Madeleines (French)

The famous French pastries are easy to make at home, too. All you need is a Madeleine pan and 30 minutes. Why settle for boring muffins when you can make these instead? :)

Recipe sources: Epicurious and Smitten Kitchen.

Last year: nothing.

Two years ago: nothing.

Three years ago: nothing.

Four years ago: Lemony courgette and spinach salad (vegan).

Five years ago: Sopa de Habas (Mexican Fava Bean Soup) (vegan).

Six years ago: Spaghetti with broccoli cream pesto.

Seven years ago: Spanish tomato bread with jamon serrano.

Eight years ago: Baby making and no cooking. :)

Ingredients (makes 12 large Madeleines or 24 smaller ones):

• 3/4 cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces; 70 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 180 C. 

Sift together the flour and baking powder. With a mixer or by hand, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until they thicken and lighten in color, 2 to 4 minutes. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla. Switch to a large rubber spatula and gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. 

Cover the batter with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal, and chill for at least 3 hours, perhaps longer. This helps the composition develop its characteristic crown when baked, known as the hump (or bump) of the Madeleine. (You can keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days.)

If your Madeleine pan is not nonstick, generously butter it, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. If the pan is nonstick, you still might want to give it an insurance coating of butter and flour. If it is silicone, do nothing. No matter what kind of pan you have, place it on a baking sheet to move it easier. 

Divide the batter among the molds, filling them almost to the top. Don’t worry about smoothing the batter, it will even out as it bakes.

Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, small ones for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and golden and spring back when you gently push-touch them. 

Pull the pan from the oven and remove the cookies by either rapping the pan against the counter (the madeleines should drop out) or by gently running a butter knife around the edges of the cookies.

Allow to cool on a wire rack and dig in :)