Friday, October 24, 2014

A return to blogging and a big Happy Birthday, Dorie!

I've been sheepishly keeping up with the doings of FFwD for 3 years now.  3!  3 years!

When I heard Baking Chez Moi was being published, I thought maybe that would be a great time for me to start blogging again.  Well, I really needed something to galvanize me.   I mean, a lot has changed in 3 years.  I can tell that people have learned a lot in terms of their food photography and the blogs now have their own hosting and what-not.  As for me, I'm still professoring, but now I have a new double-oven/stove!  Far more life-altering (though being able to bake 2 things at once at different temps is kind of a big deal) is that I have a nearly 2.5-year-old little girl!  I'm hoping she and I can bake together sometimes.  We have a kitchen tower she can climb on and she can stir a mean spoon.

Anyway, on to the baking!  We had 4 recipes from Baking Chez Moi among which we could choose for today.  I chose to make cannelés.  It was for no particular reason.  Okay, I think maybe I felt like buying some kitchen stuff.  I did some research and decided to buy a de Bruyer mini-cannelés mold and I'm doing a mixture of beeswax and butter on the cups.

But!  First, I made the batter.  Now, for anyone who's not familiar, we generally don't post recipes out of respect for the author and, really, because you should buy the cookbooks!  But, this once, just look below and you'll see a link to all 4 recipes!

Here's my ingredients and some extra spoons to make it look all official or something:


Cannelés batter is quite easy to put together; it's the waiting that's kind of a bummer.  

Now, it's the next morning--Friday, the 24th, the day I'm supposed to be posting--and I'm futzing around with the beeswax/butter mixture that this blogger said was the best.  I totally believe her, but there's one thing that's kind of important--and that I should've remembered--regarding my possible success: I've never worked with beeswax before.  So, it's 6:15 am, I'm just starting my coffee, and I'm madly trying to melt the beeswax with the butter, pour it into the molds and somehow get an even coating.  Needless to say, I've got spatters of beeswax drying on my arm right now.  It's like a salon paraffin wax gone bad.  Sigh.

Here we are before I created the mess.  Chez Pim mentions that brushing creates an uneven coating and it kind of ruins the brush, so she pours some melted beeswax/butter into the molds, pours it out, and inverts on a wire rack.  I thought this sounded like a fabulous idea and I can see how beeswax does add a bit extra essence de miel. The inverting part didn't go as planned (ahem), hence the waxy stuff where it shouldn't be in my kitchen...and on me.



With how my morning began, I really did feel like this might end up as one of those Pinterest "Nailed It!" things.  Of course, it's my fault.  But, this is really why I should allow more time for stuff... 

Pinterest "nailing it" like this:


And, finally, the cannelés are done!  They didn't bake evenly in my silicone mold, which is likely related to the uneven amounts of beeswax/butter.  Either way, they are yummy and my husband took one, stopped in his tracks, and said, "Oh, these are good!"




Look at that center!  Loved the contrast in textures from the caramelized exterior to the more pudding-ish center.

In more serious matters, here's the blogroll of everyone else doing the BCM Birthday Bake-up (I like it!  The BcmBB!) and the other fabulous recipe options to choose from:

11 comments:

  1. Fingers crossed that you had some marvelous cannelés! SO glad you've joined us...welcome back!

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  2. thanks so much, Liz! They were good and I still have half my batter left, so I'll figure out this darned silicone pan thing!

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  3. These are perfect!!! Well done and welcome back!

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  4. Loving the custardy middle of your canneles!

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  5. That is the same mold I bought, decided it was too small, ordered the biggest I could find, decided it was too big, and ditched the whole effort. That wax thing kept popping up, but since I'm not good at waxing my face, I didn't feel I'd be any better at waxing Canneles - BRAVO!!! For doing that step :) Glad you are back, and congrats on the sous chef in training!

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  6. I rejected the cannelés because I don't have a mold (or a good approximation of one), but I'd also have been splattered with wax and butter the morning the post was due. Yours look beautiful inside and out, even if they weren't perfectly uniform.

    Welcome back and welcome to your tiny chef, too!

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  7. It's great to see you back! I understand exactly what you mean about keeping an eye on the group and picking a time to return. I recently rejoined as well! You did a great job on the canneles and I'm impressed you tackled beeswax! Hope to see more of your and your little helper :)

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  8. Your canneles look delicious, and I love the texture of the inside. These also heat well in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds. We loved them and they will definitely be a repeat. Can't wait for the new book to come out. Have a great weekend.
    great weekend.

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  9. I have used the wax in my copper molds, however when I tried some on my silicone molds, it left the canneles with an odd after taste. I then decided to just use the butter that Dorie suggested. Did you heat your mold before using the beeswax?
    Yours canneles look fabulous! It’s always nice to get something new for your kitchen, especially when it becomes a winner! Have a nice weekend! And welcome back!

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  10. Hi Katie! Thanks for stopping by and commiserating with me over my burnt cannelés. You did an amazing job and totally cracked me up with the beeswax adventures. Seems like it was worth it.

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  11. Welcome back, and congratulations on your new(ish) family member. Nothing like a baby/toddler to stop blogging in its tracks!

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