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May 2010
Honey Madeleines
Les Madeleines de Commercy au Miel
photo by France Ruffenach
Madeleines come in a
palette of flavors, ranging from traditional lemon zest to
orange-flower water, familiar vanilla, fashionable green tea,
and, my favorite, honey. I have even come across savory herb or
cheese versions. The sign of a fine madeleine is a little hump,
created by leaving the batter to chill and stiffen for at least
two hours, and by baking in a hot oven. The batter has a
tendency to stick to the traditional shell-shaped metal molds,
so they should be buttered twice. The cakes also turn out fine
in nonstick silicone molds, but they will never color to a crisp
golden brown. For a Proustian moment, savor madeleines as he did
with a cup of tisane.
Makes about 18
medium madeleines
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1 cup/125 g
flour
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1/2 teaspoon
baking powder
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1/2 cup /110 g
butter, melted, more for the molds
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1/2 cup/100 g
granulated sugar
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1 tablespoon/15
g dark brown sugar
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1 heaping
tablespoon honey
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Grated zest of
l/2 lemon
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2 eggs
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1 egg yolk
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Metal madeleine
plaques with 18 medium molds
Sift the flour and
baking powder into a bowl. In a large bowl, combine the melted
butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, lemon zest, eggs,
and egg yolk. Whisk the ingredients together by hand or with a
stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until very smooth,
1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the flour and continue whisking
for 1 minute. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up
to 8 hours. Brush the molds with melted butter, chill in the
freezer until set, and butter a second time.
Heat the oven to
400°F/200°C. Spoon the batter into the molds, filling them
almost to the rim. Bake the madeleines until they are puffed,
golden brown, and just starting to pull from the sides of the
molds, 8 to 10 minutes. Note that the peaked centers will be
lighter than the rest of the cakes. Turn them out on a rack to
cool. They are best eaten warm from the oven, though they may be
stored in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.
Excerpted from THE COUNTRY COOKING OF FRANCE
by Anne Willan, Chronicle Books, 2007.
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