Exotic Valentine

Be my Valentine

I recently went to my first henna tattoo party to celebrate my friend Christine's pregnancy. As artist Sandy Patangay deftly created an exquisite freehand design on Christine's 8-month old baby bump, she explained that she also takes her brush to an edible canvas designing specialty cakes and cupcakes.

How ingenious!

Exquisite freehand detailing

These cakes are beyond stunning. If only President Obama had presented one when he hosted the Prime Minister of India for dinner at the White House. Talk about show stopper.

Too pretty to eat

Self-taught Sandy grew up in Hyderabad, India, with a tradition of henna artistry in her home. She started her Manhattan henna design business in 2000 with an order from the Museum of Natural History. Two years ago, at the urging of clients who marveled at her design skills and surgeon's precision, she took her Soho-based Henna Studio to the next level, creating edible art. It took practice, practice, practice to get the consistency of the ink, a blend of edible dyes and powdered sugar, perfect.

Three-tiered cakes take about 4-5 hours to decorate and start at $200. And while her current market for henna 

designed cakes is South Asian weddings (wedding cakes are still a Western concept, but increasingly more common in modern Indian weddings), it's only a matter of time before these inspired, one-of-a-kind creations are all the rage. Not to mention the bejeweled cupcakes. Did you hear that, Magnolia Bakery?

Capture her heart with these gems

Henna Studio Inc
424 Broadway at Canal St, 2nd Fl.
917 587 2616
www.hennastudio.com

Images: Matt Cohen/Matte Design
Cupcakes: Parul Patel/The Cake Designer