Boissier Madeleines

 1st thing in New York, just for old times sake, Bear wolfed down all the madeleines he'd brought back from Paris as a gift for someone else...

 Madeleines from Boissier in the 16th.

 Bear was hoping to get tea at elegant Boissier.

 But comme d'habitude he was too late...

 But that didn't stop him buying up the store

 As much as possible

 c'est la vie

 Meanwhile back on the homefront, Bear got the bright idea to make cornbread madeleines with a few tiny changes naturalement like using orange juice and zest instead of milk with a dash of ginger etc.

 Malheureusement the first batch were too big

 And left in the oven too, too long!

 The second batch came out parfait! Baked in just 10 minutes no longer.

 Bear is going out for Thanksgiving

 And since Bear doesn't much care for jalepenos in his cornbread, he's bringing his own wrapped in the empty Boissier package. What do you think? Should Bear try to fool Viv and her 9 cats?

 Boissier does have one of the prettiest shopping bags in town so it's worth a try non?

Next trip Bear won't be late for tea at Maison Boissier.

184, avenue Victor Hugo

75016

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Thin for Paris

 Do you try to get thin for Paris or wherever you're headed on a trip?

 Usually I have a 3-month window to yo-yo, procrastinate, dream without actually doing it. This time I just have 2 weeks to move mountains. Not happening.

 I don't like feeling like a hippo in Paris. I did see lots of them on book jackets, sculpture in front of musee d'Orsay, on this doormat where I'm staying - a constant reminder, ahem.

 It's not as if Paris cares a hoot whether we're thin. Though it would be nice to think we could wolf down lots more pastries knowing they would do less damage

 Last trip was the 1st one where I didn't gain any weight. I changed some eating habits thanks to The Power of Habit combined with Bringing Up Bebe.

 I ate fruit compote instead of pastries. Fr Girl had a fit when she heard I was buying it,

'It's so easy to make!

How could you do that?'

There are tons of compote recipes at Clotilde's Chocolate and Zucchini.

 The Power of Habit tells you how to replace a troubling habit with a new more beneficial habit if you set up the cue-reward-routine.

 I found I could resist the siren call of meringues,

 If there was compote de pomme nearby. There often is in Parisian patisseries.

 I could be satisfied with no afternoon sugar lows in the process.

 Page 64 of Pamela's book spells it out regarding my baking traumas.

'All this (weekend) baking doesn't just yield lots of cakes. It also teaches kids how to control themselves. With its orderly measuring and sequencing of ingredients, baking is the perfect lesson in patience. So is the fact that French families don't devour the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, as I would. They typically bake in the morning or early afternoon, then wait and eat the cake or muffins as a gouter(pronounced goo-tay)-the French afternoon snack'.

 I had a chance to test this out. Someone suggested putting the leftover madeleine batter in the pan and FREEZING IT! Then simply defrost and put in the oven 8-10 minutes.

 The 2nd batch of madeleines came out better than the 1st batch. But how NOT to eat them in one fell swoop?

 Illustration by Katy Couprie

How to space them out, eating ONE-a-day at afternoon snacktime/gouter and not feel deprived? After all, 'French kids snack only once a day' says Karen Le Billon.

 I found I could do it!  Big Merci to Power of Habits + Bringing Up Bebe. I now have a tin full of madeleines waiting for gouter time.

That was before Ooh La La Confectionary sent us a box of candies from CapeTown yesterday. The delish calissons are gone. I ate all 12 of them in one fell swoop. The best laid plans of 'bears' and men oft go astray.

*update: Sat afternoon I made a 'betise'. In a weak moment I downed THREE madeleines, then fell into a comatose sleep. We will not even discuss the delicious nougat from S.Africa :( 

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Bear Bakes Madeleines

 While you're leisurely nibbling your chocolate Easter oeufs/eggs, Bear and I raised hell in the kitchen attempting to bake again. This time we may have hit the mark with the traditional French madeleine...almost.

 We did A LOT of research before plunging in.

Research is much easier than baking. We started with Chef Marthe Brohan's recipe since it was a terrific winner - perfect little yellow cakes.

 We moved on to The Bonne Femme cookbook - very thorough.

 Finally David Lebovitz' The Sweet Life in Paris madeleine recipe. Bear and I mostly stuck with David, since the measurements were in English and there were plenty of minute details for 'idiots-in-the kitchen' like us.

Fortunately we brought home some real French baking powder we spotted in Chef Marthe's pantry!

 And we just got our first ever madeleine pan from Amazon. It worked well for us. Who knew?

 Now for the nitty-gritty of putting the ingredients (flour-eggs-butter-sugar) together. Why is painting a watercolor easy as pie? But go whip a couple of eggs and sugar and I want to jump out the window.

 David says to sift in the flour (with one hand) while 'folding' the batter with the other. At least you paint with only ONE hand.

 Then 'dribble' in the melted butter + zest (I only had an organic lime malheureusement). Again a two-handed operation. Do people bake without Zanex?

 My batter looked sad IMHO.

 Nothing like the golden, smooth-flowing batter of Chef Marthe. *Important secret to madeleines, after putting the batter into the pan (3/4 full only svp), they MUST REST in the fridge for at least ONE HOUR. That's how you get the precious 'hump'/bump.
Chef Marthe says, you must WAIT in cooking always.
Patience is required.

 Ouuuuuf!

 Et voila!

By some miracle the stars were in the right constellation and our madeleines came out looking like MADELEINES! We even got the oft-missed famous 'poof', bump or puff!

 Bear and Babar were thrilled to take tea at gouter/snack time(4:30pm). The madeleines were nicely crunchy outside and NOT tough on the inside. I thought they could have been a tad sweeter. Perhaps lime zest was to blame? Certainly neither Bear nor I licked any spoons/bowls in the process. We're getting 'the training' c/o 'Bringing Up Bebe'.

Weekend baking is a oui. Licking the bowl is a non non.

As is tasting when it is not 'GOUTER' time. We cleverly planned our baking venture for late afternoon. Ha! Our neighbors got half the madeleines for safe keeping, ahem. Restraint is the next lecon and Pamela's yogurt cake.

A BIG MERCI to Girl's Guide to Paris for including PB on their BEST PARIS BLOGS list. Do take a look. I know you're waiting till 4:30pm to nibble those oeufs chocolat bien sur.

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