- Haven't you ever had those times in your life
where you just feel all consumed with tasting something
again that you haven't had in years and years?
That's really what I'm doing here is bringing back
those incredible desserts, those incredible experiences
that have gone extinct.
I put myself through this process of resurrecting desserts
because I truly feel that a good dessert
can change the course of your day.
I'm Valerie Gordon, owner of Valerie Confections,
and I'm also a dessert anthropologist.
The way this project of resurrecting historic
desserts began was in 2009 the food editor
from the Los Angeles Times magazine asked me
to create a Blum's Koffee Krunch Cake
for an article that she was doing.
And it was this amazing full-circle moment,
because I grew up with that cake;
I know that cake, and I missed that cake terribly.
Blum's was an incredible bakery and cafe in California.
There were eight locations.
The last one closed in the ’80s.
When the article came out, we literally received
125 phone calls from people going, "Oh my God,
"I want this cake."
The desserts that I've resurrected to date
are, of course the Koffee Krunch Cake from Blum's.
I've brought back the Banana Shortcake from Chasen's,
the Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake is another cake
that I've resurrected, and now soon to be
the Cof-fiesta sundae, as well.
The anthropology of the dessert resurrection
is really one of the most interesting parts of all of this.
I start the research process at the central library.
There is a room, and this is a very well-guarded room,
called the Menu Vault.
There are menus that date back for 150 years.
I find that looking at the actual menus
is so much more gratifying than just pulling something
up online because you're really getting
to the heart and soul of the place.
You're almost transported into that place at that time
by holding something that these people held.
You really are.
Then I email a bunch of people, or I call a bunch of people
who were natives to Los Angeles, or whatever city
the bakery was in to find out, hey, do you remember this?
Do you remember that?
- We always used to call this the adult sundae
because this is the one my mom would eat.
- This is the grownup sundae.
Can they describe the texture of a whipped cream?
Can they tell me whether there was vanilla in it, or not?
- I'm pretty sure they did one basic recipe
for whipped cream, and then flavored accordingly.
It was little kid whipped cream.
- One cherry. - Yes.
- This is amazing.
Like, you have been indispensable.
I'm not particularly interested in retro.
It is about reliving those sense memories.
It's sort of like when you hear a song
that was your favorite song from 1982,
you're really thrown back into that moment.
It's become this very emotional, very fulfilling
part of my job to bring these cakes back for people.