Michel stroot's little round pound cakes

 
                  Michel Stroot's Little Round Pound Cakes
 
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 Serving Size  : 8    Preparation Time :0:00
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   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
    2       c            All-purpose flour, lightly
                         Spooned into measuring cups
    1       c            Unsalted butter, softened
    1       c            Sugar
    1                    Lemon- the grated zest only
    2       ts           Pure vanilla extract
    5       lg           Eggs, separated
      1/4   ts           Salt
 
   Quatre-Quarts or Four Quarters is the French name for
   this recipe. It refers to the proportion of
   ingredients (one-quarter each butter, sugar, eggs and
   flour). In France, the cake is served with afternoon
   tea but rarely as dessert.
   
   Source: CLASSIC HOME DESSERTS by Richard Sax Recipe by
   Michel Stroot, pioneering spa chef at "The Golden Door
   in California" who is from Belgium
   
   1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 8 small
   ramekins, custard cups or tiny loaf pans; sprinkle
   with sugar, shaking out the excess sugar to leave a
   very fine coating. Place the pans on a baking sheet;
   set aside. Sift the flour onto a sheet of wax paper;
   set aside.
   
   2. Beat the butter with an electric mixer at
   medium-high speed until very creamy. Add the sugar and
   beat until very light, about 6 minutes. Beat in the
   lemon zest and vanilla; add the egg yolks and beat for
   about 2 minutes longer. Lower the speed to slow, add
   the flour and beat just until nearly blended, about 15
   seconds, no longer. The mixture will be stiff and
   slightly hard to blend at this point; don't OVERMIX.
   
   3. In a bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt at
   high speed until nearly stiff, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir a
   large spoonful of the whites into the batter; fold in
   the remaining whites until blended. Again, you'll have
   to work and chop the somewhat stiff mixture slightly
   in order to blend in the whites, but don't overblend.
   Gently spoon the mixture into the prepared remekins or
   pans, filling each about 2/3 full.
   
   4. Bake until the cakes are golden brown and a
   toothpick inserted in the centers emerges clean,
   usually about 45 minutes (the timing can vary with the
   molds being used).
   
   5. Transfer to a wire rack and cool briefly. Run the
   tip of a knife around the sides of the cakes to loosen
   them from the ramekins; unmold and cool completely on
   the rack. You can either wrap the cakes in plastic
   wrap, or return them to their ramekins and seal the
   tops with plastic wrap.
   
   From the recipe files of suzy@gannett.infi.net
  
 
 
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