Madeleines (chocolate and walnuts)

When life gives you lemons
An overly used saying (well, at least in my life anyway) but often accompanied with the ending "make lemonade". Normally I'd agree with that - lemonade is an absolutely amazing drink! But, with the incoming cold weather, lemonade for me was definitely off the menu - lemonade and summer is the most inseparable combination, definitely not so much for autumn (feels like winter to me already though!).

Hide and seek - can you spot the madeleine tin? :)

Thinking hard of what to do, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eyes. I have a variety of baking tins in my house from a normal muffin tin to a butterfly shaped one - they're an absolute essential for any (amateur) baker. But on this occasion, it was the classic and oh-so-Français madeleine tin that appealed to me most. When life gives you lemons, I say, make madeleines :-)

Lemons - to use or not to use :)

Attention s'il vous plaît

I think that there's a tendency for people to think that French food is difficult and strenuous to make. Rest assured that this recipe is a complete foil to this common misunderstanding; you mightn't even need to go shopping for anything as what it calls for are simple ingredients that should be found in any household! It might be more tricky without and egg beater, but it's definitely possible (it's a good workout if you don't have one like I did - actually I did have one but I was too lazy to use it/ forgot that I had one. The recipe I used taken from Judy Farris's (2002) French Butter Cakes (Madeleines) recipe on allrecipes.com with some (yummy) alterations by me. A dozen light and lemony French cakes coming right up!

Geting started...

Ingredients

• 2 Eggs
• 3/4 Teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 Teaspoon salt
• 1/3 White sugar
• 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour, plus some extra for the madeleine tin itself.
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup butter plus some extra for buttering the madeleine tin
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration
• 60g dark chocolate, melted*
• 35g walnuts or almonds, crushed*
• Icing sugar for decoration (use as much or as little as you want)*

* things I added that weren't used in the original recipe - you don't have to use them but it's highly recommended if you do :-)

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Wooden spoon
• Dessert spoon
• Egg beater (an electronic one is preferable if you have one)
• Measuring spoons
• Sieve
• Rolling pin or kitchen mallet (to crush the almonds or walnuts -- alternatively you can get packets of pre-crushed walnuts or almonds in most supermarkets)
• An oven
• Madeleine tin (I got mine at Lakeland  which had 12 very cute madeleine molds- you can use a mini muffin tin if you want but it seriously isn't the same)
• Saucepan (to help melt the butter and chocolate - I was worried about burning my chocolate and butter so I put the e.g. chocolate in a goblet and then placed it in a bowl of boiling hot water; If I'm not making sense, which is usually the case, Lesley Waters's tutorial on the BBC Food web is pure genius).

Method

• Preheat the oven to 190°C, then butter and flour the madeleine molds
• Melt the butter in the saucepan and let it cool to room temperature before use.

Mixture + tin = delicious baked goods in the making

• In the mixing bowl, beat the eggs, vanilla and salt at high speed until light 
• Whilst beating, add the sugar; continue beating until the mixture is thick and pale. Ribbons should form when the beaters are lifted; beating should take 5-10 minutes (if you don't have an electronic egg beater, you can use a normal egg beater instead - just takes a much longer time, and more muscles!)

A dozen golden madeleines ready for the oven treatment

• Sift the flour into the egg mixture in three portions (hence 1/3 at a time); fold each portion in gently with the wooden spoon.
• Add the lemon zest and pour in the melted butter. Gently and quickly fold the butter into the batter.

In the oven...

• Using the dessert spoon, spoon the mixture into the molds. Do not over fill them - put enough so that there's still a 10mm gap between the mixture and the top of the mold.

• Bake the madeleines in the oven for 14-17 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the saucepan and crush the walnuts or almonds using a rolling pin or mallet.

Freshly baked and ready to be decorated!

• When the madeleines are done, take them out of the oven and place them onto a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Place in the fridge for a further 10 minutes to cool.

mmmm...melted chocolate :)

• Take the madeleines out of the fridge and dip each of them into the melted chocolate; roll half or all of the madeleines in the crushed walnuts or almonds.
• Let the madeleines chill up in the fridge before consuming

Et voila! Your madeleines are complete! I packed mine in a cute, vintage styled tin to bring to my friends - sharing is caring and it makes me happy; plus it's a great way to get people to unintentionally become your personal guinea pigs :)

So simple and scrummy, madeleines are seriously the perfect teatime treats for anyone who wants to live a slightly more classy life.

C'est vraiment la vie en rose une belle vie :)

Gibside - Tyne and Wear

I was looking for a nice place to lunch

And seriously, who wouldn't be on a gloriously sunny but cool Saturday (31st Aug)? Needless to say the weather along with the amount of free time I had both encouraged my sense of adventure to soar. Usually I'd plan to go to a historical landmark or site a day or two ahead - seeing as transport is always an issue for me, planning ahead makes it easier for me to figure out my route, which bus or train to catch, when to leave to catch them etc. This time however, it was purely a spontaneous and sudden decision.

No need to say where I'm headed!

Simple, relaxing and pleasing

The three major verbs that floated around my mind when searching for the perfect place to go to. Roaming through the online pages of The National Trust website, I was attracted to the idea of having lunch and then a quick stroll in the woods or grassland before dusk hit in a place that was, as usual, easily accessible by public transport. Gibside, as the website suggested, seemed to be the answer to my search. The 200 hectare property was said to compose of a chapel, stables, a statue, old ruins, tea room, grassland and, perhaps the most important thing to my in my opinion, a forest. With a place goal in mind, I ran gracefully  straight to the train station behind my flat to catch the train up to Newcastle. Gibside was a quick bus ride (the 45 or 46) away from Newcastle AND was available every 15 minutes! What a relief!

Bridge to Terebithia Gibside

My secret hideaway in Gibside - a place where dreams can soar and are limitless

Getting there within a short amount of time also meant that I had just enough time to walk around the whole of Gibside; I got there at around 2:50pm and everything would close at around 5pm. I reckon one of the highlights of Gibside was the entrance. You'd have to walk across a bridge above a river an a stunning grassy picnic shot (see the first picture below) to get to the park's gate. Thereafter you have to pass through the ticket booth before crossing a long and curvy wooden bridge that would lead you up to the actual park; it felt like I was getting transported to a secret world!

Cute DCUK figurines in the Potting Shed Cafe!

Stunning dress inside the chapel

At the stables... O__o

The road not taken

Road to the Column to Liberty

A path so long and fine - who knows where it'll lead me...

The poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, essentially emulates my aim during my trip. For every path and every corner, every entrance and every exit - I would take the less friendly one (i.e. the darker ones). Why be like everyone else and walk the usual Gibside strolling path when I could have an adventure of my own in a new path instead? In my opinion, that was probably the best decision I made. I simply let my heart guide in the direction it felt like going in and I had a blast. I first entered the stunning walled garden that was filled with different sorts of colorful flowers and plants. Next I was led to the newly restored orangery - an old ruined building made up of columns and large windows - the centre piece of this open-air structure was a whole array of flowers and plants. What made it an overall architectural masterpiece was it's location - set up high on a hill, people that visit the orangery will witness an absolutely breathtaking view of Rowland's Gill and essentially the north east country side.

The Orangery and the stunning view of the north east countryside

The Banqueting Hall from afar

The Column to Liberty

If you do ever visit Gibside, don't forget to explore the other buildings including the chapel, stables and banqueting house - they're all just as lovely. The massive statue known as the "column to Liberty" that stands proudly on another hill directly on the other side of the chapel is likewise an architectural masterpiece. However, what really did it for me attracted me were the tall and robust tree trunks that were neatly tucked away behind a path leading from the orangery to the stables. Had I had more time, I would have loved to sit within that atmosphere to simply imagine and dream. For it was there that time ceased to exist and reality was hidden away on my presence. Stories and emotions of tranquility, happiness etc. filled my head - it was like I had found inner peace. Thus, my fellow readers, I conclude on this note: If you ever feel like you've had a really rough and tough day or simply feel like stepping away from the stress of life, consider going to a park (or Gibside if you're ever up north!). For it is there that you can be the writer of your own story, the hero of your own fantasy, and ultimately, the controller of your own experience with no strings attached.

Fun with shadows using the windows of the Orangery :)