Madeleines

I devoured my first madeleine many years ago in Paris, it was love at first bite. The little unassuming cake was wonderfully light, distinguished and elegant.

After many trips to France, my family shared the same fondness for madeleines. So much so that madeleines have become a birthday breakfast tradition in our family (any excuse for cake – no really it was the kid’s idea!). The cake batter is made a day in advance. The following morning, the oven is preheated, the trays are prepared, we pipe the Madeleine's and they are served straight from the oven with fresh raspberries, blueberries and coffee (my daughter likes to dip hers in a cup of milk).

My Madeleine recipe was adapted from a Michel Roux Jr. recipe on the BBC and the idea to refrigerate the cake batter over night was inspired by Gordon Ramsey in a YouTube video - thank you gentlemen for the inspiration!

The cake itself can be used as a vessel for many different flavours. We have tried Lime, Orange and Poppy seed we have also added fresh raspberries and blueberries to different batches. Unanimously lemon is our favorite, however you can experiment and see which you prefer.

 

Ingredients

2 large free-range eggs

100g caster sugar

2 organic lemons – zest only (or unwaxed lemons)

100g plain flour plus extra for dusting

¾ tsp baking powder

100g unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly

Unsalted butter, melted  for greasing the trays

Method

Prep time approx 20 mins. Chilled over night, cooking time less than 20 mins.

Equipment You will need a 12-cup madeleine tray *

1. Melt the butter, set aside to cool. Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Wash, pat dry, top and tail the lemons then set aside. Using a Microplane (or a fine grater) zest your lemons (avoiding the bitter white pith), you will smell the fragrant zest and the oils being released it’s a beautiful scent.

2. Combine the caster sugar and eggs in your mixing bowl using the stand mixer whisk attachment. Whisk on a medium speed, increasing to a high speed after a few minutes. Once the mixture has begun to change colour increase the speed to high and whisk for approx 6 minutes until the mixture has significantly increased in volume and changed to a pale white colour. To test the consistency, remove the whisk attachment scoop some mixture and draw a figure of 8, the mixture should still be slightly raised from start to finish. If the mixture is not raised, continue mixing (you will notice the thickness of the mixture with the striations left from the whisk whilst its mixing).

3. Once the foam is ready, add the lemon zest and whisk another minute. Then on a low speed, pour in the the melted butter and mix until just combined. Then by hand, fold in the flour using a spatula or metal spoon, scrape down the spatula intermittently to remove the excess flour. Fill the piping bag with the Madeleine mixture, clip the bag. Refrigerate overnight. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a strong freezer bag or cover and refrigerate in your mixing bowl (you can rest the mixture for a few hours and bake however I prefer to leave the mixture to rest overnight). 

Following day…

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400F. Brush the madeleine tray with melted butter then using a small sieve dust some flour over the greased pan, tapping out the excess flour. Pipe the mixture just below the rim of the tray.

2. If your Madeleine batter has been refrigerated and is still cold to the touch bake for 7-8 minutes, or until the mixture has risen and domed in the middle, they will spring back to the touch, become golden brown and fill your kitchen with a beautiful aroma. Remove from the oven, transfer the madeleines to a wire rack then serve immediately. Wash your tray and repeat. If your remaining mixture assimilated to room temperature they will take less time to cook in the oven – keep an eye on them. 

Will make 12 - 14 large (or 12 large 8 petite Madeleine’s) * Please try to ensure you pipe or spoon the mixture roughly the same size. If you have over piped the mixture just use a spoon to ensure the mixture is evenly distributed. Try to avoid getting the mixture over the edges of the trays as it will bake and form a thick crust around the edge.

Cooking time madeleines 7-8 mins, petite madeleines  4-5 mins. The refrigerated mixture will always take longer to cook. Once the mixture has sat on the bench and come to room temperature the cooking time will be reduced. So keep an eye on the oven!

 

Top Tips;

  • Most recipes recommend to add the butter and mix by hand. I find adding the butter direct to the mixer for 20 seconds ensures its completely combined.
  • Madeleines are best served hot, straight from the oven.
  • * You can use small domed cake trays or a Yorkshire pudding tray if you do not have madeleine trays as yet.
  • Although they are best served hot, they will keep in an airtight container for 3 days. They make a lovely lunchbox snack.
  • I have 2 madeleine tins a standard and petite size.