tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026563494343909069.post-15802565982629335122008-07-09T12:30:00.000-04:002008-07-09T12:30:33.999-04:00<div style="text-align: justify;">I've written before about the child in us all that persists until the end, my favorite Sandra Cisneros <a href="http://sophisticatedpie.blogspot.com/2008/02/off-chopping-block.html">quote</a> summarized what that feels like to me. And in another perspective, K. would say, "Dick Cheney was a baby once too." That's why today's post is a little unravelling of my different layers of age. It's a little sophisticated (hence the website) and it's a little childish (hence the flower shape of the cakes).<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_DvmdeoUqOYU/SHTmiCLFj-I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/RuCRVyvlHjM/s1600-h/IMG_4250.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_DvmdeoUqOYU/SHTmiCLFj-I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/RuCRVyvlHjM/s320/IMG_4250.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221051340402560994" border="0" /></a></div><br />The flower came out as an accident, in a way. I wanted to make something with the consistency of a Madeline (you know, that soft but dense perfect bite of cake in the cutest little sea shell form), but I didn't have a Madeline pan. I did, though, have small brioche pans that I bought in Paris and that, regretfully, hadn't been used yet. This, I thought, was the perfect time to break them in. So, I tried a round of Madeline batter in the bottom of the brioche pan and what came out were perfectly baked beautiful little flower cakes! The young girl came out in me, and I was so full of glee that I had to call up my mother and tell her all about them... and I think she will find them even more adorable than do and perfect for her daily tea-time.<br /><br />These adorable cakes are sure to make anyone smile on a day turned for the bad, who can frown at such delicate little flower cakes? Madeline's are absolutely one of my favorite small desserts, especially in the chocolate form, because I'm of the belief that you can never get enough chocolate. I think they would be a lot of fun to play around with too... the traditional variety of Madeline is vanilla with a bit of lemon, but they're really versatile and you can be creative with what flavor you might choose to add in and make these your own.<br /><br />PS: I mentioned I would show how I presented the <a href="http://sophisticatedpie.blogspot.com/2008/07/mango-lime-jalapeno-compound-butter.html">mango semifreddo</a> to my dinner guests, and below is my first shot at thinking about a fun way to plate these little flower cakes along side such a delicate fruit dessert.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_DvmdeoUqOYU/SHTkW3TEKLI/AAAAAAAAAg4/iTagKquJYdk/s1600-h/IMG_4284_1.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_DvmdeoUqOYU/SHTkW3TEKLI/AAAAAAAAAg4/iTagKquJYdk/s320/IMG_4284_1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221048949481416882" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">chocolate madelines<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">adapted from <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/CHOCOLATE-MADELEINES-105392">epicurious</a>, makes about 20 cakes</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />3/4 c all-purpose flour<br /></div></div>1/2 c unsweetened cocoa<br />pinch of salt<br />4 large eggs<br />1 c vanilla sugar (I used 1 c sugar, 1 tsp vanilla)<br />12 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled<br />Butter for greasing pans<br /><br />Grease madeline pans or brioche pans and set aside. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.<br /><br />Sift together the flour, cocoa, and salt. Place eggs an sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until thick and bright yellow. Fold in the flour mixture, then the melted butter. Cool the batter and the pans in the refrigerator at least one hour (optional).<br /><br />Spoon the batter into the madeline pans (3/4 full) or the brioche pans (about 1-inch filled). Bake until firm and puffed (about 7 minutes for madeline tins and about 14 minutes for brioche pans). Immediately turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool. Wipe out molds/ pans and let cool before re-filling.<br /></div>elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13398183896832281972sophisticatedpie@gmail.com