Chapter 20 (Mrs. Dixon and Bettina’s Experiment continued)

How It Tasted

Spanish Buns

Well, these cakes tasted fine although referring to them as ‘Spanish Buns’ continues to annoy me. That name is certainly a misnomer. They’re muffins, like it or not, and the recipe is straight out of the Midwest.

But anyway, as noted above these buns *ahem, MUFFINS* came out well—far better than last time. For once I didn’t overmix the batter and thereby create tunnels in the finished product, and soaking the dried currants overnight kept them from drying up during the baking process.

The only real problem here was the icing. It really was more of a glaze: a simple mixture of powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Unfortunately the day I made it we were in the midst of a serious heat wave, and the icing ran like crazy. Even attempting to firm it up in the refrigerator didn’t help. The stuff dripped off the muffins and onto the dessert plates, our fingers, and ultimately the floor. Ugh.

White Sauces

Quite an comprehensive lesson in white sauce technique, and all four versions came out well. Unfortunately I had no idea what to do with the stuff afterwards—pour it into glasses and slurp it down like milkshake?

In the end, though, I did come up with a solution.: combine all the sauces; add sugar, cooked rice, and raisins; and call it rice pudding.

Eureka! Neither DH nor Son realized this was the same stuff they’d seem me slaving over the previous afternoon and both gobbled the “pudding” with no hesitation. Whew!

Would I Make This Again?

Foolish question. I’ve made Bettina’s white sauce countless times already, and this is my second try with the buns/muffins. So really, the operative word is “when” since muffins appear on Bettina’s table very often, and so many of her dishes call for a sauce.

Quoth Bettina: I think everyone should know the right way to make [white sauces], for they are useful in preparing so many good things.

Well, after concocting four consecutive version I feel now that I’ve learned—this student deserves an A (and then a nice lie-down)!