Madeleines
Maddie’s all day everyday
I fell in love with these little French cakes during my time as a waitress at La Tete in Cape Town. A little long lost cousin of the renowned St. Johns restaurant in London, for me La Tete became a gateway into the world of nose-to-tail dining. And though madeleines are far from being the most unappealing foods associated with nose-to-tail dining, they represented La Tete’s nod to classical French cooking.
At the time this love affair started I could never have foreseen that upon leaving South Africa, it would drive me to suffer mad separation anxiety from these little cakes. I would daydream about the smells it treats your nose to once carried out the oven. Their soft pillowy touch. The golden coating of crispness contrasting its inner cloud of cake. The heavenly flavors of sweet buttery love. I could go on about a madeleine.
Once I found myself in a place that those shells of deliciousness were no longer accessible to me, I knew I would have to find a way to make my own. Luckily I had watch Giles (the head chef @ La Tete) make these countless times, and best of all, I had snapped up the recipe over my time there.
After a friend decided to put the day-dreaming to an end and make this revival a reality, they bought me the relatively hard-to-find, madeleine-shaped baking tray. Funnily enough, these were surprisingly easy to whip up.
And now I cannot stop making them. Friends and family beware – expect these at birthdays and/or any special occasion for the rest of my now-blessed life.
Recipe (makes 12 madeleines)
Prep time: 10 mins (+ 1 hr min rest)
Cook time: 10 mins
Ingredients:
- 185g plain flour
- 185g melted butter
- 150g castor sugar
- 20g demerara sugar (or any course brown sugar works)
- 40g honey
- 10g baking powder
- 4 medium free-range eggs
- 1 cap of vanilla
Optional but highly recommended:
- 1 Tbsp good quality aged rum
- a Tbsp or two of orange zest
Method:
Gently melt honey and butter together in a small saucepan
Meanwhile, beat the eggs, sugar and demerara in a bowl using a handheld/stand mixer until quadrupled in size. (this takes about 5 or so mins)
Add the cap of vanilla to the egg and sugar mix, and if you are adding the orange zest do so now.
Slowly add the melted butter and honey to the egg and sugar whilst the mixer is going.
In a separate mixing bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. Stir so that it is evenly incorporated within the flour.
Now, ladle the dry mixture into the wet mixture one scoop at a time while whisking on medium speed. Wait until each batch of flour has integrated into the wet mixture before adding the next spoon. Once fully integrated it should have a smooth, thickened, golden textured paste-like dough.
Place the mixture in a Tupperware and pop it in the fridge for at least an hour.
When you are 15 mins away from taking the dough out of the fridge, preheat the oven to 200°C.
Once the dough has been taken out the fridge, let it sit while you butter the baking tray. Dust the buttered tray with a light coat of flour - this helps make sure the madeleines don’t stick.
Scoop just over a tablespoons worth of dough into each shell.
Throw the tray in the oven and time the first 2 minutes. Once the time is up turn the heat down to 170°C and time another 7/8 minutes.
They should be perfectly cooked and ready to consume fresh hot out the oven, best with a yum cup of tea in the morning or a glass of sweet alcohol in the eve.
Enjoy
