Demolition Desserts - Rock Star Pastries for the Home Kitchen
September 30, 2007 You might not be a rock star, but you can pretend to be one, thanks to Elizabeth Falkner's long-awaited cookbook, Demolition Desserts: Recipes from Citizen Cake. A rock star in the pastry world, her edgy creations have been known to defy traditional culinary methods.
Not just a regular dessert book, Elizabeth deconstructs classic recipes and interprets them with her spunky flair. From the Tiramisushi to the Cocoshok, the magical Citizen Cake touch is evident in each dazzling recipe. With Elizabeth and Caremi (Elizabeth's cute anime-style alter ego) paving the way, you too can create the famous Shagalicious cake with confidence and ease.
I also like the chapter devoted to chocolate chip cookies. It has a great recipe, "Chocolate Chip Mania", that is a heady concoction of blondies, brown sugar-chocolate chunk ice cream, chocolate chip espresso cookies, chipped cream, and dark and white chocolate sauces. Some might think it's chocolate overkill, but I certainly didn't think so.
For lemon lovers, try the Lemania Cupcakes recipe below. It will make you scream for more.
LEMANIA CUPCAKES
buttermilk cupcakes, eggless lemon curd filling, vanilla meringue frosting, lemon zest
makes 12 cupcakes
Inge, the mother of my partner, Sabrina, is one of Citizen Cake’s most die-hard Lemaniacs. She will drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to Citizen Cake to buy up every lemon tart in the store, which she takes home and freezes. I created this cupcake for Inge and for all the Lemaniacs who have made our lemon desserts so successful over the years.
The cupcake itself is actually a moist buttermilk, not lemon, cupcake, which means you can fill and frost it just about any way you like. For example, take this same cupcake, fill it with Pastry Cream (page 203), drizzle on Dark Chocolate Sauce (page 207), and you have Boston cream cupcakes.
Buttermilk Cupcakes
2 cups (9 ounces) cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (61/4 ounces by weight) buttermilk, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 (3 ounces by weight) large eggs, at room temperature
Filling
1 cup Eggless Lemon Curd (page 204)
Vanilla Meringue Frosting
3/4 cup (51/4 ounces) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 (2 ounces by weight) large egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 lemons for grating
To Make the BUTTERMILK CUPCAKES
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 12-cup standard nonstick muffin pan (or two 6-cup pans) with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the salt and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and vanilla and set aside.
In a large bowl, using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 4 minutes, or until light and fluffy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated. On low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions and the buttermilk mixture in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating for about 30 seconds after each addition, or until combined. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin-pan cups.
Bake the cupcakes, rotating the pan after about 12 minutes, for 23 to 25 minutes, or until they are lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, gently loosen the cupcakes from the pan, and then let them cool completely in the pan before removing them.
To Fill the Cupcakes with LEMON CURD
Inject the lemon curd into the cooled cupcakes, following the directions on page 171.
To Make the VANILLA MERINGUE FROSTING
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and cream of tartar and stir just to moisten the sugar. Clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the syrup registers 280°F on the thermometer. Remove from the heat.
In a medium bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. (The volume of egg whites is too small to use a stand mixer.) Turn the mixer to low speed and slowly drizzle the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites (try to keep the hot syrup from hitting the beaters). Turn the mixer to high speed and continue whipping the frosting for 5 to 8 minutes, or until it is at room temperature. Beat in the vanilla (or any other flavoring you like, but err on the side of caution and add no more than 1 teaspoon and then taste before you add more). You should have about 2 cups.
To Frost and Garnish the Cupcakes
You can finish the cupcakes in one of two ways: Frost them with an offset or icing spatula, creating dramatic spikes if you like, and then grate lemon zest directly on top. Or, frost them, fire up your torch, brown the frosting, and then grate lemon zest directly on top.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts: Recipes from Citizen Cake by Elizabeth Falkner, copyright (c) 2007. Published by Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA.
Photo credit: Frankie Frankeny (c) 2007
www.tenspeed.com
See you in the kitchen,
Tami
The beautiful Japanese number "Taya Tan" is the perfect medium to channel Forbes' vocal talent. Breathtakingly mysterious and ethereal, her voice expresses the singer's longing desire to be near her lover. It sent shivers up my spine when I listened to this song in a recent live performance. Her singing has cultivated a refined finesse since the first album, and I'm impressed to see her tackle each foreign language with such fluent passion.
Other songs to check out are "Ojala," the light French cabaret number; the pretty melody in "Cante e Dance" will make you feel as if you're on a private beach somewhere, sipping on a fruity cocktail. The album finishes with a sultry "Tea for Two" duet with Forbes and legendary Jimmy Scott, a special treat for jazz lovers.
It's so rare to find timeless music that you'll listen to again and again, but Pink Martini succeeds in this. Bringing a sophisticated mix of cultural elements to their repertoire, their songs carry a universal message of joy and beauty. I highly recommend their concerts, if you're lucky enough to see them in your hometown. It's so fun, you'll be dancing and clapping along with them each and every time.
Available at 
Tony Leung & Tang Wei in "Lust, Caution"
Official Synopsis: A startling erotic espionage thriller about the fate of an ordinary woman’s heart set in Shanghai, 1942. The World War II Japanese occupation of this Chinese city continues in force. Mrs. Mak, a woman of sophistication and means, walks into a café, places a call, and then sits and waits. She remembers…how her story began several years earlier, in 1938 China. She is not in fact Mrs. Mak, but shy Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei). With WWII underway, Wong has been left behind by her father, who has escaped to England. As a freshman at university, she meets fellow student Kuang Yu Min (Wang Leehom) Kuang has started a drama society to shore up patriotism. As the theater troupe’s new leading lady, Wong realizes that she has found her calling, able to move and inspire audiences – and Kuang. He convenes a core group of students to carry out a radical and ambitious plan to assassinate a top Japanese collaborator, Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). Each student has a part to play; Wong will be Mrs. Mak, who will gain Yee’s trust by befriending his wife (Joan Chen) and then draw the man into an affair.
Tang Wei
Wong transforms herself utterly inside and out, and the scenario proceeds as scripted – until an unexpectedly fatal twist spurs her to flee. Shanghai, 1941. With no end in sight for the occupation, Wong – having emigrated from Hong Kong – goes through the motions of her existence. Much to her surprise, Kuang re-enters her life. Now part of the organized resistance, he enlists her to again become Mrs. Mak in a revival of the plot to kill Yee, who as head of the collaborationist secret service has become even more a key part of the puppet government. As Wong reprises her earlier role, and is drawn ever closer to her dangerous prey, she finds her very identity being pushed to the limit...
Opens September 28, with limited releases in select U.S. cities by Focus Features.
Lust,Caution Trailer:
QuickTime High
http://www.focusfeatures.com/viewer.php?f=lust_caution&c=trailer&ext=mov&w=480&h=260
Windows Media High
http://www.focusfeatures.com/viewer.php?f=lust_caution&c=trailer&ext=wmv&w=480&h=260
Official Website: http://www.focusfeatures.com/lustcaution
See you at the theatre!
Tami
Another favorite of mine is the Milk Nibby Bar . For those who prefer milk chocolate this is a truly fantastic bar with strong caramel notes and crunchy bits of roasted cacao nibs in a rich 41% milk bar. Hazelnut lovers will dig the Gianduja dark chocolate bar. It has an intense roasted nut flavor that is simply irresistible. It's a bit challenging to restrain yourself from gobbling up the entire bar.
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Each speaker will give a 15 minute presentation and will be followed by 30 minute Q&A session. The event will conclude with a wine and appetizers reception.
Don't forget to check out "The Vault", a new exhibit dedicated to the work of the Levi Strauss & CO. A unique look at the cultural history over the past 150 years, it features clothing, documents, artifacts and posters on view from the collections in the Archives.
Levi's Headquarters, 1160 Battery Street, San Francisco
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
5:30 p.m. Check in
6:00 p.m. Program
7:15 p.m. Wine and Appetizers
RSVP: ozchamber@aol.com
Cost: Members $10 - Non Members $25. Please RSVP and sign up online at
Check out the flirty lace and ruffles in Princess Tam Tam’s dreamy bras, camisoles and panties. As for Dessous-devotees, be prepared to fall head over heels again with Sophie Simmons’ Parisian-inspired rompers, nighties and Viscose tanks in lovely Fall hues...
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1816 Fourth Street, Berkeley, California
510-845.1616
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