Researchers Design Robot That Can 3D Print a Cake With Up To Seven Ingredients

sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: Researchers have designed a robot that can create and cook a cake with up to seven ingredients, more than any other printed food to date. The scientists built their programmable patisserie by retrofitting a 3D printer with nozzles designed to squeeze out selected ingredients. They then programmed it to dispense those into layered cakes. Initial trials resulted in triangular gobs of sweet goo, so the researchers came up with a winning recipe that could hold its own. They nested softer ingredients, such as jelly and banana puree, inside of stiffer ingredients, such as peanut butter and Nutella, then reinforced those with hefty doses of graham cracker crust. Then, they broiled the crust with a laser and topped the cake with frosting and cherry glaze. The result? A cheesecake, of sorts.

Despite its novelty, the computer-guided cook may not be able to battle it out under the stern eye of a guest judge any time soon -- each slice took about 30 minutes to print. Further in the future, however, better printers could make some cooking automatic, freeing people from kitchen tasks they may find tiring or repetitive -- assuming you don't enjoy those things. A food printer could also be programmed to dispense meals with precision-controlled nutrient and calorie content, helping prepare food for those on strict diets. The study has been published in the journal npj Science of Food.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.