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This pastry chef leans on her STEM background to design impossible-looking desserts.

Dinara Kasko makes cakes. Absolutely stunning cakes.  

They're modern, bold, and structural, with decadent shapes and surprising flavors. They're also designed using algorithms and mathematical principles.

All photos via Dinara Kasko, used with permission.


Kasko, 28, trained for years as an architect and designer in Ukraine and enjoyed her craft but wanted to try something new.

Instead of designing the next great skyline, she attended pastry school with a focus on patisserie (think pastries and sweets as opposed to bread or candies). Kasko combined her skills as an architect with her new medium — sugar — and didn't look back.

But with her architectural chops, Kasko doesn't stick to traditional bundt or tube pans. Instead, she designs and prints her own molds with a 3D printer.

Using her background in math and design principles, along with specialty software, Kasko invents her own one-of-a kind pans.

"Generally speaking, this educational background has influenced my taste and style," Kasko says in an interview via e-mail. "Besides, it has taught me the right proportions, how to design and create beautiful objects of the right proportion."

New desserts start on the computer, where molds are designed and perfected with specialty software.

Then the molds are printed layer by layer with a 3D printer.

Kasko then considers the look and feel of the mold to decide what flavors and consistencies fit best. While any flavor of sponge will do, Kasko challenges herself to make her flavors as unique as her designs.

"As for the basic recipes that go with my moulds, I am trying to make them off-the-beaten track with nice textures," she writes. "Also, the form and what is inside of the cake should be well-combined. If it’s the 'Block' mould, then the cake is dense inside. If it is 'Cloud,' then it has a very smooth texture and so on."

In addition to her background in architecture, Kasko is inspired by contemporary art.

She's traveling to an exhibition on Dutch art in the coming weeks where she'll participate as a speaker and connect with other artists, though few will be working in chocolate and butter.

With desserts that dazzle the eye and the tastebuds, Kasko's food pushes the limits of art and physics.  Here are a few of her amazing sweets.

1. This eye-popping dessert is a cheesecake with goat cheese and cranberries housed in thin chocolate rings.

Kasko had to carefully piece the rings together to ensure they could support the cheesecake without breaking.

2. That's not concrete, it's cake! Kasko contrasted a hard-looking, geometric exterior with soft sponge cake.

3. Kasko worked with parametric designer Andrej Pavlov to create this almost rock-like mold using the mathematical principle of a Voronoi diagram.

For those of you who aren't math majors, according to some helpful lecture slides from that's the "subdivision of the plane where the faces correspond to the regions where one site is closest." Note: Most Voronoi diagrams aren't stuffed with chocolate mousse.

4. Inspired by the work of Matt Shlian, this dessert is actually 81 individual, unique cakes designed with an algorithm to form a single composition.

And yes, that's delicious ruby chocolate.

5. Kasko leaned heavily on her architecture background for this nearly topographic piece, using the triangulation principle to make an edible construction with a lime-basil flavor.

6. This cherry cake came to life after Kasko played around with placing objects in a confined space.

She started with simple spheres, then switched some to cherries for a more natural look.

The inside is chocolate sponge cake with a crispy layer, cherry confit, and chocolate mousse.

Kasko's work is a beautiful reminder that STEM careers and capabilities aren't limited to the classroom, laboratory, or office.

When Kasko didn't find her niche, she quite literally created her own. By making STEM classes, tools, and software more accessible in schools, community centers, and libraries, we plant the seeds of innovation and ingenuity in the next generation.

English⬇️ Мой первый пряничный домик "Tod's" специально для конкурса "Печенье объединяет" от @maria.leonova где я в роли судьи! Делаем пряничный домик, чем оригинальнее, тем интереснее. Для примера я выбрала один из моих любимых архитектурных объектов, построенный в 2004г в Токио - бутик итальянского дома моды Tod's. Выпекала обычное пряничное тесто. Затем сточила края теркой и залила щели растопленным крашеным изомальтом. Отличная возможность просто сделать пряничный домик для себя и семьи на праздники ☺️ Вы можете сделать любой домик - стандартный или нет, по желанию. Судьи проекта: Cinzia Bolognezi @cuordicarciofo, Anna Rastorgueva @anna.rastorgueva ❗️Все подробности по участию, призам и правилам у @maria.leonova ❗️ Вопросы по заданию пишем в комментариях у @maria.leonova под анонсом. . It's my first gingerbread house "Tod's" for the first international cookies competition - COOKIES UNITE. For the competition my inspiration was an amazing Tod's building, located in Tokyo, that is wrapped in a skin of criss-crossed concrete braces and glass that mimics the trees lining the street. I'll be a mentor in the next stage: Gingerbread house! You have to do some creative and nice gingerbread house. The more creative, the better. ❗️All rules, tasks, information about prizes you can find at @maria.leonova❗️ Mentors in other categories: Cinzia Bolognezi @cuordicarciofo Anna Rastorgueva @anna.rastorgueva #okmycake #pastryinspiration #chocolatejewels #pastryart #cake #kharkov #харьков #chefsofinstagram #gastroart #art #pastryart #dinarakasko #chefstalk #pastry #chefs #geometry #instadessert #foodcreation #foodartchefs #foodporn #beautifulcuisine #callebaut #photoart#cookies_unite_dinara#gingerbreadhouse#tods#tokyo#architectura

A post shared by Dinara Kasko (@dinarakasko) on

And there's nothing sweeter than that.

Identity

Celebrate International Women's Day with these stunning photos of female leaders changing the world

The portraits, taken by acclaimed photographer Nigel Barker, are part of CARE's "She Leads the World" campaign.

Images provided by CARE

Kadiatu (left), Zainab (right)

True

Women are breaking down barriers every day. They are transforming the world into a more equitable place with every scientific discovery, athletic feat, social justice reform, artistic endeavor, leadership role, and community outreach project.

And while these breakthroughs are happening all the time, International Women’s Day (Mar 8) is when we can all take time to acknowledge the collective progress, and celebrate how “She Leads the World.

This year, CARE, a leading global humanitarian organization dedicated to empowering women and girls, is celebrating International Women’s Day through the power of portraiture. CARE partnered with high-profile photographer Nigel Barker, best known for his work on “America’s Next Top Model,” to capture breathtaking images of seven remarkable women who have prevailed over countless obstacles to become leaders within their communities.

“Mabinty, Isatu, Adama, and Kadiatu represent so many women around the world overcoming incredible obstacles to lead their communities,” said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA.

Barker’s bold portraits, as part of CARE’s “She Leads The World” campaign, not only elevate each woman’s story, but also shine a spotlight on how CARE programs helped them get to where they are today.

About the women:

Mabinty

international womens day, care.org

Mabinty is a businesswoman and a member of a CARE savings circle along with a group of other women. She buys and sells groundnuts, rice, and fuel. She and her husband have created such a successful enterprise that Mabinty volunteers her time as a teacher in the local school. She was the first woman to teach there, prompting a second woman to do so. Her fellow teachers and students look up to Mabinty as the leader and educator she is.

Kadiatu

international womens day, care.org

Kadiatu supports herself through a small business selling food. She also volunteers at a health clinic in the neighboring village where she is a nursing student. She tests for malaria, works with infants, and joins her fellow staff in dancing and singing with the women who visit the clinic. She aspires to become a full-time nurse so she can treat and cure people. Today, she leads by example and with ambition.

Isatu

international womens day, care.org

When Isatu was three months pregnant, her husband left her, seeking his fortune in the gold mines. Now Isatu makes her own way, buying and selling food to support her four children. It is a struggle, but Isatu is determined to be a part of her community and a provider for her kids. A single mother of four is nothing if not a leader.

Zainab

international womens day, care.org

Zainab is the Nurse in Charge at the Maternal Child Health Outpost in her community. She is the only nurse in the surrounding area, and so she is responsible for the pre-natal health of the community’s mothers-to-be and for the safe delivery of their babies. In a country with one of the world’s worst maternal death rates, Zainab has not lost a single mother. The community rallies around Zainab and the work she does. She describes the women who visit the clinic as sisters. That feeling is clearly mutual.

Adama

international womens day, care.org

Adama is something few women are - a kehkeh driver. A kehkeh is a three-wheeled motorcycle taxi, known elsewhere as a tuktuk. Working in the Kissy neighborhood of Freetown, Adama is the primary breadwinner for her family, including her son. She keeps her riders safe in other ways, too, by selling condoms. With HIV threatening to increase its spread, this is a vital service to the community.

Ya Yaebo

international womens day, care.org

“Ya” is a term of respect for older, accomplished women. Ya Yaebo has earned that title as head of her local farmers group. But there is much more than that. She started as a Village Savings and Loan Association member and began putting money into her business. There is the groundnut farm, her team buys and sells rice, and own their own oil processing machine. They even supply seeds to the Ministry of Agriculture. She has used her success to the benefit of people in need in her community and is a vocal advocate for educating girls, not having gone beyond grade seven herself.

On Monday, March 4, CARE will host an exhibition of photography in New York City featuring these portraits, kicking off the multi-day “She Leads the World Campaign.

Learn more, view the portraits, and join CARE’s International Women's Day "She Leads the World" celebration at CARE.org/sheleads.


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