Gingerbread cookies have always been a staple Christmas treat. But aside from gingerbread houses and gingerbread men, have you ever tried making something else? If not, then you might want to take some inspiration from Caroline Eriksson’s gingerbread sculptures. This Swedish food artist and motion designer creates life-size gingerbread sculptures of iconic movie characters. And the best part? They’re all edible!
It has been a tradition for Eriksson to build gingerbread houses every year since she was young. However, building houses eventually tired her, so she explored other possible structures like boats, castles, and towers. In 2013, she moved to Norway and entered a gingerbread contest. And for her entry, she made a robot—Transformers’ Optimus Prime to be exact. It took her three weeks to complete said creation.
This Optimus Prime gingerbread sculpture was Caroline Eriksson’s entry to a gingerbread contest
“I won the contest, and for the money, I took a trip to Bali. The transformer got viral and after that, I have continued to make new creations every Christmas. I try to challenge myself with every creation, do something more advanced that I haven’t seen been done before, push the boundaries for what can be done with this medium.”
Last Christmas, the talented artist created a gingerbread sculpture of Groot from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
On average, each creation takes about three to five weeks to complete. Upon finalizing her preferred subject, she proceeds to make a 1:1 scale sketch for reference and to get the proportions right. She also builds her sculptures around a wire structure for extra support.
Eriksson creates her own dough which primarily consists of syrup and flour, without any baking powder. This is to ensure that the cookies come out hard with a smooth surface. Once the cookies are baked, she then carefully cuts them into various shapes to build her statues. She uses melted sugar as glue to hold and keep the pieces together. Each creation usually requires 7kg of flour and 11 packs of sugar.
For Christmas, she created this stunning sculpture of Xenomorph from ‘Alien’
Her other creations include Darth Vader from ‘Star Wars’…
…and Smaug the Dragon from ‘The Hobbit’
Well, who would have thought that there’s so much more you could create out of a gingerbread dough? As a self-proclaimed “big movie nerd,” Eriksson admits that her creations have been movie-related so far. Nonetheless, she plans to create game characters, ornaments, and more houses in the future.
We look forward to more of her creations in the coming years!
Source: Caroline Eriksson Instagram | Art Station