Hot Buttered Love

So after I wrote about those tasty little financiers (masquerading as canneles) a couple of weeks ago, I received alot of feedback about the whole "browned butter" part of the recipe. Well, no, not really alot of feedback, but some...well, ok, so only two people commented that they did not understand about browning butter. But their concern was not lost on me...calm down/deep breath...I unnerstand, it's a logical concern...heat butter to a temperature that is hot enough to brown it and it will melt, right? and how can you brown something that is a liquid? and doesn't butter burn and smoke and smell bad? and you want me to put THAT in a cake batter? Aaargh. Deep breath.

The answers to those reasonable questions are (respectively) (1)Yes, it will melt, (2) Slowly and Carefully, (3) Yes - but not if you refer to Question #2, and (4) Yes, by all means add it to cake batter. Mmmm. Read on, oh brave and logical ones...

Butter is fat (and so are we if we eat too much of it), but it isn't only fat (and neither are we, regardless of how much we eat, or how fat we feel, or how tight our new pants fit, dammit). Butter is made up of approximately 80% milk fat, 18% water, and 2% solids (proteins and salts). Diversity is the key to everything, isn't it?

So...start by slowly heating some butter. It eventually melts and a layer of white foamy stuff forms on the surface (those are the solids - the whey, and I'm not sure why The Petite Miss Muffit liked them so much).

Keep heating the butter (SLOWLY) and the temperature will soon rise above the boiling point, and the water in the butter will sizzle and pop. You will notice that the white foamy stuff no longer looks foamy, but instead looks somewhat crunchy...of course, because the water has been cooked out of it and just the proteins and salts remain.

Don't turn back now, relax, this is where it gets exciting...just keep cooking the butter (SLOWLY) and those salts and proteins will gradually start to brown (as would anything that was floating in boiling fat) and drop to the bottom of the pan. Get your nose down there and take a big whiff...Oh My God!...the aroma will be nutty and warm and fantastic. But don't get all "this smells so GOOD, this smells SO good" and forget to keep an eye (as well as a nose) on the butter, because it goes from brown-and-wonderful to black-and-bitter toot sweet at this point in the process.

Just when you can't stand it a moment longer, when the majority of the solids have dropped to the bottom, BUT BEFORE ANY OF THEM TURN BLACK, remove it from heat and carefully pour the liquid portion into another container. Yes, yes, yes, I am obliged to tell you that, yes, you can be thorough and a tad bit an'l retentive and pour the butter through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to remove all the browned sediment, but if you pour it from the pan carefully you can usually separate the liquid from the solids without too much contamination. (And no big deal if a few of the little browned bits do get into your batter...it's not like there are Butter Police out there to arrest you...well, not here anyway...maybe there are in France...probably. I don't know.)

So there you have it...browned butter. Taking something as wonderful as butter and making it even better...truly gilding the lily. Try these madeleines with browned butter and then again with melted butter...believe me, you will notice the difference in taste, as well as in color.

Honey Madeleines

Unsalted Butter....................................6 oz

Eggs.................................................4 large

White Sugar........................................1/2 cup

Brown Sugar........................................2 Tbl

Honey...............................................1/4 cup

AP Flour.............................................1 cup

Cake Flour..........................................1/2 cup

Baking Powder.....................................2 tsp

Salt..................................................1/4 tsp

1. Use whip attachment to whip the eggs, sugars, and honey until pale and foamy.

2. Sift flours, baking powder, and salt over the egg mixture. Fold in.

3. Fold in the browned butter thoroughly.

4. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

5. Preheat oven to 400.

6. Butter the madeliene molds, and freeze.

7. Pipe the batter into the cold molds. Bake for 7-8 minutes, until golden brown.

8. Cool on rack for a few minutes before removing them from the molds.

9. Let cool completely before dusting them with powdered sugar.