Professor Butter Beard and Mary Cassatt’s “The Cup of Tea”
“Sweet summer evenings, sapphire skies
Feasting your belly
Feasting your eyes
Simple joys have a simple voice
That says time is living's prize”
― Stephen Schwartz, 1972, “Pippin”
Lately, I have been craving “simple.” Life has been a whirling tornado – almost like Dorothy looking out her bedroom window while flying within her cyclone. Broom-riding witches in both Salem and Scotland, computer-challenged physicians, deer-in-the-headlight students, over-stressed co-workers, singing farmers, theater light boards – all spinning in a mental tango. And then I see Nellie’s eyes. Deep brown pools grounding me with a proper paw hug and puppy smooch followed by a scrumptious sunset hike-for-two on the beach.
Purely simple – like a proper cup of hot Earl Grey and a plate of Hazelnut Madeleines.
In the summer of 1880, the artist Mary Cassatt and her family spent the season at Marly-le-Roi, about ten miles west of Paris. Instead of painting the famous royal parks or the Sun King’s Château de Marly ruins, Cassatt focused instead on the domestic environment, choosing to portray her elder sister, Lydia, fashionably dressed and insulated by a walled garden from any modern “hurly-burly,” absorbed in simple pleasures like crocheting and sipping tea.
Born in Pennsylvania during exciting times for young free-thinking American women, Mary Cassatt had benefitted from her own mother's high-level of education which encouraged a life of learning and travel for her young daughter. With her mother, Cassatt travelled for over five years, eventually falling under the tutelage of the French Impressionists, notably Edger Degas and Camille Pissarro, both of whom she met at the tender age of eleven or twelve, before she was old enough to travel by herself.
In June of 1874, Cassatt settled in Paris, and began to show her work regularly in the Salons. That same year, Degas formally invited her to join his group of primarily male independent artists. The only American officially associated with the group, Cassatt exhibited in four of their eight exhibitions, in 1879, 1880, 1881, and 1886.
“I had already recognized who were my true masters,” she wrote. “I admired Manet, Courbet and Degas. I hated conventional life – I began to live.” Within just a few years, she gained the title of one of “les trois grandes dames d'Impressionisme” (the three great ladies of Impressionism) from the noted French art critic Gustave Geffroy, for her elegant capturing of moments of a simple life.
Within “The Cup of Tea,” Cassatt painted with the Impressionist palette of white, rose, light blues, and fresh green, evoking a tender light-hearted mood. Her sister Lydia, stunning in her stylish pink hat and white gloves, is portrayed partaking in a daily ritual enjoyed by most upper-class Parisian women. She sips from a gold-edged teacup which along with the silver spoon are luxury items indicating high social status. Behind Lydia sits a green wicker planter full of white hyacinth flowers. Traditionally, hyacinths are thought to represent beauty and pride, which further underscores the poise and elegance of the overall scene.
Geffroy praised Mary Cassatt's “The Cup of Tea” in an 1881 issue of the journal “La Justice.” He wrote, “We prefer above all the woman in the pink dress and bonnet who holds a cup of tea in her gloved hands. The variations of pink, along with the free-flowing lace, display a delightful sense of playful femininity.” He additionally admired how Cassatt used a “radiating reflection of light” to highlight Lydia’s exquisite summer frock and hat. Geffroy concluded by explaining how these artistic details come together to create “a deliciously simple work.”
And there it is. Simple. All she needs is a porcelain plate of freshly baked, lighter-then-air, all butter madeleines wearing a flowing lace collar of white chocolate and freshly toasted hazelnuts. The flavor is clean with subtle hints of orange and Chinese Five-Spice. Brew a pot of tea, bake some cookies, and create a space to catch your breath and listen to your soul. Just like the Lead Player sings to Pippin: “Simple joys have a simple voice that says time is living's prize.”
Hazelnut and White Chocolate Madeleines
32 Madeleines
13 Tbsp unsalted butter – plus a few tablespoons more to prep the pans
2 Tbsp honey
4 large eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 tsp hazelnut extract
1 Tbsp freshly grated orange zest
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp hazelnut flour (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill)
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp Chinese Five-Spice
9 ounces white chocolate
1 cup toasted and cooled hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1) Melt the butter and honey together and let cool slightly.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, hazelnut flour, baking powder, salt and Chinese Five-Spice.
4) In a food processor, whirl together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, hazelnut extract and the orange zest until smooth and fully combined. Add the dry mix and pulse a few times until fully incorporated. With the processor running, slowly pour in the butter/honey. Once fully combined, pour the batter into a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour (or overnight).
5) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Brush your madeleine pans with melted butter and chill them until you are ready to bake.
6) Spoon the batter into the first pan to come 2/3 up the sides. Place the first pan on the middle rack, close the oven door and reduce the heat to 375 degrees. Bake for 9-10 minutes until the “bump” is fully risen and the edges are just beginning to brown. While the first pan is baking, prepare the second pan for baking. Make sure to bring your oven back up to 400 degrees before baking the second pan.
7) Let the madeleines cool in their pan for 3-4 minutes and then turn out onto the cooling rack.
8) Roughly chop the toasted hazelnuts. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave (20 second zaps, stirring between each) or over a double boiler.
9) Dip each madeleine into the melted white chocolate and then into the chopped hazelnuts. Return them to the wire rack to set the chocolate before serving (with tea).
