257: Honey Madeleines
I’ve been in search of the perfect madeleines recipe! I tried another madeleines recipe (but I’m lazy to backtrack to the previous Madeleines recipe) earlier on! They were good, buttery and all but still quite different in terms of taste and texture, if you compare them with my favourite Delifrance madeleines.
Sick of all the studying and stress from school, I decided to bake myself a new batch of madeleines today. This time round, I tried the Honey Madeleines from this blog, Confessions of a Tart. I managed 24 mini madeleines with this recipe!
The madeleines were slightly different from the previous recipe. In fact, I liked the madeleines from this recipe better! The exterior of the madeleine was brown and crispy. And the inside was really soft and moist and buttery. And there was the lovely sweetness and fragrance from the honey and butter. Oh I love that the underside of the madeleine was lightly browned too (they were usually pale yellow)! And I had thought that the reason was that I’m using a silicone madeleine mould. Hmm.
Anyway, these honey madeleines are perfect for school. And especially when I have long 6 hours stretch of lectures or when I’m feeling hungry during lectures.
For now, this will be my favourite madeleines recipe. But I’m still in search of the perfect madeleines recipe (one that tastes like the Delifrance ones!)! I’m still wondering what all these recipes lack! Hmm.
Honey Madeleines
Once Upon A Tart
(makes 12 full sized Madeleines or 24 minis)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
4 tbsp butter (plus more for buttering pan)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp honey (I prefer to use dark, fragrant honey)
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
In a small saucepan or microwave, melt the 4 tbsp of butter (some people like to brown it, but I haven’t tried that yet). Stir in honey and extract. Let cool to room temperature.
While the butter/honey/extract is cooling, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. For full disclosure, I have to tell you that for the best, the tenderest cookies, what you really need to do is sift the dry ingredients together, and possibly sift them twice (but if you are short on time or patience, or you are me, whisking is just fine).
Break the two eggs into a large bowl and add the sugars. Now, this part is really important – whip the eggs on a high speed for at least 3 minutes — possibly as much as 5 — until they are thick and light in color, and fall in a dense ribbon when you lift your beater out of the bowl. This is what gives Madeleines their airy texture, so don’t skimp on the whipping.
With a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the eggs, being really careful not to deflate the eggs and mixing only until the flour disappears. Then, being just as careful, fold in the cooled butter/honey/extract mixture. I do this by pouring it down the side of the bowl and then swirling it around with the spatula until the texture is uniform.
Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Turn the oven to 400F and brush your Madeleine pan with softened or melted butter. Brush it well – the worst is to be stuck prying your beautiful little cakes from the pan because you didn’t butter it enough. Fill the molds about 3/4 of the way – don’t worry, they will spread and rise as they bake. Bake until the Madeleines rise and the edges are browned. In practice, it’s usually about 10-12 minutes for full sized cakes or 8-10 for minis. Please watch carefully because even 30 seconds extra makes a difference with these.
Take out the pan and tap it lightly on the counter to unmold the cakes and then carefully pry them out of the molds (I use a dull butter knife to help me there), arrange on plate and dust with confectioner’s sugar. Usually, Madeleines should be eaten the same day they are made, but these were still totally awesome the next day.
