Madeleines

I sincerely believe that madeleines are the best cookies/cakes I have come across in all these years. Essentially, madeleines are petite cakes made with genoise sponge. Genoise sponge usually doesn’t need any leavening agents, because the aerated eggs themselves act as raising agent, but I added the baking powder here anyway. A perfectly baked madeleine has the shell contour on one side and has a characteristic bump on the other. The bump is caused by the sudden and drastic change in the temperature when you transfer the cold batter into the hot oven.

Not only do I think that this is the best petite cake ever, but this bake also has a nostalgic value to me. During my PhD days, when I had to dedicate myself to the research and concentrate on finishing my thesis, I depended on tons of coffee, muffins and madeleines for my survival. At that point in my life, I never would have thought that one day, I would have the time and ability to bake these at home. This is one of the bakes I am really proud of.

Notes

• Eggs should be at room temperature.
• Always weigh the dry ingredients.
• Make sure your pans are very clean.
• Be very careful while you are browning the butter, it can turn from brown to burnt in seconds, so do not take you eyes off of the stove.
• You can use chocolate morsels or bar chocolate for the frosting and dipping.
• Handle the batter gently as you don’t want to lose the aeration in the batter.
• For preparing the pan, use minimal amount of melted butter and then lightly dust the pan with flour. The flour will stick to the pan and you can remove any extra flour by inverting and tapping the pan. Excess of coating will interfere with the shell pattern.
• Make sure the batter and the pans are cold, but not too cold that the butter in the batter is solidified.
• You can get the madeleine pans here. 1 pan has 12 shells pockets in it, so buy 2. It will save a lot of time and although 24 seems a lot, believe me they will just disappear within no time!

Description

These are petite pieces of heaven. A French delicacy by origin, these 18^th century desserts embody the perfect marriage between a cake and a cookie. These buttery, soft and melt-in-your-mouth cakes are ideal for any occasion or time of the day. They are always a hit here at my home. Here we go then, from my kitchen to yours!

Ingredients

• 115 gm all purpose flour
• 115 gm browned butter
• 1/4th tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp lemon zest
• 100gm sugar
• 3 eggs

Method

• Preheat the oven to 375^oF.
• Melt butter in a saucepan. Turn the heat to medium low and wait until the butter is slightly browned and gives out a nutty aroma. Cool it at room temperature until later use.
• Prepare the madeleine pans with a thin butter and flour coat. Refrigerate until later.
• Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl and mix well.
• Add lemon zest and sugar into a clean mixing bowl and either mix it by hand (apply pressure) or hand mixer until the lemon zest releases the moisture and oils into the sugar. You will end up with a moist sugar mixture.
• Add eggs and using the hand mixer, beat at high for 8 min. This will result in airy, pudding like batter with ribbon consistency.
• Gently fold in the flour mixture into eggs.
• Add 2 tbsp of the above batter into the melted and cooled browned butter and mix.
• Add the butter mixture to the batter and fold it in gently. You will lose a little volume, but make sure you don’t lose too much of it.
• Cover with a cling wrap touching the surface of the batter and refrigerate for an hour.
• Gently scoop equal quantities of batter (1.5 tbsp/shell) into the cooled madeleine pans and refrigerate for another 30 min. I find it easier to use 2 spoons, one for scooping and one for handling the batter sticking to the first spoon.
• Bake one pan at a time for 15 min in the middle rack of the oven.
• Transfer them to the cooling rack (bump side down) for 5-7 min.
• Dust the cookies with icing sugar.
• Serve immediately. You can store the madeleines at room temperature for a day.

Dark chocolate coating

• Melt a semi-sweet or dark chocolate bar in the microwave oven for 30-40 sec.
• Dip the wider side of the madeleines into the melted chocolate.
• Use sprinkles and golden sugar for decoration.