'Honey, I'm home,' I called out to Peter as I walked through the back entrance. 'Close your eyes, I have a surprise for you,' he responded, taking me by the arm and leading me down the steps, through the hall and into the kitchen. The rich, warm aromas told me immediately that he had been cooking. Woot!? My man had not only spent his one day off mowing the lawns and trimming the shrubbery, he had also become a Domestic God (as in Not Quite Nigel, apologies Lorraine), and turned his hand at baking.
Peeping through my fingers, I saw him proudly pointing to a plate of petit Madeleines. He was clearly chuffed with himself, and rightly so, for Madeleines are no easy feat for a first time baker. In the course of an afternoon, my Peter had taught himself to clarify butter, mix batter and even deviated from the recipe (after two sticky attempts), to create a batch of little French cakes pretty enough to photograph!
Now, I was genuinely delighted, but the grumpy old cow part of me inside wanted to feel annoyed that he had let loose in my territory and christened my brand new madeleine tin. And let's not go into the large amounts of icing sugar, flour, butter and crumbs sprinkled from one end of the kitchen to t'other. But I quickly came to my senses as I reached into the bowl of 'failures' and popped a piece of Madeleine into my mouth. 'Mmm, these are good, Petey, these are seriously good!' The smile on his face was priceless. French writer, Marcel Proust, immortalised Madeleines when he described taking tea with his mother in the opening lines of his autobiographical novel Remembrance of Things Past with his mother serving 'those short, plump little cakes called petit madeleines, which look as though they had been molded in the fluted valve of a scallop shell ... [the cake] so richly sensual under its severe, religious folds'. There are variations to the recipe for madeleines in Larousse. Classic Madeleines, in which the 100g butter quantity is melted before the other ingredients are added (three eggs plus one yolk, lemon juice, 125g caster sugar and 125g flour); and Commercy Madeleines, in which the 150g butter quantity is creamed with a wooden spoon before the remaining ingredients (six eggs, 200g flour, one teaspoon baking powder and orange flower water) are added. The receipt for Madeleines that Peter used is one by Margaret Fulton from Margaret Fulton's New Cookbook (A&R, 1993). It is a seemingly good recipe, however the instructions in the method suggest that 'if you are using a teflon tin, it is not necessary to butter and dust it with flour'. Wrong! The first two batches did stick, hence Peter ended up greasing and flouring the tin with successful results. Here is the recipe with Peter's comments in brackets, [like so]. I might just add that he has memorised the recipe, and something tells me he is going to bake them again! Lucky moi! PETIT MADELEINES A LA PETER 185g unsalted butter, clarified* 2 eggs 3/4 cup caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or orange or lemon rind, grated 1 cup plain flour [sifted] 1 tablespoon rum [or orange flower water] icing sugar for dusting Preheat the oven to hot (200 degreesC/400 degrees F). Butter the madeleine tin and dust it with flour. Melt the butter, clarify* and let it cool. Beat the eggs and sugar until thick and light, using a hand whisk and a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, or use an electric mixer. [Here is where Peter deviated from the recipe, as he didn't set the bowl over the pan of simmering water]. Remove from the heat, if using that method, and continue to beat until cooled. Add the vanilla and fold in the flour, the cooled butter and rum, if using, mixing only until everything is blended. Three-quarters fill each [shell in the] tin with the batter and bake for eight minutes, until pale golden. Turn out onto wire racks to cool. Dust liberally with icing sugar. Makes about 32 cakes. *Clarifying butter removes the water and milk solids from the butter. David Lebovitz provides excellent instructions on how to make clarified butter here. 30/11/2011 08:57:30 pm
I've said it before, and i'll say it again ... gotta love a man that cooks (gotta worship one that bakes).
Lizzy (Good Things)
30/11/2011 09:15:58 pm
LOL, indeed you do! He's a treasure, that's for sure. He he, I will pass on your compliment to Peter. He will be ever so chuffed! 30/11/2011 10:14:49 pm
Hehe how brilliant of Peter! And hehe I didn't take offence at all, that is a cute moniker for him! :P
Lizzy (Good Things)
30/11/2011 10:26:31 pm
Barb, I was blown away, blown away. He did such a good job too... how could I be cross, especially at the mess LOL. I stuffed my face as I cleaned up ( :
Lizzy (Good Things)
30/11/2011 10:27:36 pm
Lorraine! Hi !!! Nigel, err, I mean, Peter said hello... Thanks for popping in to comment, lovely to see you xo 1/12/2011 04:10:57 pm
oh my - how wonderful! I dont think Mr BBB would EVER bake!! 2/12/2011 01:59:33 pm
You really have to love a man who cooks, especially when it is a surprise!
Lizzy (Good Things)
2/12/2011 02:10:36 pm
Lisa, hello! Hope you are keeping well. Look after little BBB. It was a lovely surprise. And Peter did make such beautiful madeleines. Thanks for popping in.
Lizzy (Good Things)
2/12/2011 02:11:23 pm
Hi Sara... LOL, I am with you. It was great and a real surprise. Perhaps he needs more time in the kitchen without me bossing him around!
Deborah
10/12/2011 08:39:01 am
We're on the same page regarding the need to butter and flour teflon coated cake tins. I have some friand tins that I find best when using softened (rather than melted) butter, dusting with flour and then putting in the freezer to set. Never again had to remove the stuck cakes and soak them clean! If in doubt...
Lizzy (Good Things)
10/12/2011 09:32:14 am
Hello Deborah. Softened butter and dusting with flour is great... putting in the freezer to set is a wonderful idea. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for popping in, I am honoured to welcome you! Comments are closed.
|
Welcome...Üdvözölöm
Cooking and writing have been a lifelong passion. Join me as I share with you my favourite recipes; postcards and morsels from my travels; conversations with cookery writers and chefs; and news on food, cookbooks and cooking. - Liz Posmyk
All
NB: I use Australian standard measuring cups and spoons in my recipes.
|