OVER EASY: Old, new celeb foods

We are deep into the annual celebrity awards season with shows dispensing trophies nearly every week. The granddaddy of them all, the Oscars, happen in February.

For most of us, keeping up with our favorite film and television stars is a guilty pleasure. So when this ultra-famous Hollywood recipe came my way via email, I just couldn’t resist sharing it this week.

Brown Derby grapefruit cake is from the new “Los Angeles Classic Desserts” cookbook by Grace Bauer, a New Orleans native and graduate of a culinary school in Los Angeles ($16.95 on amazon.com and at major bookstores).

The recipes range in style from classic and traditional old-Hollywood to hip and trendy Los Angeles. The full-color book includes beautiful photography illustrating the recipes and a bit of history of each restaurant represented in the book.

Restaurants represented in the book include classic favorites like: Chasen’s, The Polo Lounge, Chateau Marmont Hotel and Romanoff’s. Recipes from new la la land favorites include the Water Grill, Patina, La Brea Bakery and Sweet Lady Jane’s Bakery.

Chef Bauer recommends a classic Hollywood dessert for a Valentine’s Day lunch, Easter or Mother’s Day brunch: grapefruit cake from the famous Brown Derby restaurant. According to Chef Bauer, this dessert was a favorite of some of the restaurant’s famous regulars such as Bob Hope, Jimmy Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Cecil B. DeMille.

BROWN DERBY GRAPEFRUIT CAKE
(This is one of the old Brown Derby’s classic desserts. Founded in 1926, the restaurant was very popular with Hollywood’s most glamorous actors during the heyday of the Brown Derby. In this recipe, the addition of crushed grapefruit to the frosting, as well as having grapefruit sections placed between and on top of the cake, offer a promise of what’s within.)

Cake:
* 1 1/2 cups cake flour
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup water
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 3 large eggs, separated
* 4 tablespoons fresh grapefruit juice
* 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
* 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl. Make a well in center of dry ingredients. Into the well, add water, oil, egg yolks, grapefruit juice and lemon zest. Beat everything until very smooth.

In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar separately until the whites are stiff but not dry. Gradually pour the egg yolk mixture over whites and, with a rubber spatula, fold them together gently until they are just blended. Do not stir mixture.

Pour the mixture into an ungreased pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched with a finger. Invert the cake on a rack. With the cake remaining in the pan, allow it to cool. Then run a spatula around edge of cake and carefully remove it from the pan. With a serrated knife, gently cut cake in half horizontally to create two layers.

Grapefruit Cream Cheese Frosting:
* 12 ounces cream cheese
* 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
* 2 tablespoons crushed grapefruit
* 3 to 4 drops yellow food coloring
* 2 cups well-drained grapefruit sections

Allow the cream cheese to soften at room temperature; then beat until it is fluffy. Add the lemon juice and zest. Gradually blend in the sugar. Add the food coloring and beat the mixture until everything is well blended.

Crush a sufficient amount of grapefruit flesh to fill 2 tablespoons and blend them into the frosting. Spread some of the frosting on the bottom layer of the cake and top with grapefruit sections. Place the second layer atop the first and spread more frosting on the top and sides until they are covered. Garnish with the remaining grapefruit sections.

Julianne Munn is the food writer for the Citrus County Chronicle. Email her at jmunn2@tampabay.rr.com.