shell, with chocolate eyes and noses and spun sugar hair! It's all all served on rock candy and crushed Oreos!

Male and female Pikachu for Valentine's Day! The Pikachu heads are pound cake dyed yellow in a Pikachu-shaped mold, and the tails are cookies dyed the same shade of yellow! I made a little template of male and female Pikachu tails and used those to cut each cookie.

Chocolate Pikachu for Pokémon's 21st anniversary based on the Festive Chu currently in Pokemon GO!

I made Snorunt hamantaschen for the Jewish holiday, Purim.

I made more malasadas, this time decorating one to look like Alolan Raichu.

Cookies for a Pokemon gift swap I participated in, based on my recipient's favourite Pokémon - Rotom! I wanted to make all the forms, even Rotomdex.

Pop Culture​

More fun stuff! These desserts are based on video games, animé, TV shows, and more!

Spoiler:

For my sister's birthday one year, I made cupcakes based on our family's favourite show - Game of Thrones. These are made of chocolate and done using a similar method to the icing transfer, and feature the sigils of House Targaryen, Lannister, Baratheon, Stark, Tully and Greyjoy.

I make my own birthday cakes these days because I'm a dork, and because I'm a Game of Thrones dork it had to be House Targaryen, which was a challenging design.

My partner's birthday was soon after, so I did a Stark direwolf! I'm really happy with this one - it was a lot simpler than the Targaryen dragon, and the grey icing filled well so you can't see any lines, which makes me happy. I also added shredded coconut snow, as a reminder that winter is coming.

My friend has loved Sonic for a long time, so I put the hedgehog on a cake! Really like how the icing transfer turned out.

I asked my sister to give me a list of her favourite superheroes for her birthday, and this was the result! In order, we have Superman, Nightwing, Aquaman, Hawkeye, Batman, Flash, Avengers, Green Arrow, Deadpool, Spider-Man, Robin and X-Men. I think I'm most proud of Superman, Batman and Spider-Man! (Spider-Man was a real challenge but came out really well, I only wish I'd used red instead of blue!)

Initially my plan was to make a cake for my cousin's birthday and stick a little Minion on top. I didn't really have a chance to make the cake, so I kind of just presented her with a chocolate Minion one day.

A quick and dirty little Adventure Time cake for my friend Adam! I didn't have much time (or icing) for this one, but we've got a Jake cake and a Fin and Scarlet cupcake.

My first Digimon: a Frigimon made of white chocolate!

My first triple-decker and first single-serve cake! The Batman symbol is made of chocolate, and the background props were all borrowed from my sister, haha.

A Neko Atsume chocolate cake for a good friend! Featuring buttercream versions of her favourite kitties - Gabriel, Pepper, Fred, Socks, Lexy, and Pickles! It's been awhile since I last did a buttercream transfer, and the cats were perfect subjects.

For two birthdays, I made the guys' favourite Rangers: The Blue Ranger from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and the Wolf Ranger from Power Rangers Jungle Fury.

For my first-ever cookie commission, a friend commissioned me to make cookies of his partner's favourite characters! Here's Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, Munchlax from Pokémon, and Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon!

Foxy cake!

The Adventure Zone cake!

Mass Effect cupcakes!

The Legend of Zelda cake!

Other​

Silly stuff and miscellaneous things I'll just lump together for convenience.

Spoiler:

I made a sandwich?! Actually, this is a cake. Yep.

Since I had lots of leftover chocolate one day, I made little pi chocolates for Pi Day!

My partner is doing a master's in film production, so I made a chocolate slate/clapperboard for their birthday! I like that I managed to make the 25 look like it was written on with chalk, hehe. I just shoved it on a store-bought cake, though!

Medical cupcakes for my friend's first year in med school! Here's a pill bottle, pills, an otoscope, stethoscopes, a lab coat, a first aid kit, medical prescription, a cardiogram, hospital sign, band-aids, and a red cross!

I've never made a retirement cake before, and I got some help in figuring out a design. My partner took really lovely photos of the cake - I love how you can see the shadows of the toy lawn chairs on the cake, it makes it look so life-like!

Cupcakes for my friend Peter's birthday again! I created an icing swirl with his favourite colours, and wrote out his name using melted chocolate in a home-made piping bag. Simple but elegant!

I've never really been interested in learning how to make edible flowers, but knowing how to make roses came in handy for this Mothers' Day cake! I also wound up combining pink, white and purple icing, and some of the flowers that came out look really lovely.

My second medical school-themed dessert: a stethoscope cake! This is for the same friend I made the medical cupcakes for last year, so I wanted to try something a little different.

And finally, the cake that started it all: a duck cake for my friend Amber. She collects rubber ducks, and I had seen a Youtube tutorial on making duck cakes, so I gave it a go! I made this in 2011, and since then I have made her a rubber duckie cake (almost) every year for her birthday.


Please let me know what you think and feel free to ask questions! I'll continue to post desserts as I made them, so stay tuned!

~Psychic

 

[Nina]

Have you ever used a tapered icing spatula to try and smooth your your icing while it's still wet? It takes a little getting used to and is harder in small places, but it can help out in terms of making a smooth base, and not have so many lines in your coloring. I really do like the lineless pokemon cupcakes. : ) You've got a pretty steady hand!

"I updating my technique a bit to get the icing 'mons off the wax paper more easily, and I decided to start adding small details only once each 'mon has been placed on the cupcake to make things a bit easier. "

Oh! I guess you don't draw straight on the cake all the time then? I've never actually done it that way!

 

[Somewhere_]

I was thinking of baking cookies because I want to try out baking for the first time and Im sure they wont compare to these lol.

Great job! I love that Minion one haha! I found your process for creating these pieces of art to be really interesting.

 

[HollyYoshi]

Love that Arcanine and Sonic one. Which would you consider your favorite out of all the ones you've done?

 

[Psychic]

Thanks for all of the responses, guys! So glad you like my desserts!

Amazing! So very creative and carefully made. I'm not sure if questions are allowed here, but for how long have you been baking 'n making them?
Hope they actually taste as good as they look! :]

Thank you kindly! Questions are absolutely welcome, so don't be shy! I've been doing this since 2011, which is when I made my first cake - the rubber duckie at the bottom of my post. :> And thank you, my mom's recipe book has an amazing chocolate cake recipe that's always a hit!

Have you ever used a tapered icing spatula to try and smooth your your icing while it's still wet? It takes a little getting used to and is harder in small places, but it can help out in terms of making a smooth base, and not have so many lines in your coloring. I really do like the lineless pokemon cupcakes. : ) You've got a pretty steady hand!

"I updating my technique a bit to get the icing 'mons off the wax paper more easily, and I decided to start adding small details only once each 'mon has been placed on the cupcake to make things a bit easier. "

Oh! I guess you don't draw straight on the cake all the time then? I've never actually done it that way!

I do have a small offset spatula, and I try to warm it up with hot water to smooth out icing on cakes, but I'm not very good at it! Sometimes it's also a consistency problem with the icing.

Thank you! I'm thinking of outlining the Pokemon cupcakes in the future, since sometimes it's hard to tell what's going on (like with Doduo).

Nope, I usually use what's called the icing transfer method, which is a popular way of making more complex designs! It involves creating the image for the top of your cake separately on a flat surface, essentially trading an image layer by layer, and then flipping it upside-down onto the cake! Raichu is one of the few cakes I've dome completely freehand recently. :>

I was thinking of baking cookies because I want to try out baking for the first time and Im sure they wont compare to these lol.

Great job! I love that Minion one haha! I found your process for creating these pieces of art to be really interesting.

You should still totally try! I'm sure they will still be delicious, and it's great to practice baking before you get into decorating!

Thank you very much! I really like the Minion too, glad you like it!

Love that Arcanine and Sonic one. Which would you consider your favorite out of all the ones you've done?

Thank you, I'm glad you like them! That's a tough question - I think I'm the most proud of Arcanine and the Game of Thrones direwolf (especially since I really like both of those things and was excited to make them)!

~Psychic

 

[Psychic]

I just found more entries for my Pokemon Cupcakedex from last summer!

Now I remember why I forgot about these - I honestly wasn't entirely happy with this batch. I tried to get the buttercream icing more liquid-y so it would spread better, but some of the colours were just too soft and so didn't have much shape. Some of them look pretty decent, my favourites being Shellder, Krabby and Exeggcute, but that Rhyhorn will forever haunt my dreams. :/

With all that said, here is Grimer, Shellder, Gastly, Drowzee, Krabby, Voltorb, Exeggcute, Cubone, Koffing, Rhyhorn, Horsea and Goldeen! That means I've made 48/151 Kanto Pokémon, and I'm almost 1/3 done the Cupcakedex!


When my friend went to Japan a few years ago, knowing that Pokemon and baking are some of my greatest passions he brought me back an awesome Pikachu cake mold (and Umbreon plushie)! I'm not actually a Pikachu fan, but the mold is pretty darn cool - here's what the finished cakes look like!

I need to use a thicker batter to keep Pikachu from looking like a zombie, but I think it's pretty darn cool!

~Psychic

 

[faer]

There's some really cool ones. I like the Arcanine, Targaryan cake and Raichu especially.
The small ones often look a bit deformed, but just having all of them on one plate looks fun ^.^ Actually I'm especially in love with how some of them are a bit 3D. It looks awesome.

Also how do you do the duckcake? Also got some friends who like these ducks and that looks like something I'd do.

 

[Fairy]

Dammit these are so cute I'm so hungry ;w;

Luckily due to some pretty awesome members (<3!) and some experimentation of my own, I've actually learned quite a bit about this kind of stuff! I'm not, you know, good at it by any stretch of the imagination, but I can certainly tell you've put a lot of work into these!

 

[Crystal Berry]

You're amazing omfg those are all so cute <3

I want to see you experiment with buttercream fondant!!

 

[Psychic]

There's some really cool ones. I like the Arcanine, Targaryan cake and Raichu especially.
The small ones often look a bit deformed, but just having all of them on one plate looks fun ^.^ Actually I'm especially in love with how some of them are a bit 3D. It looks awesome.

Also how do you do the duckcake? Also got some friends who like these ducks and that looks like something I'd do.

Thank you very much! Do you mean the small Pokemon cupcakes? Those are pretty hard to do, haha, especially since they're so small and some have a lot of detail. I'm glad that people like the 3D ones!

The duckie cake was the first fun cake I've ever made, and I made it by following this tutorial! I modified it a bit, but it was pretty easy for a first cake, and I've done it a few times since, so I would totally encourage you to give it a try!

Dammit these are so cute I'm so hungry ;w;

Luckily due to some pretty awesome members (<3!) and some experimentation of my own, I've actually learned quite a bit about this kind of stuff! I'm not, you know, good at it by any stretch of the imagination, but I can certainly tell you've put a lot of work into these!

Thank you, I really do put a lot of time and effort into these! And hey, practice makes perfect!

You're amazing omfg those are all so cute <3

I want to see you experiment with buttercream fondant!!

Thank you very much! I keep saying "someday I'll try working with fondant" but it feels so intimidating! I definitely love the idea of making edible figures with fondant, though!


I made my newest cupcakes over the weekend!

Medical cupcakes! My friend just started her first year or med school, so for her birthday I thought we would celebrate! Here's a pill bottle, pills, an otoscope, stethoscopes, a lab coat, a first aid kit, medical prescription, a cardiogram, hospital sign, band-aids, and a red cross!

 

[Crystal Berry]

Omg those look delicious! Also you're so creative! Is your friend looking to become maybe a Doctor or Nurse?

 

[Psychic]

Omg those look delicious! Also you're so creative! Is your friend looking to become maybe a Doctor or Nurse?

Thanks so much! Yes, she wants to become a doctor, and she was already working in public health. :)


Halloween is my favourite holiday, and this was my second year making a Halloween pumpkin since I was a kid (the first one was a Pokemon, too)! I've known what design I wanted to do for nearly a month. Creating it took multiple hours over 3 days, but I am really satisfied and proud of the result!

It's Pikachu cosplaying as Golbat! I was in New York City recently and got the plushie specifically because I knew I wanted to make that design, hehe. This was my first time trying to make a more complex design with layering and everything, and it was a real challenge deciding how to create the design. It took about 5 hours in total, but it was so worth it!

Here it is all lit up! It was really hard trying to carve the skin off evenly, haha. I can't help but love Pikachu as a vampire - it's a really fun design!

~Psychic

 

[myystogan]

Really cool cake designs you've got here, Psychic! They look great and I'm sure they're delicious as well, haha.

Also, that is honestly one of the best pumpkin designs I've ever seen in my life. Your efforts definitely paid off, to say the least.
Can't wait to see what other desserts you have in store ;-]

 

[HollyYoshi]

That Pikachu pumpkin is one of the most adorable things ever~

 

[Psychic]

Really cool cake designs you've got here, Psychic! They look great and I'm sure they're delicious as well, haha.

Also, that is honestly one of the best pumpkin designs I've ever seen in my life. Your efforts definitely paid off, to say the least.
Can't wait to see what other desserts you have in store ;-]

Thank you so much! I have a few recipes that go over quite well, so people seem to like them!

Ahhhhh thank you so much! I know Halloween was ages ago at this point but that still really means a lot, I worked really hard on it!

That Pikachu pumpkin is one of the most adorable things ever~

Thank you, I'm so glad you like it!

Here is my latest creation - edible dreidels for Hanukkah! They're made entirely of white chocolate using a silicone mold, and they're completely 3D! You could theoretically spin them if you wanted to, but I think eating them would be preferable!

~Psychic

 

[Blah]

I need these creations in my stomache.

I really like the Pikachu-golbat pumpkin you did. Did you use a normal knife, or maybe a chisel? Whenever I try making Jack-o-lanterns (which hasn't happened since 3rd grade), they usually end up not being pumpkins anymore. Normally they're something similar to mash potatoes. Anyways, that's great artwork and cook-work you've got laying about here :)

 

[Psychic]

I need these creations in my stomache.

I really like the Pikachu-golbat pumpkin you did. Did you use a normal knife, or maybe a chisel? Whenever I try making Jack-o-lanterns (which hasn't happened since 3rd grade), they usually end up not being pumpkins anymore. Normally they're something similar to mash potatoes. Anyways, that's great artwork and cook-work you've got laying about here :)

:D Thanks so much! I know I'm answering a Halloween-based question in February, but I did indeed use a knife to fully remove pumpkin bits (so the eyes, fangs and bit of the hat) and I used a knife to cut outlines of the bits of skin I wanted to remove to just show the pulp, and a chisel to painstakingly peel it off. I'm not sure I'd actually recommend those tools, though!

It's been awhile, but here's something I made today - a going-away cake for my cousin! She's moving from Canada to South Korea for a year, so I combined both flags for a very simple cake. Unfortunately, I didn't leave the icing transfer in the freezer for long enough, so the middle bit gave me trouble, but I managed to salve it and fix it up. All things considered, I'm pretty satisfied with the result!

~Psychic

 

[Loki]

Holy crap lol I was just awe-struck the whole time I was scrolling through this thread-- and now I'm hungry and I don't even usually like cupcakes! Stomach was really rumblin' when I saw banana cupcakes with cream cheese icing because dang....... dang........... If only LOL

These are honestly amazing though- really inspiring tbh I'm so impressed with how many details you capture in the icing! Also that pumpkin is really pro like wow!

Really love all these unique mediums in your gallery!

 

[Psychic]

Holy crap lol I was just awe-struck the whole time I was scrolling through this thread-- and now I'm hungry and I don't even usually like cupcakes! Stomach was really rumblin' when I saw banana cupcakes with cream cheese icing because dang....... dang........... If only LOL

These are honestly amazing though- really inspiring tbh I'm so impressed with how many details you capture in the icing! Also that pumpkin is really pro like wow!

Really love all these unique mediums in your gallery!

:D Thank you so much! The banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting were very different from my normal wheelhouse, but I was really happy that I tried something new, and they were delicious!

I'm so glad you think so, thank you! I'm a really detail-oriented person, so I really like to get the little things, and it's awesome when people notice!

My most recent cake is actually just for my portfolio, and wasn't really made for anyone in particular. XD I've never made a retirement cake before, and I got some help in figuring out a design. My partner took really lovely photos of the cake - I love how you can see the shadows of the toy lawn chairs on the cake, it makes it look so life-like!

~Psychic

 

[killer-curry]

Wish I could live next door to you so I can see your cupcakes and make a birthday cake for me :<