Misadventures in cookings!

It has been a while since my last post. Sorry, life has been a little hectic lately. A lot has been going on.

There was the start of school. Work always take a big chunk out of my life. There was also the trip to Vegas. Parties, meetings, get-togethers, and so on, and so forth. Another confession: I hadn't been doing a lot of inspiring cooking lately. Most days, it was just throwing a bunch of stuff together and hoped it turned into something edible.

There were a couple of days I went out of my way to actually make something that is not stir-fry and rice.

On my dad's birthday, I made a no-bake cake. It consisted of ricotta cheese, semi-sweet baking chocalate, chocolate wafers, and lots of sugar. I think I'm missing a couple other ingredients, but it was a month or so ago. It turned out okay. I did not like working in a kitchen where I don't have all I need. The ricotta cheese was not blended enough, and the chocolate didn't work well with the cheese. There wasn't enough sugar in the cake. So, I made a strawberry-jelly thing to add a little more sweetness to the dish. Over all though, everyone says they like it. So, I guess, that's all that really counts.



To kill my ego, here's a picture of a decent cake. It's called a Miroir from a great bakery/cafe called Cafe Blanc. They have the greatest little cakes and such. They also have great gelato. Every order of cakes comes with a small pairing of gelato. This is a large version of the individual version they sell.

Madeleine Muffins!

If anyone of you are a fan of French pastries, you will know of Madeleine cakes. They are more of a cookie than a cake, but it's debatable. Some people also call French butter cakes or French lemon butter cookies. Madeleines are shell/scallop shaped cookie with a crispy outside a soft inside, like most French cookies. These little cookies are a French tradition, a French favorites. They are like the chocolate chips cookies of America, the tea and crumpet of England. A batch of Madeleines and a cup of tea. There's really nothing better.


I have been wanting these since I was reminded of them during the movie Transporter - Great movie btw. Then, I got the cravings. I needed those soft buttery cookies with a hint of lemony taste. There were a few obstacles in my way. Money's a little tight lately. Milk, butter, and eggs were of sort supply. Also, there was the fact that I needed to work my head off. Rent and bills do not pay themselves. My cravings just grew and grew.

In a desperate attempt, I tried to find an eggless recipe. I have butter and I can always subsitute milk for tea. Tea gives the Madeleines a better fragrance anyway.

When I was scrounging around for recipes and ingredients, Peter proposed to go grocery shopping since he had extra money. No one could tell how ecstatic I was. An hour and a few bags of groceries later, there were salmon steaming in the oven and Madeleines on a plate.

My last obstacle was the mold. I did not have the shell shaped mold. But, my cravings got the better of me. Therefore, I took all the ingredients that make a Madeleine a Madeleine, tweaked it to make it into a muffin. Here is the result.

They have the crusty outside, the soft inside, the lemony and buttery taste. The only thing missing was that it wasn't sweet enough. Consider this though, Madeleine usually are dust with sugar. I thought maybe next time I will make a little sugary glazed to brush on top. Or just add a little more sugar.

Madeleine Muffins

1 c all purpose flour
1/8 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg
1/2 c milk
1/4 cup tea
4 tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla


Preheat oven to 400F
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together.
Melt butter.
Mix well butter, milk, tea, vanilla, and egg into the flour mixture
Use a whisk to whisk the batter into a good consistency
Pour into muffin pan and bake for 15 - 22 mins