Prada Candy

Oh, how do I love Wes Anderson, let me count the ways. Oh, how do I love Prada, let me count some more. Wes Anderson + Prada? Be still my heart! Yes, it's true, Wes Anderson and collaborator  Roman Coopola have co-directed three short films for Prada's new fragrance titled Candy. The films, which run just over a minute long, take place in Paris and are are filled with Anderson's trademark quirky coolness. French model and actress Léa Seydoux stars as the title character, Candy, a young woman torn between the love of two men, Julius and Gene (who frankly look like twins). I couldn't help thinking of Francois Truffaut's 1952 film Jules et Jim while watching it and Sydoux actually mentions that film in the behind the scenes footage. Whatever the inspiration, Anderson and Coopola have given us some seriously fun eye candy (no pun intended). The films are delightful and utterly French. There's also plenty of dessert action, including a birthday celebration and a scene in a cafe. Oh, yes, and then there's the fragrance itself, which is described as "sweetly addictive," a mix of winter musk, benzoin, and caramel. Check out Prada's website for more info. ~Erin

Edible Art: Cake Decoration Machine

I’ve never been very good at cake decorating. Oh, sure, I can fake it, to a certain extent, but, when it comes to fancy icing, I am no expert. So, as you can imagine, when I first saw this cake decorating machine, I immediately thought, Ohhh…where can I get one of those?? In reality, this clever device is not a bakery standby, but was created for the exhibition Design Criminals or A New Joy into the World, in which designers “were asked to react to Design activities such as tattooing, hair dressing, or arranging flowers, which usually happen outside design discourses.” The cake decorating exhibit, created by Studio mischer‘traxler and titled Till You Stop - How Much is Too Much?, allows the visitor to apply frosting to a cake, letting them choose whether they want a lot of decoration or a little. The user watches as the machine constantly updates it’s palate and must decide when to stop the process. Once the user stops the machine, it cannot be started again. It’s an interesting look at the art of cake decoration, replacing work that is traditionally done by hand and replacing it with a machine. It also forces users to make design decisions rather quickly, raising the question, What do you find visually exciting? Are you attracted to simplicity or something more elaborate?

The cake decorating machine is currently part of the permanent collection of the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. ~Erin

Sweet Testing: Mississippi Mud Pie (aka Mississippi Mud Cake)

I love this cake. I love this cake so, so much. It is, in my opinion, one of the best things I have ever made! That said, I will admit that it’s not a cake for everyone. There are not one, not two, but three layers of chocolate in this cake (crust, cake, pudding) and it probably isn’t the best choice for a person that doesn’t like rich desserts. Frankly, I don’t understand the phrase “too rich,” but everyone has their own limits. At my table, there were people who couldn’t finish one piece, while others ate two. To me, it was all together delicious, a chocolate lovers dream. That said, there are a lot of elements to this cake, so you will be spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Luckily, each of the elements are fairly simple to make, so the process won’t be stressful, just time consuming. You can find the complete recipe for Mississippi Mud Pie after the jump. ~Erin

Rollware: Edible Dishware

Ever since I saw my first patterned rolling pin in Gesine Bullock-Prado's cookbook Pie it Forward, I’ve been a bit obsessed with the idea of using a decorated rolling pin as a means of imprinting designs onto dough. So, as you can imagine, when I came across these gorgeous laser-cut rolling pins, I gasped, just a little. Unfortunately, these pins are not actually available for purchase, but were instead created by three students in the Masters of Interior Architecture & Retail Design Programme at The Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam (Joanne Choueiri, Giulia Cosenza and Povilas Raskevicius) as part an of exhibition entitled Altered Appliances. The purpose of the exhibit being to “present projects that investigate the retooling of industrial low-tech appliances and gadgets to offer alternative design solutions and experiences for today’s kitchen." The printed pins are part of the Rollware project, which "reintroduces the rolling pin as a multi-functional device for production, while also addressing sustainability in disposable plates, since the baked bread plates can be eaten rather than thrown away." The whole thing is pretty darn cool, if you ask me! Well, done! You can check out the video below, to see the whole process in action. You can also see more work from the exhibition on the Altered Appliance website, right here. {Thanks, Rose!} ~Erin

Tim Walker Photographs

I don’t think Tim Walker has every taken a picture that I didn’t love. I am a huge fan. I don’t know why it never occurred to me to do a post on him before. I suppose I didn’t think of him as being a “dessert” artist. Then one day I realized that sweets do pop up in his photographs, quite often.

Walker, whose work was first published in British Vogue in 1996, is a fashion photographer unlike any other. Combining both whimsy and shadow, he is able to turn an ordinary fashion shoot into a magical fantasyland that is singularly, gloriously, all his own. It is make believe without any feeling of artifice. You believe in his creation and you want to go there.

You can find more info on Tim’s photography in his books Tim Walker Pictures and Tim Walker: Story Teller. You can also view more of his dreamy photos, as well as his short films, via his website. ~Erin

jcoco chocolate

It’s hard to imagine a time when chocolate was a luxury. In modern times, chocolate is so readily available that we take it for granted and don’t really savor it or appreciate it the way our ancestors did. It’s not made to be savored, really. It’s mass produced and filled with so many unpronounceable ingredients that we’ve forgotten what quality chocolate really tastes like. Jcoco is not that sort of candy. It’s not average or run of the mill. Instead, it’s the sort of treat that reminds you that, sometimes, a really special chocolate is worth waiting for!

Let’s start with the packaging, which I absolutely love! It’s not the most important part of the puzzle, but I’m a sucker for a cute wrapper and jcoco certainly knows a thing or two about making their product visually exciting. The exterior box, which resembles a clutch or a wallet, is made out of a really lovely paper that is quite soft to the touch. I pretty much forced everyone I know to run their fingers up and down the cover! It was sooo smooth and silky! Once the box is opened, you will find three separate bars each one featuring a different fashion photograph. So cute!

The candy itself is delicious! I am, honestly, very reluctant about doing reviews because I worry that I won’t like the product, but I truly, truly loved these bars! I didn’t want to share them with anyone! Here’s the breakdown on the three flavored bars.

Edamame Sea Salt: This one was perhaps my favorite. The toasted edaname beans provide a nice crunch and you can never go wrong with a salt/chocolate combo. This bar is made with milk chocolate, and I’m normally a dark chocolate type of gal, but I didn’t miss it at all in this case. Often I associate milk chocolate with cheap candy, but when it’s done right, as it is with this bar, it can be quite good!

Black Fig Pistachio:  This one was a big hit, too. Several people named it as their favorite. This is a dark chocolate bar, so bonus points there. Also, pistachios and figs are two of my all-time favorite foods, making it pretty hard for me to resist.

Veracruz Orange: I didn’t think I would like this one. Normally, I’m not a fan of chocolate and orange, but, I have to say, I loved it!! The combination of orange and white chocolate is really nice. I much prefer it over dark chocolate and citrus. The bar is creamy and sweet and downright delightful.  

In addition, I’m happy to report that jcoco does not use genetically modified ingredients in their bars and prints all of their boxes on recycled boxes. Woo hoo! You can find more info on jcoco, and shop online, on their website. ~Erin

Cookbook Excitement: Modern Art Desserts

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this cookbook! Back in 2009, I wrote a piece about pastry chef Caitlin Williams Freeman and the amazing work she was doing at The Blue Bottom Cafe, which is located at San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art. That piece was, and remains, one of my most popular posts. People can't seem to get enough of Caitlin's wonderful art-inspired desserts! And, now, with the release of her cookbook, Modern Art Desserts, you can find out exactly how she goes about converting famous works of art into gorgeous, edible desserts! Along with step-by-step instructions on how to create her most famous cakes, the Mondrian Cake and her trio of Thiebaud cakes, you will find recipes inspired by the works of Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Henri Matisse, Jeff Koons, Francesca Woodman, Roy Lichtenstein, and Richard Avedon, among others. Each recipe includes an image of the dessert, along with a photo of it's artistic inspiration, so that you get a real sense of the whole process.

Caitlin Williams Freeman is one of the true dessert art innovators. You can find out more about her cookbook by watching the video above. To order Modern Art Desserts: Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Confections, and Frozen Treats Based on Iconic Works of Art, click here. ~Erin

{Cookbook photos by Clay McLachlan}

Whipped Bake Shop

As much as I love tile, looking at tile, dreaming about tile, I’ve never actually had the guts or the ambition to attempt a tiling project of my very own. It all seems a little too permanent to me. What if I don’t like it? What if I mess it up? What if? What if? Thankfully, Whipped Bake Shop in Philadelphia has come up with the perfect solution to my tile indecision. Tile cookies! Now you can indulge in a little tile buying frenzy, without any of the permanence, because, you know, the tiles will be going directly in your belly! The details on these cookies really are quite lovely. It is astounding how much they resemble actual tiles! And it doesn’t stop there. Whipped Bake Shop has a slew of unique cookies on their site. I’ve selected a few of my favorites  below. Each cookie is made with vanilla shortbread and hand-decorated by staff at the bakery using almond royal icing. You can find more info and buying information via their Etsy site and their website. (Thanks, Kristin!) ~Erin

Gina Beavers (Paintings)

The biggest, most obvious difference between paintings of food and the real, edible version that inspires them, is that paintings are flat, one-dimensional creations, while food, in its glorious reality, is a three-dimensional object, whose sole purpose is to be touched, picked up, and consumed. So, when I came across these wonderful paintings by artist Gina Beavers, I was instantly struck by their elevated structure. There is definitely a sculptural aspect to the work, which gives the food more of a “living” feeling that you wouldn’t necessarily get in a more traditional painting. Looking at the art, you are filled with an urge to reach out and grab a piece of the acrylic food on the canvas. There is also an unnerving sense that, at any moment, Gina’s food specimens might come alive and grab you instead! Or, perhaps, I've just been watching too many episodes of the Walking Dead! If you'd like to check out more of Gina's work, you can do so right here.  [Photos courtesy of  Clifton Benevento]

Cookbook Excitement: Bake It Like You Mean It

Pastry chef and author, Gesine Bullock-Prado, is a woman after my own heart. Her cookbooks are always filled with recipes that are not only delicious, but visually exciting as well. Her new cookbook, Bake It Like You Mean It, is no exception. The book is completely devoted to unique, graphic, and beautiful cakes! Each chapter centers around a different kind of cake technique. You know those sweet and colorful rainbow cakes that have been popping up everywhere over the last few years? Have you ever wanted to make one of those, but have been just too intimidated to try it? Well, Gesine will show you exactly how to do it! In fact, her new book specializes in just these sorts of eye popping desserts. The kind that, when cut, reveal intricate layers of patterns and designs, such as hearts, checkerboards, helixes, and stripes. For more info on Gesine’s new book, click here. [Photos by Tina Rupp]

Olive & Sinclair

I love every aspect of these chocolate bars by Nashville company Olive & Sinclair. The first and most obvious attraction is the packaging. You can’t help but be won over by the graphic, vintage-inspired wrapper. Next there are the unique flavors: salt and pepper, Mexican style cinn-chili, buttermilk white. (Don’t even get me started on the bourbon nib brittle.) I want to try them all! But the best part of all, tops on the “why I love this company” list, is the fact that the chocolate at Olive & Sinclair is handcrafted, slow-roasted and stone ground in small batches, using both new and vintage machinery. Owner, chef, and visionary Scott Witherow is a firm believer in the bean-to-bar process and uses single origin cacao beans to create a chocolate bar that feels so much more special and one of a kind, than your average ol’ candy bar. Check out the video above to find out more about their process. It’s a great combination of old and new chocolate making. Click here to check out all of the Olive & Sinclair products and to shop online.