Modern Art Desserts
Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Confections, and Frozen Treats Based on Iconic Works of Art [A Baking Book]
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Taking cues from works by Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, and Matisse, pastry chef Caitlin Freeman, of Miette bakery and Blue Bottle Coffee fame, creates a collection of uniquely delicious dessert recipes (with step-by-step assembly guides) that give readers all they need to make their own edible masterpieces.
From a fudge pop based on an Ellsworth Kelly sculpture to a pristinely segmented cake fashioned after Mondrian’s well-known composition, this collection of uniquely delicious recipes for cookies, parfait, gelées, ice pops, ice cream, cakes, and inventive drinks has everything you need to astound friends, family, and guests with your own edible masterpieces.
Taking cues from modern art’s most revered artists, these twenty-seven showstopping desserts exhibit the charm and sophistication of works by Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Henri Matisse, Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Avedon, Wayne Thiebaud, and more. Featuring an image of the original artwork alongside a museum curator’s perspective on the original piece and detailed, easy-to-follow directions (with step-by-step assembly guides adapted for home bakers), Modern Art Desserts will inspire a kitchen gallery of stunning treats.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In her first cookbook, Modern Desserts, Freeman looks to blur the lines between food and art. As head pastry chef at the Blue Bottle Cafe in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), she looks to employ the layers of cake and confection as molding blocks for the creation of taste pleasing and aesthetically imposing edible sculptures. Partially inspired as direct representation of artists' works, such as the "Thiebaud cakes" or "Mondrian cake," and partially inspired by the ideas present in an artist's work (see "Ryman cake" and "Tuymans Parfait"), each creation is intrinsically linked to the element in which it was created. Recognizing the importance of the relationship between the art and food, the book is not content with just presenting recipes; it also displays the original artwork in color photos with brief explanations next to each picture. Although there is a possibility of applying techniques and concepts in this book for personal art projects, the scope of dessert construction and baking theory is limited by the very nature of the work. Billed as recipes based on "iconic works of art," the patisserie guide never really strays into creations of one's own mind; rather it stays safely in the box of copying recipes set out on the page (of which there are 27). With a lengthy introduction and only a small section on baking equipment and ingredients (nine total pages), this book is either for those who crave modern art in edible form or those who have a lot of time on their hands to experiment.
