I'm no Julie, but I tried to be tonight! I am not going to share the recipe for my chocolate minicakes until we taste them and see if they are any good, that way you aren't disappointed if they aren't. The recipe came from my Encyclopedia of Chocolate and I modified it just a little bit. And since I was making these rich, scrumptious, velvety, dense cakes for my girls, I did it in the mini-muffin pans instead of the larger cupcake/muffin tin, or the brioche tins that should have been used. They are better with the smaller size. I can control portions, and they can control their hand-to-mouth coordination! I have found that filling the mini-muffin tins is very difficult to do with thinner batters such as cake batters and the like. SO, I copied Julie somewhat. In a recent post, she mentioned using a ziploc bag as a temporary pastry bag in order to properly fill her financier molds. I used one as a "batter bag" tonight! I was able to better control the amount of batter going into each paper cup, as well as have less mess around the edges. Thanks for mentioning it, Julie! That idea really helped a lot! As you can see, not as much mess on the pan, mostly batter in the cups:
(Like my red bowl? Melamine at Williams-Sonoma! It was a Christmas gift, but would have been worth the purchase if I had gotten it myself.)
Here is how they turned out. They are still hot from the oven, but I will probably give them a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar to dress them up a little. They don't have to be pretty, the girls will eat them no matter what. I'm just wondering how they taste as far as the chocolate is concerned: more bitter or more sweet? We shall find out soon! (Even though I should be sticking to my diet!)
On a totally different topic: check out this link that Mirre posted on her blog, KissKus. I must give a little background on why I thought it was humorous and why I am posting it here on a housewife blog... When precious little Britney Spears announced to the free world that she was expecting her first child with K-Fed (aka: jobless slacking disrespectful kept boy) she also decided to wax prolific on the way a woman should raise her child. Hey, I am all for being a stay-at-home-mom (most of the time, but don't ask me on a day when the kids need a warden not a mother). I think it is a noble and satisfying choice for those who decide to do it, and are stable enough to be responsible parents in the first place. Other women who choose to work, I applaud you as well, as you do need to do what makes you happy, so your kids see a happy mom and grow up to be well-adjusted, etc.... OK, enough Mommy Wars. I don't want to go there, because it's the stupidest argument on the face of the planet. Women need to shut up and live-let-live. We are our own worst enemy.
But then there is Britney Spears. At all of 22 years old, with a tiny bump of a tummy, married to a guy who doesn't have a reputation for sticking around for the birth of his kids, giving the rest of us child-rearing advice and opinions just because the EPT had two lines? If I didn't already despise her effect on 8 year old girls and the sudden increase in belly baring toddler wear thanks to her style, I really had it in for her now. I feel so sorry for her baby. I really and truly do. And the whole car seat incident? Only cemented my opinion of her total inability to care for anyone else but herself and her own celebrity.
So, one of the contributors over at Go Fug Yourself has kindly added a nice little satirical essay to the Britney Spears category. And Mirre was kind enough to give the link to it so we all could get a good laugh! The post doesn't specifically address her mothering skills, but it does put her in an interesting light! I try not to be vindictive, or petty, or catty, but one of my flaws is that I truly enjoy seeing Ms Spears humiliated an any way, shape or form. Yes, I am a bad bad person for it. But I have three daughters who will grow up listening to whatever is popular and wanting to wear whatever the styles are. And I really hope that I can be victorious in my battle over the evil that is known as "inappropriate role modelling" by today's teenie bopper stars. When I was in jr high, high school the big names were probably worse role models than now, but at least they covered their boobs, belly buttons, and behinds when they got dressed for the day! Seriously, do you think June Cleaver or Donna Reed would have approved of this generation's total lack of self-respect? Where has common decency gone to?
Have I ranted enough yet?!?!?!
