A Measured Heart

Yesterday I bought some very adorable and slightly impractical measuring spoons hearts. I love them! I saw them a few days ago at a local shop and really wanted them but resisted the urge. I don't really need new measuring spoons, and I try to avoid impulse buys (well, I do right now anyway). But they kept creeping back up in my mind so I decided to go back and get them. I just want to measure and measure and measure! Lois loves them too. I threw out the tag and can't remember the company who makes them right now, but I'll add a link if I think of it.

I made a recipe from La Tartine Gourmande, a yummy chocolate cake topped with seasoned plums. I've made the cake a few times and love it and thought I'd try them as little fairy cakes. I started to cut the plums as heart shapes but it wasn't working out so well, so I did slices.

Part of the challenge in baking (or cooking in general) is not eating all the ingredients. The plums smell amazing simmering in cinnamon and butter. Mmmm. 

And chocolate. Always hard not to touch. If Lois helps me bake with chocolate, I always add a bit more because there's no way I can keep her from dipping into it! 

I was excited to see how these would turn out as fairy cakes. I decreased the cooking time by about 5 minutes and they were perfect. And I was reminded again how much I love our little Sony camera.

I barely had them on the plate before a wee paw reached in. 

This recipe is in the cookbook but you can find many others that are similarly wonderful on the La Tartine Gourmande blog.