Happy Halloween, Harry

So what would you say if someone asked you to make a cake based on a book you've never read? I guess you could gracefully decline the offer and refer the client to another, more well-read, baker. You could quickly skim through book to try to get the general gist of the story-line and characters. Maybe you could even rent the movie version and watch a few frames to get some images and ideas to transfer into frosting and cake. All three of those options sound feasible. Unfortunately, I am basically incapable of saying "no," I don't read (sorry, Brown University education), and the Harry Potter movie scared the living daylights out of me within the first 5 minutes of sitting down to watch it. So I was in a pickle. I agreed to make a cake for a 6-year-old Harry-Potter-obsessed neighbor of mine here in Berkeley that would make her eyes light up and hopefully evoke the magical spirit of a story, and whole imaginary world, I knew nothing about. I tried to google "Harry Potter" and all the search results seemed to be written in a foreign language... words like "Hogwart" and "Quidditch" kept popping up. So I decided to talk to an expert... a woman who had read every book. She gave me the quick run-down, re-enacting a few scenes for me, and eventually I was able to piece together enough to make a cake.

Apparently there's a scene in one of the books where Harry is led to a room full of spiders, so I made lots of milk and dark chocolate spiders. Then I found an image of Harry's lightening bolt scar on his forehead, and hand-cut this shape out of rolled fondant. I made some topsy-turvy cakes, staked them asymmetrically on top of each other, covered it in frosting and purple and black glitter sprinkles and placed a chocolate "sorting hat" on top of a hand-made fondant stool. Our birthday girl was thrilled. Phew.

The Proof is in the Pudding

I always need a project. Something that allows me to research, take notes, and inevitably, forgo sleep for nightly games of mental ping pong as I toss ideas from the left side of my brain to the right side, and back again. I surround myself with cookbooks, scribble down ideas as I read and rifle through the pages of glistening dessert photos. Then, with a bundle of notes and primitive sketches under my arm, I forge into the kitchen like a warrior onto a battle-field. And then the same thing happens every time: I surrender all my plans and diagrams and formulas and make whatever feels right in that moment.

Project: Classic American Desserts Made Classier
First Attempt: Rice Pudding

Pictured above is a Maple Pecan Banana Risotto. A bruleed slice of banana sits on top of the spoon, dictating that your first bite of the dessert be one packed with the caramelized crunch of the sugar coated fruit. Candied Pecans lie on the plate to accompany the pudding, or to enjoy as tasty treats on their own.