Babines Expands With New Pop Culture-Themed Offerings: 3D Printed Cookies, Chocolate and More

When it comes to food – and especially dessert – it’s hard to surpass the French. Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking is one of the most popular and successful cookbooks ever published, and anyone who’s tried a good pain au chocolat or macaron will likely agree that a trip to France is worth it for the pastry alone. French cooks have been perfecting desserts for centuries, and while it would be a travesty to stop making traditional pastries and confectionery, there’s always room for the new.

In December, Babines arrived on the Parisian culinary scene with their fun, pop culture-inspired 3D printed lollipops. Now they’re expanding their offerings with chocolate, cookies, and biscuits that, the company claims, “make French pastry much more modern” in both appearance and production methods.

For example, it’s hard to get more modern than an emoji. The tiny text images are excellent for expressing our deepest and most passionate emotions: joy, rage, sadness, embarrassment…eggplant. There are times when we must swallow our emotions, however, and the rebranded Babines Bakery can help. The newly expanded company has translated some of our favorite two-dimensional communication icons into delicious 3D so we can happily eat our feelings in the form of “laughing face” cookies or “thumbs up” chocolate. The ever-popular “girl with her hand by her face” emoji that no one quite seems to understand but still loves to use is there in chocolate, as is the newly introduced middle finger emoji.

Babines’ new offerings extend beyond emojis, though: Drake and Kanye West are featured in 3D printed cookie form, and you can gift your friends and loves with cookies printed with “BFF” and the ever-romantic “BAE.” There are some snazzy, colorful sneaker cookies as well, and this is only the first series – Babines promises that there will be much more to come. They also offer customization options for both individual customers and companies.

The desserts aren’t directly 3D printed; 3D food printing is still fairly limited in what it can produce, so Babines instead 3D prints the molds for the cookies, chocolates and lollipops. The company’s philosophy is that new technology and traditional craft can not only co-exist but complement each other, and while the printed images and shapes may be pure pop culture, the ingredients are time-tested and of the quality that one would expect from a French bakery.

“All products are manufactured thanks to the meeting between the traditional pastry knowhow and 3D printing technology,” the company states. “…The project is a complete reinvention of theses very common products, without loosing the taste. Because beyond being beautiful, the products are good. Everything is handcrafted in Paris, with the know-how of a French chef, chocolate is made of ‘grands cru’ chocolates, and products are exclusively composed of natural aromas and dyes.”

The cookies, for example, are classic sablé cookies – a crumbly shortbread-style recipe that originated in the Normandy region. The chocolate is of the highest quality, and the 3D printed molds ensure that all images are clear, sharp, and, according to Babines, “highly instagramable.” So be sure to take a Snapchat of your chocolate Snapchat ghost before you eat it, and connect with Babines on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on their newest offerings. Discuss over in the 3D Printed Babines Goodies forum at 3DPB.com.