A Jupiter Cakewalk

By Phil Plait

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Posted Monday, July 29, 2013, at 1:00 PM

It's delicious, by Jove!
Photo by Rhiannon at cakecrumbs.me

This cake is not a lie: It’s an actual scientifically rigorous Jupiter cake!

I was wondering what kind of cake I’d ask my wife to make me for my next birthday (she’s a wonderful baker), and now I think I’ve found it. This was created by Rhiannon, an Australian woman trained in zoology but clearly with a knack for baking (she has a blog and a Facebook page which you really need to look through if you like yummy beautiful desserts).

Mmmm, metallic hydrogen filling.
Photo by Rhiannon at cakecrumbs.me

I was already impressed enough with how she decorated it with the festoons and storms seen in Jupiter’s cloudtops, but then I saw that it’s actually layered based on what we know of the interior of the solar system’s largest planet.

That’s amazing. Apparently she bakes the inner cake first, puts it in the batter of the second layer, bakes that, and so on, until she has a planet. She tried this out first on a hemispherical Earth cake that has to be seen to be believed.

The Earth cake was done on commission as a geological educational tool for schoolkids. The Jupiter cake was made so she could put together a tutorial (coming soon, she promises) on how to create these planetary wonders.

I think this is a fantastic educational opportunity. What kid wouldn’t want to eat a planet? Assuming Galactus isn’t the teacher.

The biggest problem with this cake is what to drink with it, though I imagine it would go well with a cup of tea made in Russell’s Teapot.

And the best part? It makes a hundred billion servings.

Tip o' the frosting piping bag to Ellen Brundige.