It seems like all I’ve been thinking about recently is France. I’ve bought a few books about living, eating and loving in Paris and have been inspired to go back. Do I even need to mention David Lebovitz’s blog? That’s an incentive to get on a long flight in itself! I began looking through photos of our last trip to Paris, which was actually part of our honeymoon tour, and I longed for the feeling of sitting outside a Patisserie and enjoying the little sweet treats in the summer sunshine. At this point I had two options: book a trip to Paris, or make something to make me feel Parisian in my own home. So what did I do? Both of course!
So I immediately booked a train for a weekend away at the end of May (WHOOO HOO!), unwrapped the Madeleine pans that my husband had given me for Christmas (he must have predicted this!) and I got cookin’. When making Classic French Madeleines, you need to prepare in advance and make sure you read the recipe at least twice before beginning. You need the correct equipment (two 12 hole madeleine tins) and also the time for this recipe, as the batter needs to rest in the fridge and you need to chill the pans in the freezer before baking.
These little French cakes are almost more cookie than cake. They are like a delicate little sponge with a crisp biscuit like case. They are lemon and vanilla scented bites that will transport you straight to the cobbled back streets of Paris. These super cute cakelets are best enjoyed the day you’ve made them (trust me!) but if you are getting ahead and serving the next day, do not dust with the powdered sugar after baking, wait until just before serving to enjoy them at their best. They can be stored for a few days in an airtight container.
Aren’t they just the cutest little things you’ve ever seen? They would be the perfect thing to bring to a girlie brunch or for a little snack with a pot of tea or coffee. I need to explore more flavor combinations as an excuse to make lots of them!
Ingredients
- 4 oz (1 stick), plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Leave it to bubble in the pan until it smells toasty and starts to color. But be careful- the butter will turn very quickly from toasty to burnt! It will continue to color after it is off the heat. Spoon 3 tablespoons of butter into a small bowl and set aside. Let the rest of the butter cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together one cup of the flour and the sugar, and set aside. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the two eggs with the vanilla, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest until the eggs are frothy.
- Add the egg mixture to the flour. Using a spatula, stir until just combined. Add the 4 ounces of melted butter and continue to stir. It may take a minute for the butter to blend into the mixture but do not over mix.
- Next, you need to rest the batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest at least one hour and up to overnight.
- While the batter is resting, prepare the pans. Add the remaining one tablespoon of flour to the 3 tablespoons reserved butter and stir to combine. Using a pastry brush, brush the interiors of the shells with the butter-flour mixture so that they are well coated. Place the pans in the freezer for at least an hour.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the batter from the refrigerator and one pan from the freezer. Fill each well in the madeleine pan with 1 tablespoon of the batter. Remove the other pan and fill in the same way.
- Place both pans on a baking sheet for easy handling and place in the oven. Check after 8 minutes and rotate plans. Check again 5 minutes later. The madeleines should be browning around the edges and puffed up a little in the middle. They should spring back at your touch.
- Remove the madeleines from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Using a fork, gently loosen the madeleines from their molds and then tip the whole pan out onto a cooling wrack or tea towel. Once cool, dust lightly with powdered sugar and serve.
- Store cooled madeleines in an airtight container for a few days.
Notes
Recipe from Flick of the Whisk. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.
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