Delicious Flashbacks
If you have a sweet tooth, I mean a real sweet tooth, then you must check out Retro Desserts: Totally Hip, Updated Classic Desserts from the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s . I’ve been lusting over the book for a while now, but for some reason, when it came time for baking or making something sweet I would always pass the book up for a recipe I found elsewhere. Well, I finally did it. I finally said “Enough is enough with the lusting, I have to find out if the recipes live up to all that I imagine.”
So far I’ve only had the chance to try out one recipe from Retro Desserts but it lived up to my expectations and then some. Now the hard part will be pacing myself because after all, as much as I would love to, I simply can’t make or bake all the recipes at once. My beloved oven would never forgive me, and I have a feeling my waistline wouldn’t either.
The book was written by Wayne Brachman, the pastry chef for Bobby Flay at Mesa Grill and Bolo in New York City. Bachman scoured magazines, newspapers, cookbooks and beyond dating from the 1940’s into the early 1970’s searching for classic American dessert kitsch. Everything about the book from the color scheme of the cover, to how the food is styled for the photos, right down to the recipe names screams retro kitsch. Retro Desserts gives you recipes such as: Crazy Craters of the Moon Cake with Moonrock Topping (yes that’s really the name!), Strawberry Chiffon Pie, Bananas Foster and even the equivalent of homemade Oreos. You will also find plenty of recipes that will appeal to those near and dear to you that might not be so fond of the kitsch such as: lemon bars, chocolate cream-filled cupcakes (think Ding Dongs), red velvet cake, along with ice cream toppings just to name a few. So, if you’re a baker looking for fun recipes you might just want to give Retro Desserts a look.
