Medieval Bikkies for Jen
Back in June 2021, I made some bikkies for Jen’s birthday. I wanted to copy Dr Ella Hawkins’ amazing and painstakingly hand-painted masterpieces but I didn’t have the skill / patience / time / eyesight. Fortunately, I do have a bit of technical cunning, so I found a whole lot of images of illuminated manuscripts online, cropped and imposed them in a grid, then sent them to a cake shop that was able to print edible ink onto fondant sheets.
Meanwhile, I made some gingerbread dough, rolled it out and cut it into a grid of 40mm squares. I made a 38mm square cardboard stamp (I think I covered it with foil) to push into the surface. After I had cooked them, I cut up the fondant and stuck the images down. The indent and margin made a nice frame.
I think they came out pretty well. If you are interested in trying to make them yourself, sign-up! I will include the download link in my next newsletter.
I packed the bikkies a carved box I found at the local $2 dollar shop (it wasn’t $2, but it wasn’t too much more). The size turned out to allow a perfect 2 x 3 layout – four layers total.
Andrew Moody
Andrew Moody lives and writes in Melbourne, Australia. He sometimes works as a lay theologian, sometimes as a graphic designer, and was the inaugural editor of The Gospel Coalition Australia from 2016 to 2023.* Andrew is married to Jenny and they have two grown-up children.
* You can see some more of his old TGCA posts here.
