Sweet Surrealism
Whimsical cakes inspired by rock textures and sculptural shapes.
While preparing a press dinner to celebrate the opening of our first physical studio in Soho, we found Yip.Studio, a Brooklyn-based cake company known for its bespoke rock-shaped carved and mossy cakes and Asian-inspired flavors. We were blown away by the artistry and unique color composition on each cake, so we immediately reached out hoping that founder Amy Yip, could fit us into her schedule to make one for us and our guests. Our request was warmly received and after some emails back and forth about the event and the logistics behind it all, we couldn’t resist but ask her some questions about her and her creative process.
We The Cool: Tell us about your transition from fashion into baking.
Amy Yip: I was working as a full-time textile designer for 6 years. Then the pandemic hit. I wasn’t furloughed, but I did have a lot of free time so I started baking cakes on the side. I put them on Instagram, and then friends, friends of friends, and then strangers started ordering them. I left my job in Feb last year and have been making cakes full-time since.
WTC: How was the idea of the mossy cakes born? Where did you take inspiration from?
AY: A client gave me an image of a mossy installation and wanted a cake inspired by it. I thought I would create an organic knoll-shaped cake, dusted it with matcha, and then after that different iterations were created. The carved rocks came about because I’ve always loved collecting rocks. I wanted to figure out a way to recreate the shapes/textures in cake form, but cakes are soft so the challenge was to make it stable. I just think nature is so perfect and is an endless source of inspiration.
WTC: What similarities would you say one can find between working with textiles and food sculpting?
AY: My experience in Textile Design included creating motifs and arranging motifs into layouts of all kinds like ditsy prints, abstract prints, large florals, stripes, and plaids to name a few. The job involved color matching to pantones so I became a bit obsessive with color. I think these skills translated well into the way I compose the cakes.
WTC: Tell us about the creative process you go through when starting a new cake.
AY; I collect the fruits and flowers inspired by the mood images from clients. I usually have a color palette to work within too. I don’t actually sketch the cakes before I make them. It’s sort of a feeling I get when I start to decorate, I just trust that things will be in the right place.
WTC: Are there any exciting projects in the pipeline? What's next for Yip.Studio?
I am working on a book to launch this summer and some launch parties around it.
Follow Amy at @yip.studio_and stay tuned for the photos of our cake on our feed!