Three Decadent Ways Pastry Chefs Celebrate the Holidays

The holidays mean going overboard on sweets, and the resorts of Las Vegas have found ways of showcasing their pastry prowess in the form of resort replicas, gingerbread villages and the Grinch himself. Here's a look at three of the more decadent renditions of pastry porn.

Flora Aghababyan, chief cake designer for Wynn Las Vegas, created a three-foot gingerbread replica of the resort, now on display at the Buffet. This edible masterpiece was handcrafted from 4,500 gingerbread tiles, rolled fondant and sugar. The confection weighs more than 295 pounds and took 21 days to construct with the splashy logos reproduced in sugar icing and fondant.

The Grinch at Jean Philippe Pâtisserie [Photo: Bellagio]

The Grinch no longer has an empty heart; it's filled with sugar now, courtesy of Jean Philippe Pâtisserie at the Bellagio. The pastry team there worked for three months to create the Dr Seuss character, made from 50 pounds of chocolate and 112 pounds of sugar-rolling fondant. The Grinch stands five-feet, six-inches.

Grid View

Four Seasons pastry chef Jean-Luc Daul and his team spent a month creating the gingerbread village inside the hotel's lobby, a tradition that took a break last year with renovations. Here find 10 houses surrounding a 10-foot-tall Whoville-inspired centerpiece. Pine trees, mushrooms, pumpkins, reindeer, snowmen and other figures made of sugar decorate the space. The display contains 150 pounds of powdered sugar, 100 pounds of marzipan, 45 pounds of fondant, five gallons of egg whites and loads of sugar and chocolate.
· 21 Ways to Eat & Drink Your Way Through Christmas [~ELV~]