Great Victorian Radicals Bake Off at the Seattle Art Museum

A custard tart with a honeycomb pattern in mango, with yellow macarons, blackberries and raspberries. — Victoria’s Radicals. Victoria Finlon. Inspired by Honeysuckle Wallpaper, William Morris.

I got to attend the Great Victorian Radicals Bake Off at the Seattle Art Museum on August 29. The contest was for professional and amateur bakers to recreate the artwork from Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts + Crafts Movement in dessert format. (You can also see some of the artwork from the exhibit in the links above.)

(All photos are by me unless otherwise noted.)

A two tiered cake with a turquoise buttercream on top and a chocolate collar with turquoise accents on bottom. There is a cake propped against the cakes painted to look like a mother holding a short-haired blond child in a long gown to see lambs in a field. — Barn & Field Kitchen & Bakery – Jan Smail. Inspired by Pretty Baa Lambs, Ford Madox Brown.

A light-skinned woman in a blue robe a la Anglaise with ribbons in front shows a baby in a long gown a sheep. They are in a meadow with sheep and another woman in a green dress and straw hat is gathering — Pretty Baa Lambs, Ford Madox Ford. Via Seattle Art Museum.

The judges chose Jan Smail’s Barn & Field Kitchen & Bakery’s recreation of “Pretty Baa Lambs” (which has one of the most thousand-yard-stare children ever) as the winner–check out the cookie reproduction of the painting!

A chocolate layer cake with chocolate shavings on the side. A yellow peacock made of fondant and a passionfruit curd jelly on top. — Pinoy – Edward Villacorta. Inspired by Peacock Vase, William De Morgan.

The people’s choice went to Edward Villacorta’s Team Pinoy; he recreated the peacock from William De Morgan’s Peacock Vase in passionfruit curd and fondant on a chocolate cake. (See more on the KUOW write up.)