Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Gâteaux Glossaire

I left this petit-four alone for a weekend..big mistakeI'd much rather drink my chocolate out of a cup or bite into a tablette (solid bar) than munch on a piece of gâteau (cake). Maybe it's a texture issue. I never cared for drawing with crumbly charcoal or pastels either... But they are very nice to paint and fall into my theory of pastry géométrie by being round, square, triangular, rectangular and so on. This is not what I would call a BrownieThat odd shaped little cake in front of the macarons is called a Brownie by arnaud Del Mon Tel. The French do have a penchant (inclination) for les mots Anglais like "crumble" or "brownie" or "cake"?! Even Hermé lists "cakes" in his spring catalogue...

Love this pink box from Mulot Now this is what you would call a gateau, a slice of a much bigger gateaux (cake) usually for 6/8 people, a party cake. Chocolate is not so easy to paint... This slice was hellish to paint. Chocolate can so easily become muck if you're not careful. This slice doesn't make the grade as bonified chocolate :( This is an archtectual wonder

I loved this architectural wonder of Gérard Mulot's. Kind of like the Guggenheim Museum. I only ate the chocolate disk on top... A blockbuster of chocolate from Hermé

Here's a chock-o-block of chocolate cake from P Hermé. He lists it in his petits-fours (that's an individual-sized cake) selection and titles it Carrément Chocolat. I only ate the outside on this one..

I'd make a great partner on a pâtisserie jaunt, since I can easily pass up an opera cake. Hear that Robyn? I picked off the outer shards of chocolate on this Pierre Hermé Plénitude and tossed the rest. Mechante!(naughty) Anonymous left a comment...I have decided that my diet plan involves eating only the desserts that you feature. So keep that in mind... I'm easily influenced. Leave more suggestions for me :)

19 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:27 AM

    I am with anonymous... My stomach is growling!

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  2. I CONCUR -- AND I AM CRAVING CHOCOLATE!!! Carole, what DIVINE sketches -- the contrast of the blue against the brown is so winsome and so delicious -- I love the washy feel of your paintings and the phenomenal shadings of all those browns -- my friend, I could never take just a bite! I'm afraid even buying these to paint I'd wind up 4 x 4 x 4! Feet!

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  3. You HAVE got to bring this art to the UK. I love how you show the real thing alongside the art you do. Let's talk about the Biscuit Factory for starters.

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  4. Anonymous3:27 PM

    Very nice paintings!

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  5. Anonymous3:39 PM

    That pâtisserie jaunt sounds just perfect for me. I'll eat all the cake crumbs happily too :)

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  6. Anonymous5:06 PM

    It might have been hellish to paint but it looks heavenly :-)

    And I ecco Di, let's talk about Biscuit Factory - I am plaaning a visit there with Di next week.

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  7. You make painting look so easy! [shakes fist]

    I WANT YOUR CHOCOLATE LEFTOVERS.

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  8. AMAZING!!!!!!

    A feast for the eyes.

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  9. Anonymous7:03 PM

    Carol...I had a female friend, a long time ago, who sat in on a class I was teaching, who found the mingling of washes of burnt sienna and f. ultramarine blue to be very erotic. Your paintings border on the sensual, at times.
    Appealing to all the senses.

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  10. i'd share your leftover with robin, if she doesn't mind :)


    those browns are very sexy, really.

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  11. Everything is so yummy!

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  12. Great watercolors, Carol. Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful.

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  13. What a feast for the eyes, this parade of glowing pottery and beckoning chocolate! Yum! What a treat!

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  14. you paint chocolate good enough to eat!
    Such sweetness you give us each day...........sans calories!!

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  15. Beautiful paintings and site you have here!
    Dede

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  16. oooh these are beeautiful! yummm.

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  17. Hi!Compliments! your paints are amazing!

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  18. You're watercolors are incredible!

    And now I think I'll brew myself a chocolate cappucino to stave off my hunger for the creamy goodness! I'm determined to lose those pesky 20 pounds sitting around my middle :)

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  19. ...I'm gaining weight just looking at your posts!

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