Classic madeleines
“Honey, I’m going to the store, do you need anything else?”
It’s a question I hear every time my husband leaves to run errands. It must have been two weeks ago when John, about to walk out the door, called back to ask if there was anything else I needed from Williams Sonoma. I looked at him, my eyes lighting up, as I quickly tried to come up with something – anything! – that I’d been hoping for. Is he actually offering to buy me random kitchen gadgets and tools?
He quickly started to laugh, caught off guard that he had even asked in the first place (it was habit, after all).
“Wait, I didn’t mean that. I’m leaving now.”
And he was gone.
Well friends, I’m here to tell you that yes, some ‘single purpose’ kitchen items are in fact useful. Necessary? Perhaps not. But just try to ask my husband if we should get rid of our madeleine pan now. I’m willing to bet he’ll put up a fight.
It’s fitting that this recipe is from Daniel Boulud given it was he who first introduced me to them. A meal at any of his NYC restaurants is not complete without a waiter magically appearing, holding a basket filled with warm, fresh-from-the-oven madeleines.
The batter can be made ahead of time, even a full day. They bake in less than 10 minutes, which means you literally have no excuse for not sharing these with loves ones. Unless of course you don’t own a madeleine pan…
…don’t worry. We can fix that.
Madeleines
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon or orange zest
- 6 tablespoons ¾ stick unsalted butter, (melted, warm)
- nonstick vegetable oil spray
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Whisk baking powder, salt, and flour in a small bowl.
- Whisk eggs, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, honey, and lemon zest in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients until just incorporated, then whisk in melted butter until smooth. Transfer batter to a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag and chill at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly coat madeleine pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Snip end off pastry bag (or 1 corner of resealable bag) and pipe batter into each mold, filling two-thirds full (you may have a little batter left over).
- Bake madeleines until edges are golden brown and centers are puffed and lightly spring back when gently pressed, about 5 minutes for mini and 8-10 minutes for regular cakes.
- Tap pan against counter to release madeleines. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.
Notes
Recipe from Daniel Boulud via Bon Appetit February 2015.
