french toast & madeleines

Today's breakfast, french toast. I usually use french bread or something similar called "kuppe pan". The one thing I found out about "kuppe pan" is that it is a made-up Japanese word. They took the word "coupe" in French which means "to cut" and the word "koppe" in German which means "arched or shaped like a mountain" and put the two together to stand for a spindle shaped bread half the size of a baguette or batard. Some areas call it "koppe pan" and some areas call it "kuppe pan". I soak the bread in 1 cup milk and 1 scramble egg with a dash or two of cinnamon. I cook it on a non-stick pan and serve with "homemade" syrup. Instead of buying syrup, I usually melt 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of butter together. Really easy breakfast to make in the morning. Sometimes I also slice apples to put on top.

This weekend, I went bead shopping and pan shopping. In an area called Hommachi, there are several shopping arcades with lots of tiny shops. I got some beads and these madeleine pans. The pans here are different than the ones in the U.S. The big size makes six and the small size makes fifteen. I hope the small madeleine pan will work in my oven...my oven is REALLY small. When I bought the pans, I also came across black cocoa powder (cocoa powder made from dark chocolate)...I also had green tea powder and cocoa powder (from my truffle attempt), so I'm planning to made three different kinds of madeleines.

Well, this is what happened...the tiny madeleine pan doesn't fit nicely in my oven, so it kind of baked unevenly. The bigger madeleine pan fits nicely onto the turntable of my oven so it rotates and bakes well. The only thing that bothered me about baking these is that the shell like pattern didn't turn out on the finished product. I'm wondering if it is because I didn't flour the pans after greasing them with butter...anyway, it's the taste that counts, right? That was no problem. This recipe tastes great, a light and fluffy, spongy cake. I found it on the Joy of Baking site. I sprinkled the powdered green tea, cocoa powder and dark cocoa powder on just before tasting. :)

If anyone can give me pointers as to making madeleines, I really would appreciate it!

Madeleine
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter
1 cup (140 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup (133 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a small heavy saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat just until very light golden brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool until tepid. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined strainer to remove the milk solids. Keep warm while you make the batter.
In a small bowl place the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended.
In bowl of electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar at medium-high speed until the mixture has tripled in volume and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted (about 5 minutes). Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine.
Using a large rubber spatula, sift a small amount of flour over the egg mixture and fold the flour mixture into the beaten eggs to lighten it.
Sift the rest of the flour over the egg mixture and fold in being sure not to overmix or the batter will deflate.
Whisk a small amount of the egg mixture into the clarified butter to lighten it.
Then fold in the cooled melted butter in three additions.
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, until slightly firm.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Generously butter two 12-mold madeleine pans.
Dust the molds with flour and tap out the excess. (Could spray pans with Bakers Joy instead.) (Make sure the pans are well greased or the madeleines will stick and be hard to remove.)
Drop a generous tablespoonful of the batter into the center of each prepared mold, leaving the batter mounded in the center. (This will result in the classic "humped" appearance of the madeleines.)
Bake the madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers spring back when lightly touched.
Do not overbake these cookies or they will be dry.
Enjoy!