The French consider these little shell-shaped sponge cakes to be cookies. Kids will want them during their four p.m. gouter (snack time), and so will adults. They originated from Commercy and Liverdun, the northeastern region of France. They have a literary reputation—Marcel Proust mused over them in
The Remembrance of Things Past
. As simple of a treat as they appear to be, making madeleines requires care and patience. The outcome is a beautiful and unique cake that’s browned and crispy on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside. You do need a non-stick madeleine pan to make them. Twelve-cup madeleine pans are easily available online or in specialty baking stores. They’re not as difficult to make as other French desserts, say macarons, and they’re the perfect little tea cake.

Recipe 1

Traditional French Madeleines

Makes 24

• 1 stick (4 oz) + 3 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

• 2/3 cup white sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla

• Pinch of salt

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp lemon zest

• Powdered sugar (optional)

Melt the butter in a small saucepan until it bubbles and starts to color. Don’t let it burn, so don’t let it bubble for too long. Spoon 3 tablespoons of butter into a small bowl and set aside. Let rest of butter cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk one cup of flour together with the sugar and set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk the two eggs with the vanilla, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest until the eggs are frothy.

Add the egg mix to the flour mix. Use a spatula to stir until just combined. Add the melted butter from the pan and continue to stir. Allow a minute for the butter to blend with the mixture, but don’t overmix. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for one hour or up to overnight.

Add remaining one teaspoon of flour to the 3 tablespoons of butter that has been set aside. Stir to combine. Use a pastry brush to brush the interiors of the madeleine-pan shell molds so that they are well coated. (You can also butter the interiors first, dust on some flour, and then tap out the excess.) Place the pans in the freezer for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Fill each madeleine pan with 1 tablespoon of batter. For this recipe, you need pans of twelve molds, but if you only have one pan, you can bake them a pan at a time. Otherwise, place both pans on a baking sheet for easy handling and place them in the oven. Check after 8 minutes and rotate. Check again 5 minutes later. The madeleines should be browning around the edges and a little puffy in the middle. Use your forefinger and press down the center hump. If they are finished baking, they should spring back at your touch.

After removing them from the oven, let cool for 2 minutes. Use a fork to gently loosen the madeleines from their molds then place the whole pan onto a cooling rack or tea towel. Once cooled, dust lightly with powdered sugar on the shell side. Serve.

If you are storing them, do not dust with sugar until you are ready to serve.

Recipe 2

Almond Praliné Madeleines

Makes 12

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup + 3 tbsp sugar

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 5 tbsp unsalted butter

• 2 tbsp honey

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 cup unblanched almonds

• Pinch of salt

To make the Almond Praliné, line a baking sheet with foil and brush it lightly with oil. Set aside. Combine 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 cup of almonds in a heavy saucepan. Place over medium heat to begin melting the sugar. Occasionally stir with a wooden spoon so the sugar melts and caramelizes evenly. Cook to a light amber color. Scrape the praliné from the pan and spread it about 6mm (1/4 inch) thick onto the foil. Let cool to room temperature for 10 minutes. Break the hard praliné into about 3.5 cm (1.5 inch) pieces, place them in a food processor, and quickly pulse until finely ground.

In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. Whisk the eggs and sugar in another bowl until pale and thick, 2-3 minutes. Add the honey and vanilla and beat well. Use a rubber spatula and fold in the flour mix, as well as the praliné. After they are well incorporated, fold in the butter. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the batter and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or for up to 2 days to firm up.

Preheat the oven to 200ºF. Butter the interior of the madeleine molds. Dust with flour and tap out the excess. Spoon batter in the molds until 3/4 full. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden and tops spring back when touched. Remove pan from oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool.

Recipe 3

Pumpkin Pecan Madeleines

Makes 12

• 2 large eggs

• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp flour

• 1/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar + 2 tsp for candying pecans

• 1/4 cup butter + more for toasting pecans and greasing madeleine molds

• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 4 tbsp pumpkin puree

• Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350
º
F. Chop pecans. Sift flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat. When frothy, reduce heat as it begins to brown and turn a nutty color. When it is brown, pour it through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any solids, into a bowl. Set the butter aside to cool.

You can use the same frying pan to toast the pecans with a teaspoon of butter. When they are turning golden, toss in about 2 teaspoons of brown sugar. Stir the pecans to coat them well. Remove them from the pan and set them aside to cool.

Use a standing mixer or a handheld electric mixer to beat the two eggs together with a pinch of salt until they are pale yellow and thick. Beat in the 1/4 cup of brown sugar, adding it in large pinches as you continue beating. After all the sugar has been added, continue beating until mixture has more volume and becomes like softly whipped cream.

Sprinkle the flour mix on top and gently fold in with a spatula. Next, fold in the butter and the pumpkin. Make sure they are well incorporated. Then fold in the pecans.

Put 1 tablespoon of batter in each mold. They should be 3/4 full.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, turning the pan once halfway to make sure they brown evenly. They will be golden and spring back to the touch when they’re ready.

Let them cool for a couple minutes in the molds and then release them onto a cooling rack or tea towel to continue to cool.

Recipe 4

Red Velvet Madeleines

Makes 12

• 2 medium eggs

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract

• Pinch of baking soda

• Pinch of salt

• Red food coloring, as desired

Melt the butter and set aside to cool. In a small bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to whisk the eggs and sugar until tripled in volume and very thick. When the beaters are lifted, the mixture should drop in a thick ribbon. Add the food coloring and whisk until incorporated.

Sift in the flour mixture in 3 portions, folding gently between additions. Take care not to overmix or stir.

Stir vanilla and cider vinegar into the melted butter. Add the butter mix to the batter in three installments, folding gently after each addition. Don’t overmix.

Refrigerate batter for at least half an hour. Preheat oven to 200ºF.

Butter the interiors of the madeleine molds. Dust flour and tap the excess flour off. Fill each mold with one tablespoon of batter. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until center springs back when touched.

Remove the pan from the oven. Let it cool for a couple of minutes then turn onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe 5

Raspberry and Rose Madeleines

Makes 12

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 sugar

• 1/3 freeze-dried raspberries

• 1 extra large egg

• 5 tbsp butter + more for greasing the madeleine pan

• 1 1/2 tbsp milk

• 1 tsp light corn syrup

• 1/4 tsp rose essence

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Skim off the foam on top and let it cool slightly.

In another mixing bowl, stir sugar, syrup, egg, milk, vanilla extract, and rose essence together with a wooden spoon until combined. Then stir in butter.

Gently fold in raspberries and flour mixture until well incorporated. Freeze the batter for 10 to 15 minutes.

Brush the madeleine mold with melted butter then dust on some flour. Tap off the excess. Fill each mold 2/3 full. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until golden on the edges.

Remove the madeleines to cool on a wire rack.

Recipe 6

Lemon Madeleines with Lavender Glaze

Makes 12

• 3 large eggs

• 2 egg yolks

• 1 1/3 all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup coconut oil

• 2/3 cup + 1 tbsp sugar

• 1 tbsp coconut flour

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp finely minced lemon zest

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

Lavender Glaze:

• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

• 1 tbsp dried culinary lavender

• 1/3 cup milk

In bowl, add sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, lemon zest, oil, eggs, and egg yolks. Beat on medium speed until thick and smooth, about 3 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients. Mix on medium-low speed until well incorporated and smooth, about 1.5 minutes. Set aside batter for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat madeleine molds with more coconut oil or butter. Put a tablespoon of batter into each mold.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes, or until edges start to turn golden. Cakes should spring back when touched. Don’t overbake. The cakes will have humped backs, and there might even be a small crack on the hump.

Made the glaze by adding the milk and lavender to a small saucepan and bringing it to a boil. Turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Strain into a bowl to remove lavender buds. Add the powdered sugar and stir until smooth.

Remove the madeleine pan from the oven. Cool madeleines on a wire rack.

Dip the shell side of the madeleine in glaze and let dry with shell side up.

Recipe 7

Earl Grey Madeleines

Makes 12

• 2 large eggs

• 3/4 cup flour

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 5 tbsp unsalted butter

• 2 tbsp Earl Grey tea leaves

• 2 tbsp honey

BOOK: Harper Lin - Patisserie 07 - Madeleine Murder