COMMANDER IN CHIC

SYLVIA RHONE AND MONA SCOTT YOUNG

STYLE ICON MIKKI TAYLOR HAD A BOOK LAUNCH AT DESIGNER TRACY REESE'S BOUTIQUE IN NEW YORK CITY. HER NEW BOOK "COMMANDER IN CHIC: EVERY WOMAN'S GUIDE TO MANAGING HER STYLE LIKE A FIRST LADY" THE NEW YORK CITY BOOK LUANCH SERVED AS AN OFFICIAL KICK OFF OF HER NATIONAL BOOK TOUR. COMMANDER IN CHIC WILL BE AVAILALE NOVEMBER 29, 2011

BE YOUR OWN HERO

MALT CAKE

THE AUTHOR IS THIS CAKE RECIPI DESCRIBES HER INSPIRATION FOR THE DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF THIS DECADENT CAKE.

The result is actually a combination of several different recipes, the cake is from Barefoot Contessa, the frosting from Martha Stewart and the malted milk crumbs are from the new Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook (which you must really purchase if you are interested in baking desserts at all). The chocolate cake recipe is my favorite chocolate cake recipe ever, moist, chocolaty, not too sweet, I would love to eat it plain for breakfast if I could get away with it. What makes this cake unique are the malted crumbs, they add a sweet, salty crunch and gives the cake an extra layer of texture.

Know that I am thinking of you Mrs. French and I hope that we will be able to celebrate our friendship with many more birthdays, hopefully shared together in person. But for now, let’s have a piece of cake.



For the cake:

Butter for greasing the pans

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

1 cup sugar

1 cup malted milk powder

¾ cups good cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

½ cup vegetable oil

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee



For the malted crumbs:

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon nonfat milk powder

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup malted milk powder

2 ounces white chocolate, melted



For the frosting:

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup malted milk powder

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

3/4 cup sour cream

For the frosting:

Sift together sugar, cocoa, malt powder and salt. Beat cream cheese and butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually add sugar and cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Pour in chocolate in a slow, steady stream. Add sour cream; beat until combined

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans. 

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, malted milk powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. With a knife cut the layer in half horizontally. Repeat with other layer. 

Place one layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. Using an offset spatula spread the top with frosting. Sprinkle 1/2 of the milk crumbs on top of the frosting. Repeat the process with two more layers. Place the final layer on top, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the


HARD TO BELIEVE THAT I WOULD GO THIS FAR OUT FOR A CAKE BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S WORTH IT.

NICK CANNON AND MARIAH CAREY ARE BODY BEAUTIFUL

NICK CANNON TAKES OFF HIS SHIRT TO SHOW US WHAT HE IS WORKING WORK FOR MEN'S HEALTH MAGAZINE

MARIAH CAREY HAS DROPPED 70 POUNDS AND NOW HAS A NEW ROLE AS AMBASSADOR FOR JENNY CRAIG.

HERE IS A PIECE OF NICKS INTERVIEW IN MEN'S HEALTH

The kid actor is now a hip, ripped rap mogul. His way: Keep trying something new.



Nick Cannon knows something about transformation. As a teenager, he was the face of Nickelodeon -- writing, producing, and starring in hundreds of kids' programs before he was old enough to drink. Now, at 25, he's successfully transitioned from aging teen idol to budding hip-hop mogul, complete with his own record label. Just as his career has matured (his second album, Stages, is being released this summer), so has his physique, which he's defined by spending an hour in the gym 5 days a week. "People say, 'Okay, he's starting to look like a man,' " Cannon says, laughing. The work is in private. The results are there for all to see.



Try a new exercise

Cannon experiments in the gym. His top abs choice: the bicycle crunch. Lie on your back, fingertips behind your ears, feet 6 inches off the floor. Crunch your torso and touch an elbow to the opposite knee, bringing that knee toward your chest. Do the same with the other elbow. That's one repetition. Do two sets of 25 reps, resting 1 minute between sets.

FOR SISTERS ONLY 2011

ERIC BENET

TAMI ROMAN WITH RAHEEM DEVAUGHN

KANDI BURRUSS

FREE

ESTELLE

WALE

I ATTENDED FOR SISTERS ONLY AND IT WAS A GREAT WAY TO SPEND THE DAY WITH MY DAUGHTER AND FRIENDS. WPGC HOSTED THIS EVENT AND JOHNNY GILL, TANK AND BEL BIV AND DEVOE CLOSED THE HOUSE DOWN. IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE BEL BIV AND DEVOE BEING IN THE BUSINESS FOR 28 YEARS ARE THEY 40 YET?

CONQUER

FALL

DON'T FORGET TO SPRING FORWARD AND FALL BACK. AT LEAST WE GET AN EXTRA HOUR OF SLEEP. SET YOUR CLOCKS BACK AN HOUR.

CORRINE BISHOP COVERS AMERICAN CHEERLEADING MAGAZINE

Corinne Bishop,17, aka Corinne Foxx graces the cover of the December issue of American Cheerleader magazine. In the issue, the teenager talks about being a cheerleader, her famous dad Jamie Foxx, and what it’s like growing up in the spotlight.
We wonder what Jamie has to say about his daughter’s magazine cover. The proud papa recently said of his daughter, “She’s so beautiful and she doesn’t understand and men are looking at her. She is so beautiful…. She is about to go to college.”

Pick up the issue on newsstands now.

BRACELETS

JEWELRY BY RAVISHING JEWELRY BY DANIELLE

HAPPY CUPCAKE DAY

L'OREAL GALA BENEFIT

TARAJI P. HENSON

TARAJI LOVE THE MAKEUP

TARAJI P. HENSON AND MICHAEL MICHELE LOOKING LOVELY IN BLUE

GIRLFRIEND TALK AMONGST MICHAEL MICHELE AND TARAJI

KERRY WASHINGTON

TARAJI AND KERRY ENJOY CHATTING THE NIGHT AWAY

L'OREAL PARIS LEGENDS GALA BENEFIT RAISED MONEY FOR OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH WITH KERRY WASHINGTON, TARAJI P. HENSON AND MICHAEL MICHELE ATTENDED.

TOWER HEIST OPENS TODAY NATIONWIDE

With Occupy Wall Street protests cropping up across the globe and angry working-class citizens protesting the ugly habits of the rich, Tower Heist may be this year's best big-screen example of art mimicking life. There aren't many surprises in the plot, which sticks to a never-fails feel-good theme: poor folks beating conniving rich folks at their own game. It does deviate in that it infuses comedy into what is really a tragic exploitation of hardworking people, the inevitable result of having two mega-comedians, Murphy and Stiller, leading the cast.

It's unlikely, however, that Tower Heist will be as iconic as the Eddie Murphy action comedies before it. Perhaps, if Murphy's original idea for the film -- bringing together an all-black superstar cast of comedians including Martin Lawrence, Dave Chappelle, Chris Tucker, Mike Epps and Katt Williams -- had been realized, Tower Heist might have been the kind of gut-bustingly funny that we've come to love and expect from Murphy. But the film is fun, light and worth watching -- and its rich-vs.-poor storyline is eerily appropriate for the times.

Conceptualized by Murphy in 2005, the film follows condominium staff members as they seek justice -- and revenge -- from a Bernie Madoff-esque banker who milked members of the crew for their pensions.

Murphy couldn't have cast anyone better than himself in this film, since few actors do action comedy better than he does. In 1982 Murphy broke new ground with 48 Hours, in which he plays a former convict out to catch a cop killer. In the Beverly Hills Cop series, which began two years later, he plays a street-savvy cop looking to avenge the murder of his best friend. The series brought Murphy international fame, and he ascended the throne as the king of action comedies.

"There would be no Rush Hour series if it wasn't for Eddie," said Rush Hour and Tower Heist director Brett Ratner. "Not only was [Tower Heist] Eddie's idea, but in a lot of ways, he invented the genre."

In Tower Heist, Ben Stiller plays Josh Kovaks, the workaholic manager of a luxury condominium off of New York City's Central Park. Josh seeks payback after he discovers that he and his staff have been entangled in a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by his billionaire penthouse tenant. With only days to act before the Wall Street crook gets away with the crime, Josh assembles a crew to steal $20 million that he believes is hidden in the penthouse.

His accomplices include Slide, a petty crook played by Murphy; not-so-bright Charlie (Casey Affleck); fidgety and nervous Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick); and down-for-whatever bellhop Enrique (Michael Peña). Gabourey Sidibe plays Odessa, a fiery, Jamaican-born maid who doubles as a seasoned lock picker.

THROW BACK AFRO BILL COSBY

BILL COSBY IS LOOKING GOOD WITH HIS AFRO. ALL THE RAGE IN THE 70'S.

JANET JACKSON COVERS HARPERS BAZAAR IN SAUDI ARABIA

CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS - HIT EM UP STYLE

CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS ARE A TRADITIONAL FOLK BAND WITH A MODERN TWIST. CHECK OUT THIER COVER OF BLUE CANTRELLS'S HIT EM UP STYLE.