Hi Blogger I'm back! And hello there Facebook, Google, Youtube…I love my Astrill VPN. Life behind China's censorship was a tad boring. I couldn't even share comments on my Kindle account. Bummer!
At least I have my mini oven at home in Shanghai. I can't fit a regular cookie sheet in my oven, and I can't bake more than ten macaron shells at a time. However, it's a good opportunity to cut back on sugar consumption. Moreover, I have a larger audience at home--parents and little brother. No more worries of leftovers!
I hope my VPN doesn't fail me when I'm uploading (knock on wood). I'm more active on Instagram (k00kiemonster) than all other social media because as you would have guesses, it is the only uncensored app. Follow k00kiemonster for instafood moments!
And [Drum Roll] now introducing today's treat--lemon Madeleines
150g unsalted butter
150g cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
100g sugar
160g eggs (about 3 medium sized eggs)
2 lemons' peels
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt the butter. Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl then add the sugar. Beat the eggs in a warm bowl of water till it reaches body temperature. Pour eggs into the dry ingredients, mix well. Add butter in 3 batches. Mix in the vanilla extract and finally the lemon peels.
If you prefer a more intense lemon flavor, squeeze half a lemon to the batter.
Set bowl in fridge for 3 hours or overnight. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180-190C. Butter and flour madeleine molds. Fill the molds 80% full. Bake for 17-18 minutes or until golden brown. After baking, remove the cakes right away and let them cool off on a wire rack.
Add a lemon glaze for a store-like look.
A good tip on madeleine molds: choose a mold with distinct shell lines. You don't want a semi-triangle, semi-rectangle cake. If you can't see the indents like a shell, what's the point of making Madeleines? I used a silicone mold that holds eight slots. It was too much hassle to buy individual molds and have them get lost among my cookie cutters and tart molds.
Before I log off, I would like to share a few pics of a lovely stray cat my dad adopted. She's still afraid of me, but I'm sure she won't resist my bowl of warm milk every morning, especially when the temperature is near the low 40s F in Shanghai.
Miao~
