TWD: Baking Chez Moi May Catch-up!

Yes, I know, this blog has been woefully silent lately.  Quite frankly, the end of the school year and start of summer has kept me hopping and I have neglected my blog.  Sorry!  I did not neglect the baking, however, and did manage to bake MOST of the assigned recipes.  Blogging about them has been my hangup.  So, I thought I'd do a little catching up with the May recipes from Baking Chez Moi. 

The first recipe for May was Nutella Buttons, which can be found on pages 188-190 of Baking Chez Moi. And though I did make them, they were devoured before I managed to take a photo.  So close your eyes a moment and picture this:  a mini yellow cupcake that has a tiny blob of Nutella baked into the center.  No, you can't actually SEE the Nutella in the center, but it is there.  And the Nutella makes the cupcake "button" wonderful.  My only problem with this recipe is that it is for an UN-ICED cupcake, something that is simply NOT RIGHT in my book.  Glazing the top with melted chocolate is considered a "good idea" but not necessary to the recipe.  I disagree.  A cupcake simply needs it's icing cap on top, otherwise it will get cold, or maybe sunburned or otherwise feel naked and sad.  Put a hat on your sweet little cupcake!  All will be well with the world.

The second recipe for May was Rhubarb Upside-Down Brown Sugar Cake, on pages 24-27.  Mmmm.  Easy and delicious!  I had a hard time finding rhubarb for some reason, so I ended up getting frozen rhubarb and letting it defrost first.  It worked perfectly and saved me the step of chopping ad peeling the rhubarb!  Gotta love a time saver!  We originally ate this cake for dessert, but had leftovers for breakfast the next day!  The tartness of the rhubarb is a pleasant match for the sweet brown sugar cake.  Yes, rhubarb is tart, but the cake was not so tart that the clever girl wouldn't eat it. The cake and rhubarb make a good marriage.  And putting a dollop of whipped cream on top makes everything good!

The recipe suggested making a glaze for the top with melted apple, quince or red currant jelly, but I skipped that step.  It would have made it prettier on top, but it was great without.  I will definitely make this recipe again.  Easy and delicious! If you don't have Dorie's new cookbook, Baking Chez Moi, I'd recommend it. Thus far the recipe's I've tried have been a hit!