cover image Modern Art Desserts: 
Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Confections and Frozen Treats Based on Iconic Works of Art

Modern Art Desserts: Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Confections and Frozen Treats Based on Iconic Works of Art

Caitlin Freeman. Ten Speed, $25 (224p) ISBN 978-1-60774-390-3

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. (Apr.)