Nguyen Vu Hoang Anh, one of Vietnam’s most talented and creative cake artists, has become known for his signature cakes shaped as miniature aristocratic dresses, complete with tiny creases and folds.

34-year-old Nguyen Vu Hoang Anh has long been known as one of the best cake artists in Vietnam, but while his stunningly realistic fondant flowers and flawless tiered cakes have always been impressive, it was his signature aristocratic dress cake that earned him a lot of attention and praise on social media. Made using a layered sponge cake base held together with buttercream and chocolate, the insanely detailed cakes are covered with a layer of colored fondant hand-molded into the shape of European-style aristocratic dresses inspired by the Baroque era.

Nguyen Vu Hoang Anh started working on dress-shaped cakes a few years ago as sort of a personal challenge. An expert at shaping fondant into flowers, plant leaves and even cartoon characters, Hoang Anh quickly learned that he needed more than cake-making skills to create realistic edible dresses, especially elaborate gowns like those from the Baroque era.

“To create a realistic dress, I had to research everything from the way the fabric pleats, how to fold the hem, trim the waist, sew buttons, and then adapt the techniques to the material used to make the cake,” Hoang Anh said.

Making fondant look like soft fabric is not the easiest thing in the world, so Nguyen Vu Hoang Anh usually spends between 3 and 5 days to complete one of his iconic aristocratic dress cakes. Every little detail is handmade, from the creases on the dresses to the tiny accessories and the finishing paint job. It is this laborious process that weighs heavily in the final price of these edible masterpieces.

“The average price of each cake shaped like a noble dress ranges from 3.5 million VND ($140) to 5 million VND ($200), depending on the complexity and design,” Hoang Anh told Danviet. “This is a handmade product, every small detail is meticulously done, so the price is higher than regular cakes.”

 

For more unique cake designs, check out Caroline Eiksson’s gingerbread sculptures, the awe-inspiring creations of Renat Agzamov, and the architectural wonders of LeNovelle Cake.