25 January 2012

brown butter & jam tea cakes


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Somewhat a cross between a muffin & a cupcake. A tea cake! And of course I changed the regular butter to brown butter. The nuttiness, the little specks it gives, the depth of flavor that absolutely changes the taste. I know I have said that many times about brown butter, but it is so true. Making these tea cakes, I knew that they were my new perfect little snack. Appropriate for dessert but even better for breakfast when I say it's a 'muffin.'




So many cakes lately. Well I work at a cupcake shop as you most know. And I did a shoot for the shop this past weekend, baby shower theme, so their was an abundance of cupcakes left over after the photos. I swear it seems like all I have been eating lately. So many... 
I think I need to make some cheese or bread, something savory. Some real food.




Exactly one week till I turn 24! I really don't know why that statement needed an exclamation point, I really don't like my birthday. It just has the tendency to be disappointing. Most people are busy , & since the holidays were just a month ago many don't remember, I completely understand. Thats fine with me, I really don't like to be the center of attention. It just makes me uncomfortable. I never know what to say. I just generally get nervous for no reason and my mind goes blank, then people think I am being mean to them or something. So I will probably just end up making a cake (or perhaps a pie) for myself, because that is one thing that I do like about my birthday. I can bake myself whatever I want, no consideration for all the flavors my family members don't like; a special little cake just for me. And then hopefully have time to blog about it! That will make me happy.




After making these little treats, I really liked the recipe but looking at the little screen on my camera, I thought the photos were horrible. It was my first time using my new lens, & it sometimes takes me a minute to get the swing of things. So I uploaded the photos to my computer & didn't look at them for a week. Completely forgetting that I even took them. I saw them again on my computer. On the big screen, they were not as bad as I thought. Sometimes I need to give myself a few days before I look at the photos. Right after I take them, I will be too critical & just want to start re-shooting them to get something better. Has this ever happened to you? Maybe you do need to re-shoot, but maybe you just need to just give yourself a break. Look at them in a few days, I bet you will like them better than you did at first.




Aghh probably somewhat delirious writing. I have gotten a few comments about my writing and often improper use of grammar/spelling. But I just got my ear pierced so I am a bit out of sorts. That is my excuse today...






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26 comments:

Cindy said...

ha, I love this post. it made me laugh a bit. I have the same issue with shooting photos...sometimes you just have file it away and revisit later. for the record, I always think you do a lovely job.

(ps...happy birthday ;)

athena said...

these are so cute! brown butter is my new fave thing.

and i can relate with being disappointed/dissatisfied with my photography. i'm even looking back at stuff i did a week ago and can't believe i'd post any of it. sigh. i think we tend to be too hard on ourselves. what new lens did you get? i know with me there's always a slight learning curve with new equipment...

p.s. something is in the mail for you :D

Sue/the view from great island said...

I love the photos! The random glazing is just beautiful.

Julie Marie said...

athena: Thanks! Yeah we make a brown butter buttercream at the shop and it is so amazing. I try to get every customer to try it.

Same here, I'll look at my early posts and barely recognize the photos. I got the 24-70mm. It is massive, so heavy, but after using it a few weeks I really like it. It's really good for close ups and top views.

Thats so exciting! Thanks so much in advance!!

Kristin @ Pastry Affair said...

I could totally relate to you about the photos. So often I get upset at my photographs, that I remake everything the next day (if it gets eaten) and try again. I really love your idea of letting the photos just sit for awhile. I tried that for the first time this week and it turns out I actually liked my photographs. :)

You have such lovely food photography, truly.

Amalia said...

I love your style of writing, I don't know what other people are complaining about! I totally feel the same way about my birthday, it makes me feel uncomfortable because I feel so self-centered, haha...but happy early birthday, I can't wait to see what kind of cake you make! These muffin tea cakes look so amazing, I love the apricot jam in the middle! The browned butter sounds insanely good, I can just imagine how good it tastes :) Great post!

kyleen said...

These little tea cakes are adorable! I need to make these for my friend. It's her birthday today and her family got her a bunch of tea leaves and mugs, so this would go perfectly.

I feel exactly the same way about birthdays. I mean, I used to love them because they were MY day and it was suppose to be special... But I always end up setting the bar too high and getting disappointed. I hope you have a a good day on your birthday though!

Caylee said...

I love these photos. Pin pin pin pin.

Unknown said...

che delizia, woooooooow :) annoto subito :)

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A Plum By Any Other Name said...

I want to make every single thing you post! Can't wait to see what you make for your birthday. I like to think of birthdays as a time to treat yourself and celebrate that you've made it through another (!) year. Hope your next year is a wonderful one.

Libby Irving said...

Your birthday cake, I'm sure, is going to be amazing. Happy birthday, Julie.

Elizabeth said...

These look great! I bet they taste even better.

sydney jones said...

These look amazing! I really love your photos, too! Great job :)

LissyLou said...

i want one now please!!!

kale said...

Your website is beautiful! Love the photography.

Vessel said...

Tea...yummers

mirela said...

lovely post! I will surely try the recipe :D

liz said...

do you by chance know Jim and Joan Penn? Because they were from Michigan too, and moved to Florida. But I just wondered because you have the same last name as them and both from Michigan. :))


Cindi

Unknown said...

I understand how you feel about not getting what you want while you are shooting and how that can be frustrating. i also will walk away from them and look at them later with fresh eyes. What's worse though, is when you think you have it based on your screen and open them on the computer only to find some of your favorites in camera are not as sharp as you thought, that drives me bananas! These look great, though. What lens?

shattered said...

i know how you feel. my birthday was actually on the 24th, four days ago. many people forgot about it, and those who didn't...i just felt uncomfortable, nervous even though i had no reasons to be. i was dissapointed and somewhat sad. and now i'm making myself these muffins for my birthday. so, happy birthday to you, hope you relax a bit and enjoy it (:

Beth said...

"Yes" to everything you said about brown butter. It truly is the best!

Amy said...

These look divine! A sweet bite and a surprise inside! I'll have to give these a try :)

Brian Samuels Photography said...

Any title that starts with Brown Butter is bound to be incredible. But I have to watch out, because I have a feeling I'm going to eat every one of these.

Lauren from Baklust said...

I do the same thing, too. I'm way too much of a perfectionist sometimes. I often go back to photos I thought were horrible years ago, and wonder why I ever thought it. It's kinda great, though, because it's like I have new photos to play with!

Liz said...

brown butter is truly a glorious beast. I made a batch of these and served them with brown butter ice cream (using the recipe you posted in another post). They are wonderful! I used apricot jam for some, blackberry for others and black cherry for some others- i also put nuts on top of them which worked really well

http://thesugarlump.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/brown-butter-tea-cakes.html