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

Copyright 2013 by Caitlin Freeman
Photographs copyright 2013 by Clay McLachlan
Foreword 2013 by Rose Levy Beranbaum

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

reprinted with permission from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.

: Photos and illustrations by Caitlin Williams Freeman

: Photos by Charles Villyard

: Artwork Wayne Thiebaud/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY; photo by Don Myer/Lee Fatherree

: Artwork Wayne Thiebaud/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY; photo by Don Ross

: Artwork Robert Ryman / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

: Artwork Estate of Roy Lichtenstein; photo by Ben Blackwell

: Artwork 2012 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust c/o HCR International USA; photo by Ben Blackwell

: Artwork The Richard Diebenkorn Foundation; photo by Richard Grant

: Artwork Rineke Dijkstra

: Artwork 2013 Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; photo by Ben Blackwell

: Artwork 2013 Barnett Newman Foundation / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York; photo by Ian Reeves

: Artwork Andrew Kudless; photo by Don Ross

: Artwork 2013 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; photo by Ben Blackwell

: Artwork Rosana Castrillo Diaz; photo by Ian Reeves

: Artwork The Richard Avedon Foundation

: Artwork Luc Tuymans; Courtesy David Zwirner, New York / London and Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp

: Artwork 2013 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; photo 2013 Archives H. Matisse

: Artwork Ellsworth Kelly; photo by Ian Reeves

: Artwork John Zurier; photo by Ben Blackwell

: Artwork 2013 Tony Cragg / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; photo by Don Ross

: Artwork Alejandro Cartagena; photo by Don Ross

: Artwork Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, Germany; photo by Ben Blackwell

: Artwork Estate of Tobias Wong; photo by Don Ross

: Artwork 2013 Cindy Sherman

: Artwork Ruth Laskey, courtesy Ratio 3, San Francisco

: Artwork Jeff Koons; photo by Ben Blackwell

: Artwork The Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller, All Rights Reserved

: Photo by Captain Charlie Jennings

: Artwork Courtesy George and Betty Woodman

: Artwork Mark Bradford; photo by Bruce M. White, 2010

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the publisher

eBook ISBN: 9781607743910
Hardcover ISBN: 9781607743903

Food and prop styling by Caitlin Freeman, Clay McLachlan, Leah Rosenberg, and Tess Wilson

v3.1

I first met Caitlin in 2004 when I visited her Miette Bakery production in Oakland. The purpose of the trip was to interview top bakeries for an article for Food Arts Magazine called High Tide in the Bay Area Bakeries. The concept was that, although San Francisco had led the way in artisanal bread baking, it had lagged behind in the area of pastry. Michael Batterberry, visionary publisher of Food Arts , perceived this as changing and assigned the article.

Meeting Caitlin turned out to be the highlight of the interviews. I had been given a set of questions to ask each baker. When I asked Caitlin where she and her partner, Meg, had gotten their training, to my astonishment Caitlins answer was that she had started with The Cake Bible (my book). Was it any wonder that she captured my attention? But beyond the compliment, and in addition to her solid organizational and technical skills, I was struck at once by Caitlins extraordinary creativity. The signature Miette cake, which she named the Tomboy, consists simply of three unadorned dark chocolate layers, filled and topped with a contrasting white buttercream, and decorated with just one small pink sugar rose in the center. Caitlin most generously gave me permission to include the recipe in my book Roses Heavenly Cakes and even sent me some of the pink sugar roses for photography. The art director loved the cake so much that she used the photo to span the end pages, and by enlarging it created an impressionistic dreamy appearance, contrasting spectacularly with the all-dark chocolate cake I had designed for the cover.

Over the years, as I watched Caitlins work evolve, I saw that generosity, creative genius, and integrity were the hallmarks of her personality and character, permeating everything she touched. With every project or visit, Caitlin continued to gain my respect, and ultimately a deep friendship evolved. It may sound like a small thing, but any baker will realize how much it meant to me that when I traveled to San Francisco to make my friend chef Daniel Pattersons wedding cake, Caitlin loaned me a turntable from her bakery, and not just any turntable but the one that turned the most smoothly. She also drove all over the Bay Area amassing the equipment and special ingredients I deemed essential for my production.

The launch of my most recent book, Roses Heavenly Cakes , coincided with the opening of James Freemans (Caitlins husband) Blue Bottle roastery in Oakland. Caitlin came up with the inspiration to have a book party at the new roastery and invite bakers from the Bay Area to make their versions of recipes from the book. Caitlin and her baking partner, Leah, made artistic renderings of the Diebenkorn using my gnoise, mini Mondrians using my white velvet cake, and a Josef Albers cake using layers of my carrot cake, quail egg cake, and red velvet cake, each covered with rolled fondant from The Cake Bible . People came from all over the Bay Area to taste the cakes, enjoy a special coffee drink created for the occasion, meet the bakers, and the author who never stopped meeting, greeting, signing books, and talking for a solid three hours.

I first met James Freeman at the Old Oakland Farmers Market when Caitlin and he had just started dating. I remember thinking that he had the same reverence for the quality of his coffee as Caitlin and I had for our baking. Given the grace, harmony, and focus of her life choices, is it any wonder that Blue Bottle coffee happens to be the best coffee I have ever tasted? Happily, Blue Bottle coffee and Caitlins wonderful pastries are now available in New York City as well as the Bay Area.

When Caitlin started to create recipes for SFMOMA inspired by designs from paintings she loved, I knew this would be the perfect expression of her talents as artist and baker. Three of Caitlins edible art desserts, featured in this book, that I find the most enchanting are the white velvet cake and chocolate ganache, consisting of cake squares and rectangles of different sizes and colors held together by thin lines of ganachea perfect replica of Piet Mondrians Composition (No. III) Blanc-Jaune / Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue ; the pistachio and honey parfait with cardamom/white chocolatea stunningly simple cube constructed from thin white chocolate squares, charmingly decorated with line drawings of bees, and containing a deliciously ethereal filling, inspired by Richard Avedons Ronald Fisher, beekeeper, Davis, California, May 9, 1981 ; and the adorable salted chocolate and vanilla bean ice cream sandwichshaped to emulate the poodles in Katharina Fritschs Kind mit Pudeln (Child with Poodles).