Madeleine
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 100 g sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 125 g flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 115 g butter, melted and cooled
- zest of 1 lemon (or 1 tbsp orange blossom water)
Madeleines are small, shell-shaped sponge cakes traditionally associated with the town of Commercy in Lorraine. The batter is whipped eggs, sugar and (often) honey until pale and thick, then flour is folded in gently to keep the air in. Chilling the batter and then baking it in a hot oven creates a sharp temperature shock that forces the centers to rise quickly, producing the cakes' famous domed hump.
Method
Whisk eggs, sugar and honey together until pale, thick and roughly doubled in volume.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, and fold in gently to avoid deflating the batter.
Fold in the melted butter and lemon zest until just combined.
Cover and chill the batter for at least 1 hour, ideally longer.
Generously butter and flour a madeleine mold, then chill the mold as well.
Spoon the cold batter into the cold mold, filling each shell about three-quarters full.
Bake at a high temperature, about 220°C (425°F), for 10-12 minutes, until the humps have risen and the edges are golden.
Unmold immediately onto a rack; serve the same day, lightly dusted with powdered sugar if desired.
Ingredients
- 95 g granulated sugar
- 15 g raw (turbinado) sugar
- 10 g honey
- 2 g fine salt
- 120 g all-purpose flour
- 4 g baking powder
- 140 g whole eggs (about 3), at room temperature
- 100 g butter
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Dominique Ansel bakes madeleines to order at his bakeries and insists they are best within minutes of leaving the oven. His batter leans on honey and a little raw sugar melted into the butter for a deeper, caramel-edged sweetness, and it rests for a few hours so the flour hydrates and the classic hump forms. The batter is piped into mini molds and baked hot and fast, so the outside sets golden while the inside stays soft and steamy, then dusted with powdered sugar straight away.
Method
Melt the butter in a small pot over low heat with the raw sugar and honey, stirring so nothing catches.
In a large bowl whisk together the granulated sugar, salt, flour and baking powder. Make a well and add the eggs one at a time, whisking each in before adding the next.
Whisk in the warm butter mixture and the lemon zest until the batter is smooth and evenly combined.
Cover and leave the batter to rest in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight) before baking.
Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Spray a mini madeleine mold generously with non-stick oil and pipe the batter into the shells, filling them almost to the top.
Bake until the madeleines are golden and puffed in the centre, about 4 minutes.
Tap the mold firmly against the counter to release them, dust with sifted powdered sugar and serve immediately, while still hot.
