Their very first film reviewed was Chocolat. I saw this film when it came out, but I decided to watch it again, since that was nearly 15 years ago!
I love the cast in this film. Johnny Depp is sexy and deep, Judi Dench is captivating, and Juliette Binoche is mesmerizing. Such a great film, with themes of longing and temptation. And, one of my quotes:
Père Henri: I'm not sure what the theme of my homily today ought to be. Do I want to speak of the miracle of Our Lord's divine transformation? Not really, no. I don't want to talk about His divinity. I'd rather talk about His humanity. I mean, you know, how He lived His life, here on Earth. His *kindness*, His *tolerance*... Listen, here's what I think. I think that we can't go around... measuring our goodness by what we don't do. By what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think... we've got to measure goodness by what we *embrace*, what we create... and who we include.
The cupcakes I made for our cooking school fit perfectly into this post. Both the frosting and the cake are chocolatey and so good.
For the cupcakes you need 3/4 c good cocoa powder, 1 1/2 c flour, 1 1/2 c sugar, 1 1/2 t baking soda, 3/4 t baking powder, 3/4 t salt, 2 eggs, 3/4 c warm water, 3/4 c buttermilk, 3 T oil and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Preheat the oven to 350. Line cupcake tin with liners. Sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a mix beat eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Scrape smooth, then add flour mixture a little at a time until batter is well mixed. Fill cupcake cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until tops spring back when touched. Cool completely.
For the frosting you will need 8 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped, 6 c confectioner's sugar, 1/2 pound of butter, softened, 6 tablespoons of milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1/4 t salt. Melt the chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool to room temp. In a large bowl combine the sugar, butter, milk, vanill and salt and beat on low speed, scraping down the bowl. Increase the speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add chocolate gradually and beat for another minute.
I decorated the cupcakes using a decorator's bag and tip. These were delightfully yummy!
Our host's first Food 'n' Flix happened to be chocolate cake, too, and you can see it here.
If you want to join us in reviewing movies and being inspired to cook, join us at Food 'n' Flix. You view the movie, cook, and post anytime you want during the month of the movie. The host will create a round up of posts at the end of the month. It is a lot of fun! Round up is available now!
