Thursday, February 05, 2009 0 comments Post a Comment MADELEINES. Wikipedia says its full name is "Petite Madeleine De Commercy". A small cake named after Madeleine Paulmier originating from Commercy. So what are madeleines really? A cake that is only slightly lighter than a pound cake, but has a crisped surface that gives it another texture. At least that is what i gather from the madeleines i made myself, tried at Delifrance and SY who tried some in the US (but from the apparently inferior Starbucks chains) and David (who's French!). The original flavor is buttery and citrusy (normally lemon). The shape is distinctive : a longish sea-shell AND, here comes the crucial part : the HUMP. HUMP. Not BUMP, so its not a gradual swell. Its a CAMEL-HUMP. a LITTLE　MOUNTAIN! the ONLY TUMOR i will ever like! And this hump is the reason why i can only blog about madeleines TODAY. Because after two failed attempts to get this lumpy trademark, i SUCCEEDED today! Why did I start making Madeleines? It was a month before my Toray 2008 marathon when SY mentioned that she liked madeleines alot . For some reason, i felt compelled to take on the task of making madeleines (she claimed that Shanghai didn't sell any! Ichido and Paris Baguette both do - we found out) I looked high and low for good recipes and finally found one whose author seemed honest enough to share her secrets , but proud enough to assure me of its quality. I did my first Madeleine Au Citron! It tasted pretty yumz and although it didn't make much culinary sense, i added a chocolate coating as SY requested. BUT no hump! It was flat. SO matter-of-factly flat that i couldn't believe the kind of humps i saw on the photos! Then i decided to try my 2nd batch of Madeleines that were Earl Grey tea flavored. This time round, i still proudly resisted adding baking powder as the online professionals made the addition out to be some anti-tradition and cheaterbuggy practice. But i added too little Earl Grey tea ( i thought 5 teabags were enough!) and it was too monotonous a taste so i found a lemon glaze recipe that didn't form that nice frost-like color as promised but was just transparent . It did taste pretty nice, soury and sweet. BUT NO HUMP. I tried adding more, i tried adding less. I tried super high heat for 5 minutes and lower heat for another 7. i tried cold batter, chilled silicon madeleine tray. I even........ *bites lower lip* tried adding little bits of baking powder in their little tummies right before putting them into the tray but NO HUMP! I was going MAD. I got really mad and resolved NOT to make any more madeleines. Especially when i made 3-4 batches and each batch took 20-30 minutes because of the small oven i used. But I knew i had to conquer this fear of madeleines of mine. Especially since back in SG, i knew i had a better chance with that nice and big stove oven at home. I packed my madeleine tray into my luggage. AND TODAY. 4th FEBRUARY. Despite a little mess i made by sieving my beurre noisette (heated butter) 4 times cos those darned earl grey leaves just kept going through my sieve and the kitchen towel i added to prevent that was too efficient in filtering ; Despite little flour bits being left out of the fold-in ; Despite my cold that was slowing down my brain ; there were humps. Little humble bumps at first but upon spooning more batter into each shell depression........... i got GLORIOUS HUMPS! They rose so much they BURST through the tip of the hump but i couldn't be arsed as these were the HUMPS. THE MADELEINE HUMPS!! And the only suay thing was my missing camera. Didn't bring it back! Tried using my phone but its so wonky that i can do nothing productive with it. Tried using my backup phone but for some damned reason, it showed only a black screen when i tried taking photos. ARGH. But i'm obsessive. I grabbed my laptop with my webcam and started taking shots using the webcam. Super lousy quality but i NEED to post these photos up! If i didn't have a webcam at that moment, i think i might have just sat down with a palette and start painting these wonderful darlings. There. CAN YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE between Madeleine #1, #2 and this authentic little baby?! Can you SEE IT. Yay. haha. What did i do differently? 1) I added 4/5 tsp of baking powder for 200 gm of flour. (AHERMS. *whistles*) 2) I didn't flour my tray (don't think its a factor) 3) I used this huge oven (never trusted my small one in Shanghai to reach temps. above 180C) 4) The oven uses topfire! So instead of getting the shell-side of the madeleine browned, my tops part is browner (i personally think it makes more sense to have the shell light colored!) And it might be because of the topfire (and not the lower heat like my small oven uses) that made the top part of the madeleine so vigorous and vibrant, forcing its little hump out before it hardens! 5) I filled my little shell moulds FULLY and not 3/4 as alot of websites advised. There are a few factors, but i'll personally vouch for the baking powder cos its quite straightforward : More baking powder means more rising, more rising means hump. The filling up of the shell probably catalysed it? But its not a control factor cos i tried filling them up fully in Shanghai to no avail, except a solidified spill-over look. The temperature might be crucial too! Hmmm the Early grey tea aftertaste is not bad but i'll go for the Au Citron again if i had the chance to perfect it with humps! So thats so much for madeleines. No wonder the old French saying says that Madeleines will bring you back to your childhood. Look how blissful i am! As long as i hump it. hurhur. 2/05/2009 01:37:00 AM Monday, February 02, 2009 0 comments Post a Comment As an aspiring epicurean, I firmly oppose the gastrocultural protectionism exhibited by the Italian government's latest ban on ethnic food! A nation must really have no faith in its cuisine if it thinks that an international breadth of food choices will erode its culture. This outright "gastronomic racism" and "culinary ethnic cleansing" might seem ludicrous at first but my heart goes out to all those foodies residing in Italy (native or not)! I cannot imagine Singapore initiating such a law which shouts absurd. I mean, take us for an example, how many of our foods and "traditions" have its roots tapping from Nonya, Chinese, Malay, Indian cuisine. Its a shame that even Italy's Agriculture Minister couldn't look beyond this narrowest definition of "tradition" and "culture". "Celebrity chef Vittorio Castellani said: 'There is no dish on earth that does not come from mixing techniques, products and tastes from cultures that have met and mingled over time.' He said many dishes thought of as Italian were, in fact, imported. The San Marzano tomato, a staple ingredient of Italian pasta sauces, was a gift from Peru to Naples in the 18th century. Even spaghetti, it is thought, was brought back from China by Marco Polo. " - quoted from ST (Singapore) Feb 2nd, 2009 If bolognese had to belong to anyone, its the cow. or tomato-san. (and to those people calling out to boycott pasta in return : I say "why let your tummy suffer!" ) 2/02/2009 10:03:00 PM

yi A student (and maybe one always) / from Singapore in Shanghai / a hopefully chronic baking OCD / aborted mission Noble entirely / decided to stop believing in change and creation but work on succeeding heritages / food is culture. culture is heritage. / dreams of cooking classes in France where everything is white, light & shadows and old mastery - a typical Western enchantment/ wonders if Singaporean food will ever turn into haute cuisine/ will hump a madeleine more than anything else (for now)/ half-worried and half-proud that solid lava cakes distress him more than alot of things/ baking is my first (practical) skill/ believes that fine food can be found in the dodgiest alley after China/ will one day make his baking compulsion serve Charity / The Yi Cafe (a concept not a name)/ has the most pot-bellied father and a kitchen-prodigal mother (thus!)/ the second son with the less discerning tongue/ an aged interest in literature/ a perpetual weight issue / grams not pounds / measuring out my life with tbsps/ feeds the one with a sweeth tooth/ says, "my heart is stollen" homemade berry tart for the jaundice. SH culinary endeavours 1 : tang yuan in glutinuous rice wine SH culinary endeavours 2 : morbidly obese morning sandwich SH culinary endeavours 3 : herbal chicken soup YOU HEAR : Joni Mitchell - You Turn Me On I'm A Radio oh honey you turn me on i'm a radio i'm a country station i'm a little bit corny i'm a wild flower waiting for your broadcasting tower waiting for you fellow pebbles Archive Archives 10/12/2003 - 10/19/2003 10/19/2003 - 10/26/2003 10/26/2003 - 11/02/2003 11/02/2003 - 11/09/2003 11/09/2003 - 11/16/2003 11/16/2003 - 11/23/2003 11/30/2003 - 12/07/2003 12/07/2003 - 12/14/2003 12/28/2003 - 01/04/2004 01/04/2004 - 01/11/2004 01/11/2004 - 01/18/2004 01/25/2004 - 02/01/2004 02/01/2004 - 02/08/2004 02/08/2004 - 02/15/2004 02/15/2004 - 02/22/2004 02/22/2004 - 02/29/2004 02/29/2004 - 03/07/2004 03/07/2004 - 03/14/2004 03/14/2004 - 03/21/2004 03/21/2004 - 03/28/2004 03/28/2004 - 04/04/2004 04/04/2004 - 04/11/2004 04/11/2004 - 04/18/2004 04/18/2004 - 04/25/2004 05/02/2004 - 05/09/2004 05/09/2004 - 05/16/2004 05/16/2004 - 05/23/2004 05/23/2004 - 05/30/2004 05/30/2004 - 06/06/2004 06/06/2004 - 06/13/2004 06/20/2004 - 06/27/2004 06/27/2004 - 07/04/2004 07/04/2004 - 07/11/2004 07/11/2004 - 07/18/2004 07/18/2004 - 07/25/2004 08/01/2004 - 08/08/2004 08/08/2004 - 08/15/2004 08/15/2004 - 08/22/2004 08/22/2004 - 08/29/2004 08/29/2004 - 09/05/2004 09/05/2004 - 09/12/2004 09/12/2004 - 09/19/2004 09/19/2004 - 09/26/2004 09/26/2004 - 10/03/2004 10/03/2004 - 10/10/2004 10/10/2004 - 10/17/2004 10/17/2004 - 10/24/2004 10/24/2004 - 10/31/2004 11/07/2004 - 11/14/2004 11/14/2004 - 11/21/2004 12/05/2004 - 12/12/2004 12/12/2004 - 12/19/2004 12/19/2004 - 12/26/2004 12/26/2004 - 01/02/2005 01/02/2005 - 01/09/2005 01/09/2005 - 01/16/2005 01/16/2005 - 01/23/2005 01/23/2005 - 01/30/2005 01/30/2005 - 02/06/2005 02/13/2005 - 02/20/2005 02/20/2005 - 02/27/2005 02/27/2005 - 03/06/2005 03/06/2005 - 03/13/2005 03/13/2005 - 03/20/2005 03/20/2005 - 03/27/2005 03/27/2005 - 04/03/2005 04/17/2005 - 04/24/2005 05/08/2005 - 05/15/2005 05/22/2005 - 05/29/2005 05/29/2005 - 06/05/2005 06/05/2005 - 06/12/2005 06/19/2005 - 06/26/2005 07/03/2005 - 07/10/2005 07/10/2005 - 07/17/2005 07/17/2005 - 07/24/2005 07/24/2005 - 07/31/2005 07/31/2005 - 08/07/2005 08/07/2005 - 08/14/2005 08/14/2005 - 08/21/2005 08/21/2005 - 08/28/2005 08/28/2005 - 09/04/2005 09/25/2005 - 10/02/2005 11/06/2005 - 11/13/2005 12/11/2005 - 12/18/2005 01/22/2006 - 01/29/2006 02/05/2006 - 02/12/2006 02/26/2006 - 03/05/2006 03/05/2006 - 03/12/2006 03/12/2006 - 03/19/2006 05/14/2006 - 05/21/2006 06/11/2006 - 06/18/2006 06/25/2006 - 07/02/2006 09/17/2006 - 09/24/2006 10/15/2006 - 10/22/2006 11/26/2006 - 12/03/2006 12/17/2006 - 12/24/2006 06/03/2007 - 06/10/2007 08/26/2007 - 09/02/2007 11/04/2007 - 11/11/2007 09/07/2008 - 09/14/2008 12/14/2008 - 12/21/2008 12/28/2008 - 01/04/2009 01/04/2009 - 01/11/2009 01/18/2009 - 01/25/2009 01/25/2009 - 02/01/2009 02/01/2009 - 02/08/2009 02/08/2009 - 02/15/2009 02/15/2009 - 02/22/2009 02/22/2009 - 03/01/2009 03/15/2009 - 03/22/2009 & I want these Apron Stains! Madeleine Attempt 3 (with baking powder?!) ML's Stollen SY's Baked Almond and Marzipan (urgh) Peaches ZW's Ricotta Cream Cheese Pudding Citrus Delight 4 Lavas + 4 Purins for e Family replica of JG's FG with port gelee, candied pistachios and dried sour cranberries Upcoming Gastronomic Gorges Haiku by Hatsune Geylang Tze Char Pilgrimage Peranakan Food Liver @ Hong Long Xing