0 Bear Bakes Madeleines

 While you're leisurely nibbling your chocolate Easter oeufs/eggs, Bear and I raised hell in the kitchen attempting to bake again. This time we may have hit the mark with the traditional French madeleine...almost.

 We did A LOT of research before plunging in.

Research is much easier than baking. We started with Chef Marthe Brohan's recipe from Meeting the French since it was a terrific winner - perfect little yellow cakes.

 We moved on to The Bonne Femme cookbook - very thorough indeed.

 Finally refering to David Lebovitz' The Sweet Life in Paris madeleine recipe. Bear and I mostly stuck with David, since the measurements were in English and there were plenty of minute details for 'idiots-in-the kitchen' like ourselves.

Fortunately we brought home some real French baking powder we spotted in Chef Marthe's pantry!

 And we just got our first ever madeleine pan from Amazon. It worked well for us. Who knew?

 Now for the nitty-gritty of putting the ingredients (flour-eggs-butter-sugar) together. Why is painting a watercolor easy as pie? But go whip up a couple of eggs and sugar and I want to jump out the window.

 David says to sift in the flour (with one hand) while 'folding' the batter with the other. At least you paint with only ONE hand.

 Then you 'dribble' in the melted butter + zest (I only had an organic lime malheureusement). Again a two-handed operation. Do people bake without Zanex?

 My batter looked sad IMHO.

 Nothing like the golden, smooth-flowing batter of Chef Marthe. *Important secret to making madeleines, after putting the batter into the pan (3/4 full only svp), they MUST REST in the fridge for at least ONE HOUR. That's how you get the precious 'hump'/bump.
Chef Marthe says you must WAIT in cooking always.
Patience is required.
Who knew?

 Ouuuuuf!

 Et voila!

By some miracle the stars were in the right constellation and our madeleines came out looking like MADELEINES!
We even got the oft-missed famous 'poof', bump or puff!

 Bear and Babar were thrilled to take tea at gouter/snack time(4:30pm). The madeleines were nicely crunchy outside and NOT tough on the inside! I thought they could have been a tad sweeter. Perhaps the lime zest was to blame? Certainly neither Bear nor I licked any spoons/bowls in the process. We're getting 'the training' c/o 'Bringing Up Bebe'.

Weekend baking is a oui.

Licking the bowl is a non non.

As is tasting the fruits of your labor when it is not 'GOUTER' time. We cleverly planned our baking venture for late afternoon. Ha!
We gave our neighbors half the madeleines for safe keeping, ahem. Restraint is the next lecon and Pamela's yogurt cake.

A BIG MERCI to Girl's Guide to Paris for including PB on their BEST PARIS BLOGS list. Do take a look. I know you're waiting till 4:30pm to nibble those oeufs chocolat bien sur.

0 La Grande Epicerie

You might think, being an artist I go to museums in Paris.

You'd be wrong.

I go to La Grande Epicerie De Paris for my eye candy.

I'm stalking the Yuzu Mania gateaux ever since I noticed it in the Paris Patisseries:History Shops Recipes book.

I can't get it out of my head. This big mouth is all too appropriate in the vitrine of La Grande Epicerie.

Anyone sporting a red coat is game for me to follow... What with my Paris red obsession... There's a lot to see in La Grande Epicerie - soooo many works of art. Et voila - red coat again...

Chasing down some fruits rouge no doubt...

Whatever does one do with strawberry/fraise-flavored sucre/sugar? Do tell if you know.

More bottles of mysterious ingredients - blue guimauve-flavored stuff.

French Girl has these sirops sitting atop her fridge. I never got up the nerve to ask what they are.

At last a study in red I can understand.

So many choices of bread - how does anyone decide? I can not.

I just browse.

Lovely shell-shaped madeleines.

And of course they have macarons in 20 flavors/parfums!

Who would not be contented as a chat/cat hanging out in La Grande Epicerie?

Even if there are too many choices.

BONJOUR LA GRANDE EPICERIE!

0 ROSE & HONEY MADELEINES

"She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called petites madeleines, which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim's shell. And soon, mechanically, weary after a dull day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate than a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place…at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory…"

- Except taken from Marcel Proust's "In Search Of Lost Time" -

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Although I have never been a big fan of industrially produced Madeleines which are very popular here in Switzerland (especially with the kids when I was at primary school in the 80's), that French little cookie-sized cake has always made me fantasize...

There is definitely something magical to that lovely and elegant treat. Whether it has something to do with it's cute shell shape or it's size, Madeleines will not leave you indifferent. They definitely have an attractive aspect and a winning pedigree!

The origin of those tiny sponge cakes is not clear. Some think that they may have been named for a 19th century pastry cook, Madeleine Paulmier, but others believe that Madeleine Paulmier was a cook in the 18th century for Stanislaw Leszczynski, whose son-in-law, Louis XV of France, named them for her. In any case, Madeleines are most famous outside France for their association with Marcel Proust's novel "À La Recherche du Temps Perdu (In Search of Lost Time)", in which the narrator experiences an awakening upon tasting a madeleine dipped in tea...

Well, after having finaly bought a Madeleine pan, I thought that it was about time for me to stop dreaming about them and start experimenting with them. So, on Monday, I made the Génoise-style batter and waited for the next day to bravely get out my mould in order to bake my first batch of close to perfect Madeleines.

After some researching on the net, I decided to make Claudia Flemming's recipe which I freely adapted according to my cravings for spring-like flavors. Originally, her Madeleines are made with chestnut honey, but since I had none I used a normal type of runny honey. And as I wanted to add an extra dimension to them, I ground a few dried rosebuds that I added to the pastry.

Those "Rose & Honey Madeleines" are very easy to make and taste so good. Texture-wise they are very moist, tender on the inside and slighty crispy on the outside. Taste-wise they have an extremely exhalirating and delicate flowery fragrance as well as a divinely sweet and pungent honey flavor. To die for and a perfect addition to your Easter table!

~ Rose & Honey Madeleines ~
Recipe taken from Claudia Fleming's "The Last Course" and adapted by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2010.

Yields 2 dozen madeleines.

Ingredients:
12 Tbsp (180g/1.5 sticks) Unsalted butter, plus additional softened butter for the moulds
4 Large eggs
1/2 Cup Granulated sugar
2 Tbsp Firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 Cup Runny honey (strong flavored)
1 Cup All purpose flour
1/2 Cup Cake flour
2 Tsp Baking powder
1/4 Tsp Sea salt
2 Dried rosebuds, ground
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Method:

1. In a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Continue to let the butter cook until some of the white milk solids fall to the bottom of the skillet and turn a rich hazelnut brown, about 5 minutes. Strain the browned butter through a fine sieve into a small bowl.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, both sugars, and honey until pale and foamy, 2-3 minutes.
3. Sift both flours, the baking powder, ground rosebuds and salt over the egg mixture and use a rubber spatula to gently fold in. Fold in the browned butter. Cover the batter and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 200° c (400° F). Liberally butter the madeleine molds. Spoon or pipe the batter evenly into the molds. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown.
5. Transfer the pans to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes then unmold the cakes and let them cool completely on the rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Remarks:
I recommend that you butter the pans, then dust them with flour and put them in the freezer for a short while before you pipe the batter in the moulds.

Serving suggestions:
Eat those Madeleines whenever you feel like it and don't forget to accompany them with a good cup of tea.

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~ Madeleines Au Miel Et A La Rose ~
Recette tirée du livre "The Last Course" de Claudia Fleming et adaptée par Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2010.

Pour 2 douzaines de madeleines.

Ingrédients:
180g de Beurre non-salé, plus un peu de beurre ramolli pour beurrer les moules
4 Gros oeufs
105g de Sucre cristallisé
2 CS de Sucre brun clair
60g de Miel (au goût prononcé)
127.5g de Farine blanche
64g de Farine à gâteau
2 CC de Poudre à lever
1/4 CC de Sel de mer
2 Boutons de roses séchées, réduits en poudre
Sucre en poudre pour saupoudrer

Méthode:
1. Dans une petite poêle faire fondre le beurre à température moyenne. Continuer à cuire le beurre pendant 5 minutes jusqu'à ce que le lactose se teinte (couleur noisette) et tombe au fond de la poêle. Filtrer le beurre et réserver.
2. Dans le bol d'un robot, battre (avec le fouet pendant 2-3 minutes) les oeufs, les sucres et le miel jusqu'à obtention d'une mousse pâle.
3. Tamiser les farines avec la poudre à lever, la poudre de boutons de roses et le sel et ajouter à la mixture aux oeufs. Incorporer délicatement avec une spatule et laisser reposer au frigo pendant tout une nuit (ou 8 heures au moins).
4. Péchauffer le four à 200° C. Beurrer généreusement les moules à madeleines. Les remplir avec la pâte à l'aide d'une cuillèere ou d'une poche à douille. Cuire 5-7 minutes, jusqu'à ce que les madeleines soient dorées.
5. Transférer le moule sur une grille et laisser refroidir pendant 5 minutes avant de les démouler et de les faire refroidir complètement. Saupoudrer avec du sucre glace.

Remarques:
Je vous recommande de bien beurrer les moules et de les saupoudrer avec de la farine, puis de les mettre un petit moment au congélateur avant de les remplir.

Idées de présentation:
Mangez-les à toutes heures de la journée et n'oubliez pas de les accompagner d'une bonne tasse de thé.