Madeleines by Raymond Blanc
| Makes: 18-20 | Course: Dessert | Machine: Cooking machine | Total time (min.): 22 plus 1-2 hours chilling time |
The humble madeleine is a great favourite across continents, in part due to its wonderful flavour, but also its adorable shape - A distinct shell shape with tapered edges. Once cooked the madeleines develop a lovely hump on their tops, and there is a reason why; it is the shape of the mould that creates the hump, pushing the heat towards the middle and forming its very specific shape. There is no doubt the madeleine is synonymous with France – often eaten hot in the French markets with a coffee in the morning, or at the 4pm goûter, the French equivalent of the British afternoon tea. However you choose to enjoy them, they are truly a delightful treat that I encourage you to bake at home.
Ingredients
Planning ahead:
- You can prepare the mixture the night before and reserve in the fridge should you wish.
- 2 Eggs, medium, organic or free-range
- 80g Caster sugar
- 5g Honey
- 1/2 Lemon, zested
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 70g Plain flour
- 4g Baking powder
- 75g Unsalted butter, melted
- Melted butter to brush the madeleine moulds
Tools
- Kenwood Chef Titanium with whisk attachment
- Madeleine mould trays
Method
- In the bowl of your Kenwood Chef machine, using the whisk attachment on medium speed, cream together the eggs, caster sugar, honey and lemon zest until light and foaming.
- Next, add the vanilla extract and continue to whisk.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.
- Then gradually on a low speed, fold the sifted flour into the mixture.
- Meanwhile, brush a thin layer of melted butter into the madeleine moulds and refrigerate.
- Slowly add the warm melted butter to the mixture and continue to whisk on a low speed until smooth.
- Transfer mixture into a clean bowl, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for a minimum of 1-2 hours in order for the mixture to relax and firm up before you bake it.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
- Either spoon or pipe (using a 1cm diameter nozzle) the mixture into the madeleine tray, making sure you only fill each compartment 2/3 full.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 6-7 minutes. This will give you a lovely soft madeleine. If you prefer yours with a light crunch, leave them to cool for 5 minutes, then place them back in the oven for 1-2 minutes until crisp.
- Carefully remove the madeleines from their moulds and leave to cool on a wire rack before serving.
- There are as many variations as you can imagine. The best in my opinion is pistachio. Simply use your Kenwood to whisk in 30g of pistachio paste to the mixture before you refrigerate.