Cupcakes and french "pains au chocolat"

2009-07-12T14:18:00.003+02:00

As you may have notice it, at least, you, my regular readers, I didn’t write much these days... even if I had a topic in mind, found 2 weeks ago…but I am stumped.
So, today, I decided to go ahead…in another direction, and asking myself the Real Question : Why is it so difficult to write about Cupcakes?
…or may be, should it be : Why writing about Cupcakes ? that’s no cooking blog, right ?

Ffrom where came that silly idea to write about Cupcakes ?

Ok, I admit, it didn’t come from my creative mind…I’ve been inspired by one of my TweetPeeps, English guy, huge fan of Cupcakes, who made us salivate talking about that little bakery shop next door.

Of Course, you can wonder why such obsession…greediness? Addiction ? anyway, that's not the point

This being said, back to our topic. Actually, it’s not so easy to say interesting things about a little sponge cake. Recipe? as I said before this is no cooking blog !
what else then ?

Ahah, as I am talking I see some, probably among my French readers, who would love to ask : “But What is a Cupcake?”
Well, a cupcake is a little cake baked in a little round paper tub…kinda muffin…but no muffin ! actually, It can be a lot of things …depends on the imagination and creativity of the cooker !

Should I precise it comes from the States. To be honest, I would have preferred it coming from England, because English and eccentricity are fitting quite well..and it gives opportunities to write about that.

Seriously ! English people are eccentric; it’s not me, it’s widely admitted! They can be proud to have most of the eccentric personalities of these last 50 years : Queen and the Queen wearing her unbelievable hats, Barbara Cartland and her legendary rose, Ziggy Stardust, Sid Vicious and the Sex Pistols and so many others…

their eccentricity is not only about people, they can also be surprising with food…and for a French it can really be disconcerting.
Saying that, I’m sure that you’re awaiting me to talk about Jelly…NO ! it was a bit too obvious and not really inspiring, thus I went on Cupcake even if it is American.

What you first notice while watching these cupcakes is colors and decoration..kinda kiddy cake…peter pan syndrome hitting the cupcake lovers : pink, blue, green and confettis .
What came up to my mind is that wether in France or Belgium, quality and taste are the basis of food and colors and fun are not welcome.
He ! imagine the shelf of a serious French bakery with all these colorfull pastries : multicolour "pain au chocolat", pink and green “Chaussons aux Pommes”, blue "croissants"…for sure, Bakeries would look more fun…but credibility would be strongly hit !
How could you trust a “pain au Chocolat” covered with bright pink icing ? unbelievable ! God no ! No artificial colouring for my kids ( we must admit that food colours are rarely natural…)! For my kids, French baguette with Milk Chocolate is the perfect afternoon snack !
That’s theory of course as when you open the snack drawer you will find more greasy and sweety snacks ( what kids love ) than healthy food…ah ! having a clear conscience …

So why being suspicious about multicolour Cupcakes ? I’ve tried to bake some : flour, butter, sugar, eggs, milk…well, just a home-made cake !But, wait ! what makes a great cupcake is not the pastry but the taste that you can add and the decoration : from the most classic tastes as vanilla or chocolate, to the most original taste ( pics below) as Tomato soup or tandoori,

from seasonal decoration

to People

Everything is possible !

And for those who would like to discover more, there cupcake bakery shops. Give a look at that one, English one…Pink and which name is Love !
So, if you ever go to London, stop there for a little bit of greediness. It’s on King’s Road, 319 in Chelsea. You would enjoy the visit and by the way, there are plenty of nice shops around.

And for those living in Paris, just make a jump to :

Cupcakes&Co – 25 rue de la Forge Royale – 75011…no pic of the shop front, but more or less it’s the same than Love !

For the others, those who would die for eating some but don’t have cupcakes bakery around, Bake them and give some love and fun to your friends and family!

David, Bowie and the others

2009-07-10T00:21:00.001+02:00

20 years ago, when I left my parents house, the one in which i grow up, I left all what made my teenage years…ie David Bowie and my singles.

I was going to live with my real lover, then I left behind my unreal lover, the one who could have been my father (hehe he has my mother’s age) and he was a bit inhibiting mainly when you are about to live in 30 meters square

And here goes life, 10 years of unconditional love packed in 2 boxes, stored in the cellar! Hard to admit, but life is not something easy, right ?

…and as the Sleeping Beauty, 20 years went by, without thinking to the one moping in his recess, sharing space with “killing rats products” and hundreds of other boxes...until when…

I opened one of these boxes

1rst observation: 20 years is a pretty long time and you forget…I found all those records that I had absolutely forgotten and which are now collectors

2nd observation: there a lot of square records! Really square !...not the Bowie’s, of course, but others !

3rd observation: souvenirs are great, but bulky, mainly when they date from 20 years and that you can’t do anything with them…let me explain: the singles? I have a CD player, a ipod player…but no vinyl player, and there were none in the souvenir box ! videos? I counted not least than 2 or 3 DVD players, 1 playstation allowing us to read DVDs,, and 4 computers all reading DVDs…but old videos, nada !

4th observation: the Cellar is big in here, Sorry David,but you’re about to go back in it

But, before taking everything downstairs, I can’t avoid the pleasure to share with you some of the best. Don’t worry there are just a few…

Let’s go for an immersion among the 80s….just click on the names to open the links

As a start, some good, some great, some Bowie…for music, just click on the covers

And now, I am sure that you remember those ones…they are references in pop music: Duran Duran, so cute, Paul Young, Abba, Kim Wilde, remember Kids in America! The funnier is to look at their faces today…to the conditions that you forget that you took the same …30 years…

…and Youth errors…those records that make us laugh today, but that we bought for real at that time !. “Der Komissar”..just give a look at the way he is dancing…and that video, really ridiculous! Dadada…han-han-han! … all those groups are all German, and you could also remember 99 Luft Ballon …we could call that “ the great period of German pop”!

And the French, we should not forget the top of French music…enjoy ! the ones you can’t miss Vanessa Paradis with her 1rst hit Joe le taxi, the ones that you should avoid…La Compagnie Creole…they even had an Indian singing, just like the Village People, those always at the top, Indochine, and those still on the dance floor, Gilbert Montagné

And here it is, I close that chapter of souvenirs. After all, you can still ask yourself why keeping all this…but, thinking at this, the pleasure that you have 30 years after is still the same, so it will go direct to the cellar and not to the dustbin…they deserve that, right ?

Helene's blog

Cupcakes and french "pains au chocolat"

David, Bowie and the others