I know I've been baking more French desserts lately -- but can you blame me? There's just an inherent romance, for me, when I think of French desserts. Even the simplest ones (and, let's be honest, that's all I'm producing these days) hold unique, delicate shapes and flavors and are somehow so memorable at the same time.
For me, madeleines are the original macaron. A distinct shape, a subtle flavor and a joy to make. We ate the whole lot in 2 days (the dogs occasionally got a bite, too), and always with coffee or tea. Warm and subtle and enigmatic in its own right. I would love to digress about my love of France and the poeticism of these little cakes, but I'll save that for others who have done a much better job at it than me.
So I'll leave it there, take these petits cakes for what they are--an easy, delicious classic that everyone should make at least once. The recipe I provided for this post is directly from Ruby Tandoh's book Crumb (with the addition of vanilla), which I found to be a strong, consistent batter, having made these multiple times through this week.
Honey Madeleines
For this recipe, I used a regular-sized madeleine tin, but you are more than welcome to use a muffin tin! This recipe came from Tandoh's Crumb, with the directions modified slightly.
Ingredients:
1/2 c + 1 TB unsalted butter
3/4 c AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 c sugar
2 TB honey
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
- Brown butter in a light-bottomed sauce pan and remove from heat. Use 2 TB of that butter to grease your pans
- Place pan in fridge to stay cool
- In a mixing bowl, sift together flour and baking powder
- In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, honey, eggs, and vanilla vigorously until foamy
- Add egg mix to flour and stir
- Fold in remaining browned butter until a batter forms. Allow to rest in fridge for 20 minutes
- Preheat oven to 400*F while you are wait
- Fill each tin about 3/4 of the way up the madeleine groove and bake for 8-9 minutes
- Remove, re-grease and refrigerate pan, and bake off remaining batter
Modification notes: If using a muffin tin, fill only 1/3 of the way up the side of the tin and bake for around 10-12 minutes.
