butter madeleines

A while ago I received a silicon madeleine pan and stashed it far away in a corner somewhere. I just stumbled upon it and thought I should share it's coolness with you! As you can see, it is bright and festive. It brightens my day just looking at it. The coolest part about it is that it is flexible and perfect for popping out fresh and hot cookies. Strangely enough, it has 20 molds instead of the usual dozen. This particular pan yields teeny tiny cookies.

My first (or most memorable) experience with madeleines was at, in my opinion, the best restaurant in Atlanta, Bacchanalia. After being served at least five courses of amazing and fresh food, the waiter asked if we needed anything else. We all said that we could not even imagine there being anything else for them to give us! The waiter replied, "Oh, but there are two more courses!" We all thought he was kidding until a plate of tiny assorted cookies and a tray of fresh butter madeleines were placed in front of us. The buttery smell wafted around our table, and suddenly I had the need to taste one. They were, let me tell you, some of the best cookies of my life. Warm and buttery, with a golden, shell shaped crust, they were caramelized on the outside and like a pound cake on the inside. Absolutely perfect. This is my idea of the perfect madeleine.

This recipe is from 101 cookbooks and can be found here. It features a stick and a half of butter (I know, but it is just so good) and the zest of a lemon, which lends a freshness to the rich cookies. I apologize for the lack of pictures here; I kept saying "I forgot to take a picture of that!" But if you were wondering, I followed the recipe exactly (unlike usual). In my tiny pan, I ended up making about 80 cookies. My french class of four people probably won't finish them. =)

I did end up forgetting to dust them with powdered sugar, but they really didn't even need it. They are best fresh out of the oven, but they held up well all day. I can't vouch for how long they last since mine were eaten the first day. I know that metal pans are on an entirely different level of legitimacy, but silicon works just fine for me. If you want to buy a pan, I probably would recommend a metal one. This is a pretty easy recipe and very rewarding.

Madeleines are perfect for sitting down with a warm cup of something to relax.

Enjoy.

xoxo,

allie

not another birthday cake..

My family has always been a little bit out there. From our tastes in music to hobbies to food, we are not exactly traditional. Yesterday, my mom's birthday, I made an alternative to the classic birthday cake. This recipe is stolen from Tartelette, my favorite cooking blog. I highly suggest you all go check out the site. She is creative in the kitchen and takes gorgeous pictures of food. Also, she makes macarons! But today is a break from my favorite cookie to make another almond-based treat. If you have tried making macarons and do not feel the need to ever make them again, I understand. Don't throw away that almond flour! It can be used for hundreds of other recipes which are less frustrating than macarons.

Helene at Tartelette gives two names for these: the original, almond and poached pear cakes that tumble down, and her own name for them, poached pear and almond fallen souffle cakes. The latter sounds more upscale in my opinion, but use whichever you like.

Besides almond flour, these have another unusual ingredient, forelle or seckel pears. They are pretty much the world's cutest mini fruit. If you can't get these where you live, you can use regular pears cut in half lengthwise. My dad is not a fan of pears, so he gets some surprisingly nice looking raspberries on his cake. We try to eat locally and in season as much as possible, but these are what we would call "A++" berries.

First, we are going to poach the pears. For these 2 pears, I am using about 3 cups of water. You want the pears to be pretty much covered except for the stems. Add a quarter of a lemon or lime, a cinnamon stick, a clove, star anise, allspice berry, cardamom pod, or any other spices that aren't in powder form. Also add a quarter cup of sugar to the mixture and bring it to a boil. If you want, peel the pears and core them from the bottom, but leave on the stems (they look beautiful and help with eating them). Place the pears in the liquid and poach them for about 10 minutes or until they are soft. If yours tend to fall over when you cook them, like mine do, just remember to turn them over every once in a while to cook evenly.

These were the seasonings before I added water and a picture of the finished pears.

Set them aside to cool while you prepare the batter. Cream butter and sugar, then beat in an egg. Add vanilla, heavy cream, and flour (of the almond and all-purpose varieties) and mix until smooth. Fill the ramekins about a third of the way and place the pear in the center (or any fruit you choose). Bake them at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until they are puffy and golden brown.

When they come out of the oven, dust the cakes with powdered sugar and serve warm. Be sure to cool them for a few minutes, though.

The verdict? Delicious. They are crispy and chewy on the top and have a custard-like center, especially in the raspberry version. These cakes are not super sweet, and a good percentage of the sweetness comes from the fruit. Be sure to choose fruit that is in season to get the sweetest cakes. Stone fruits like peaches and plums could be ideal for the summer. If you like traditional and very sweet desserts, you may want to add more sugar or pick different fillings. These are nice for a small group because you can make individual portions without weeks worth of leftovers. For my mom, they were the perfect birthday cakes.

It was a truly happy birthday.

xoxo,

allie

p.s. the original recipe can be found here

starbucks macarons?

I recently read on Paris Breakfasts, my favorite blog, about the new "french macaroons" at Starbucks! She has much more experience than me in the legit macaron department, so I trust her judgement. She said that they were too sweet, and were sold at about 3,500 Starbucks stores. With a Starbucks on every corner, I figured I would never find them. The very next day I saw them at a store on Stuart St. in Boston! They come in a box of 12 mini macs with a variety of classic flavors: chocolate, vanilla, coffee, raspberry, lemon, and pistachio.

Apologies that I ate some before taking the picture :)

They are all adorable. The chocolate one had a much more even and chocolatey color than my little speckled ones. I found that it was dense in the middle, like a piece of chocolate cake, and I had a hard time distinguishing the filling from the cookie. Perhaps not being as fresh caused the textural difference.

They were a little too sweet, and the filling was... lacking (but mine is not perfect either, so I can't really judge).

If you can't get to Paris, Japan, LA, or New York City; can't find someone to get them for you, and have little success in the kitchen, these might be worth trying. Keep in mind that they are not exactly the best example of a perfect macaron.

When things are mass-produced, they are just not as good.

xoxo,

allie