Friday night, the most fabulous thing happened to me. I have been reading Romancing The Ordinary by Sarah Ban Breathnach, and as a result (if you have read it, you will understand!) I have been wanting to make her Madeleine recipe. Well, I have been, only in little cupcake cases as I have not Madeleine tins. and while they taste lovely in cupcake cases, I have been long convinced that they would be better in the little shell shapes.
Well we were going to see a film (Inside Man, rather good) and before it started we had some time to spare, so took a walk about the shops. We were in Le Creuset looking at the odd bendy silicone cake moulds, when Lo! Behold! Madeleine cases appeared before my eyes! And the bakeware was on buy one get one free...so I did. I now have bendy bendy Madeleine moulds and mini jam tart moulds.
The madness is this though. On the delightful rainy Sunday afternoon (gentle rain so we could open the window and smell the soft sweetness of it and hear the gently shush of it) I made Madeleines in my new moulds, having watched the BBC Pride and Prejudice on dvd and done needlepoint and knitting (just to set the mood!) and the cakes were lovely. I know it is not modest to say so, but they were nice. Monday was the day from hell. I had an interview that went badly, I spilled coffee on my lovely interview dress; I blew the bulb in our bathroom at home (rendering me in pitch darkness as we have no window in that room!) and a hundred and one other little things went wrong. I had a friend coming to visit, so I made some Madeleines. And they sank. Oh, they flopped. And they stuck! They stuck to the silicone! And when they cooled...lets just say that they were more like fossilised sea shells than anything else! I suppose you win some and lose some...I just wonder if they can pick up on the atmosphere? They were happy to rise and bake merrily in a Pride and Prejudice soaked afternoon, but not on a harassed Monday night!
Our other adventure was a glorious walk on Saturday. It was sunny you see, so we drove to Goldhanger, and decided to walk along the sea wall. Dear Carl said that although it was a long walk there was a pub at the end where we could have a lovely pub lunch. Well, we walked. And walked. And walked. Two hours later, there was no pub in sight. Just miles and miles more sea wall. And mud. And birds. So we turned around, and walked, walked, walked all the way back! After four hours of walking, I did not realize it at the time, but I had caught the sun. Most amusing really, as I have a little red nose, and a white patch on my chest where my locket was!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. If my Madeleines work tonight I shall post the recipe tomorrow. As I said, they can be made in cupcake cases if you don't have a seashell shaped Madeleine mould~but I rather think finding the moulds is an adventure worth having!
3 comments:
Poor you, sinking madeleines are no fun. Hope your day has been better today though. I find that when I'm baking - if I'm a bit stressed the baking all goes to pieces.
PS What did you make of the Stephanie Barron novels?
When I bake for no special reason everything turns out just perfectly. When Im expecting visitors you can bet it all goes wrong. I think we give it bad vibes or something !! lol
I haven't had madeleines before, although my mother does own a rather old tin, which I presume has been used at some time or another. One of my favourite treats were maids of honor, in little boat-shaped tins, which if you get the chance to make them are delish!
Sorry to hear about the upset at the interview, like they say, it never rains but it pours. I'm sure it went better than you think, these things usually do!
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