Engage the gingerbread U.S.S. Enterprise
Need a geeky gingerbread treat? Make it so with this tasty "Star Trek" tribute to the U.S.S. Enterprise made by Trekkie bakers.
We've seen gingerbread AT-AT Imperial Walkers and Transformers, and now "Star Trek" fans can celebrate the season with a delicious gingerbread U.S.S. Enterprise.
This gingerbread U.S.S. Enterprise was created by Blackmarket Bakery pastry chef Rachel Klemek, her artist husband and her two teenagers, all of whom are "Star Trek" fans.
"We embrace the irreverent and silly, so combining an iconic spaceship and classic gingerbread seemed like a perfect move," Klemek told Crave.
To build the gingerbread U.S.S. Enterprise, Klemek and clan started with drawings they found online of the famous "Star Trek" ship from the movie "Wrath of Khan." Then they made a template from cardboard to cut the pieces of the ship.
They fit everything together using a surform tool "to smooth out edges and make sure everything fit snugly," Klemek told Crave. The gingerbread U.S.S. Enterprise has an internal metal armature to give the ship its basic structure.
Klemek told Crave she used "royal icing (powdered sugar and pasteurized egg whites) frosting to hold it all together, then just lots of different candy" that included Sour Strips, candy canes, Tic Tacs, licorice and sticks of gum.
This isn't the first time Klemek has made a geeky gingerbread tribute. In fact, Klemek is a bit of a gingerbread expert.
She's helped make a gingerbread AT-AT for a "Star Wars" event at the local children's museum in Southern California. And a gingerbread Nautilus -- the submarine from "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."
"We also made a Taco Bell, a school bus and a flash drive -- all out of gingerbread," she said.
For fans who want to construct their own geeky gingerbread homages, Klemek offers a few tips. "Plan out your design, make templates before cutting the dough and let the basic structure dry overnight before sticking all of the candy and details on."
