Professor Butter Beard and Edward Robert Hughes’ “Midsummer Eve”
“I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now?” – John Lennon
Nellie laughs with fireflies. Audibly. On our twilight walks, she leads me, one mindedly, deep into the field that borders the neighboring woods. They must hear her coming because it only takes a matter of seconds before they fully encircle her, launching from the grasses like summer fireworks. Nellie breaks into ridiculously silly smiles, spinning and jumping like a jack rabbit while attempting to capture their light in one playful bite after another. I’ve never witnessed her actually capturing one. Either they are extremely talented and mischievous, or Nellie knows their game and wants to make sure each one will return to tease her again the next evening.
Maybe they are fairies. I so wish this was true. I believe in dragons, so why not tiny winged moonbeams that carry so much magic that they burst forth with light whenever they smile? I’m pretty sure Edward Robert Hughes also believed in magic. How else could he so expertly capture its essence in his early 20th century Pre-Raphaelite fantastical watercolors?
E.R. Hughes (known to his family as “Ted”) was born in Clerkenwell, London, in 1851 to Edward Hughes Sr. and Harriet Foord. Having settled on portraiture as his original career choice, he attended Heatherley's in London to prepare himself for the chance of entering the Royal Academy Schools. While taking courses at the Academy, Hughes was also a studio assistant to the elder artist and Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood founding member William Holman Hunt. Hunt inspired Hughes to take on fantastical commissions, working primarily with watercolors, which earned him an early membership into the Royal Watercolour Society in February of 1891.
“Midsummer Eve,” painted by Hughes in 1908, belongs to a traditional Victorian genre of fairies shown frolicking in their “natural” woodland environment. A ring of the winged, plump, child-like creatures forms around a young woman. Perhaps a wood nymph, she lifts her golden dress playfully, and holds a flute under her arms as if she has been invited to perform a midsummer eve serenade. Her stage is the loamy grass, her curtain the lush leaves of the trees, and her floodlights the illuminated shells, flowers, and seed pods held aloft by her miniature dancing audience.
Much of Hughes’ known works were based on Shakespearean themes. “Midsummer Eve” is reminiscent of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Shakespeare’s play about the mismatching of lovers on a magical midsummer’s evening. My favorite fairie Puck utters those famous words, “Lord what fools these mortals be.” Looking onto Hughes’ created stage, one can almost imagine the tiny fairies saying such things to the girl who could easily be Hermia, one of the poor unfortunate lovers who get lost in the enchanted forest, awakening from a dream only to discover herself within a ring of dancing fairies.
All these frolicking fairie thoughts reminded me of the “Fairie Cakes” my middle school art teacher used to bring into her last classes before our summer break. They were miniature cupcakes, dripping with a sweet glaze that just barely held all the tiny candies in place before they were consumed in one bite. I updated this gorgeous memory just a wee bit. Instead of cupcakes, I baked buttery Madeleines flavored with the sunshine of citrus zest and the moon shine of warming spices including ginger, cinnamon and cardamon. Nellie “helped” me harvest edible flowers from my kitchen garden which were then held in place as decoration with a thin layer of shimmering white chocolate.
Judy Allen writes, “Few humans see fairies or hear their music, but many find fairy rings of dark grass, scattered with toadstools, left by their dancing feet.” Nellie’s dancing feet don’t leave anything quite so subtle, but they do provide a path back to the field and the twilight dance of the fairie fireflies. There she will spin and dance again with her giggling glowing friends while I nibble on another Madeleine and flirt with Puck.
Fairie Madeleines
30-32 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
Zest of 2 lemons (or oranges)
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp spice of choice (ginger, Chinese Five-Spice, or a chai mix)
12 ounces white chocolate
3 dozen edible flowers (nasturtium, rose petals, violets, pansies)
1) The night before: Press your chosen flowers between sheets of paper towels and place two heavy books on them to flatten and dry overnight.
2) The day of the bake: Melt the butter and honey together and let cool slightly.
3) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and chosen spice.
4) In a food processor, whirl together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and the citrus 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.
5) Preheat your oven to 375 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. Bake on the middle rack 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.
7) Let the madeleines cool in their pan for 3-4 minutes and then turn out onto the cooling rack.
8) Melt the white chocolate in the microwave (20 second zaps, stirring between each) or over a double boiler.
9) Wipe out the madeleine pan. Lay one flower in each indentation. Spoon one tsp of melted chocolate over the flower and press a cooled madeleine back into the pan to evenly spread the chocolate. Leave the madeleines in the pans until the chocolate has fully set. Gently release the madeleines and serve alongside your favorite beverage.
