Last week Helsinki celebrated the yearly Design Week. Most definitely one of the most interesting events of the week was a cake party organised by two young Finns, graghic designer Antti Kivinen and industrial designer Lauri Johansson at interior store Casuarina in here Helsinki.
Invited to participate in the creation of these individual and innovative cakes were 5 designers / agencies - Finnish fashion designer Daniel Palillo, Swedish design studio Bygg Studio, Marimekko designer Maija Louekari, Finnish graphic design studio Kokoroi & Moi and graphic designer Nene Tsuboi.
Last thursday 10.9.2009 was the official unveiling and tasting of the wonderful masterpieces of full-on sweetness.

Personally I LOVED the idea of inviting designers to create something out of their own comfort zone as well as having the cheek to do something unexpected and different from what we’re all used to seeing at the design week. This to me is showed that the Finnish design world might finally be moving towards that positive boldness I think we so desperately need more of here.
The idea as well as the party was playful and fun and the cakes were truly supreme ! Everything was brilliantly put together  and the event brought a huge smile to my face - KUDOS to the organisers ! It is exactly this kind of activity Helsinki needs more of.

I asked a few people to taste all the cakes and share their reviews with us and here’s what they said -

Laura Väinölä, graphic designer -
“Nene’s cake tasted the best and the taste complemented the shape of the cake.
Daniel’s cake was fun and in a good way full of self-irony. The sweet banana taste worked well with the silver appearance.
In Maija’s cake the taste collaborated well with the idea.
Bygg Studio’s cake the fascination was the surprise beneath the surface, but the taste was a little too sugary.
Kokoroi & Moi’s DIY cakes were perfect to save for the last as you could make it into what you wanted.
It was fantastic that all the cakes were so different from each other !”

Linda Toye, jewellery designer -
“Well i tasted all of them and can say that I felt sick afterwards. It seemed silly not to try all of them
I liked the gingerbreadman cake’s taste the best ! It was so different from all the others. I tend to like “spice” cakes.
Visually I liked the sand castle cake the best. I loved how it looked before it was cut, and the psychedelic colors inside were fabulous and delicious ! I loved that groovy blue sparkle water !
The coin and the DIY cakes were more typical tasting - nothing out of the ordinary. I liked how the DIY table looked like a kindergarden class - superfun !
As for that chocolate potato cake thing - well it was ok, but not my favorite. I guess it came in last.
The best thing is that they all tasted good - even the one that came in last !”

Sakke Hytönen, stylist -
“I liked the taste of Nene Tsuboi’s cake the best, but visually Daniel’s coin was the winner !
On the other hand Kokoroi & Moi’s playful DIY cakes idea was wonderful.
Maija Louekari’s ginger bread man was fun to start off with but the taste got a bit too much and didn’t really suite the cake.
Bygg Studio’s sandcastle was visually overshadowed by Kokoroi & Moi’s fun idea, but the taste was good.”

Christoffer Langenskiöld -
“Daniel Palillo’s coin: This one tasted like a cake ! It was good.
Bygg Studio’s sand castle: It felt like eating a bucket of paint, or should I say 4?
Maija Louekari’s gingerbreadman: The spicy lady was my favorite - the right fluffiness under the crust, with a line of spicy cinnamon. Very sofisticated inside and out.
Kokoroi & Moi’s DIY cakes: A real sandbox that reminded me of a french breakfast.
Nene Tsuboi’s unko cake: It was a very frank cake. It was hard to cut for a reason - don’t take too much…

Jenny Öhrman -
“There was least left of Daniel’s coin when I got there so I can’t say too much about the appearance. The colour was cool - it felt luxurious to eat silver.
Maija’s gingerbreadman was wonderful. Familiar tastes in a new and different package. The cake was beautiful, playful and the most original.
I expected the Bygg Studio sandcastle cake to taste like salt liquorice so when it didn’t, I was a little dissappointed. It was too sweet, but it looked fun and colourful.
Nene’s unko cake played a bit safe. It was good though, a real adult taste, and I liked it’s simple exterior.”

Mari Kosunen, Marimekko designer -
“Daniel Palillo’s coin: The cake looked great but tasted too sweet and ordinary.
Bygg Studio’s sand castle: Nice idea, made you feel like a kid with sand cakes on the beach, but the taste was boring, too artificial.
Maija Louekari’s gingerbreadman: The best design and taste. The familiar taste in a new form felt fresh yet safe.
Kokoroi & Moi’s DIY cakes: The appearance didn’t appeal to me and the taste was way too sweet and lacking in imagination.
Nene Tsuboi’s unko cake: The exterior was straight forward and worked, although it might no have been very tempting. The taste was good, but the texture was too heavy and thick. Should’ve been somehow more fluffy.”

WARM THANK YOU TO ALL THE CAKE TASTERS & THE ORGANISER !

Here’s some photos of the cakes and the eaters -