Waky Waky! Madeleine!

Looking at baking utensils has always been one of my favourite thing to do while shopping.  There was this one time my husband saw a madeleine baking tray in a shop and said he would love to have freshly baked madeleine for breakfast.  However, I was too cheap and waited until I was back in Hong Kong couple weeks ago to buy a madeleine tray for half the price in the UK - believe it or not, it's a lot cheaper to get baking utensils in Hong Kong (But baking ingredients are cheaper over here to be fair)

Right, so the first thing I took care of after returning to London was to bake him a fresh batch of madeleine for breakfast.

The first trail was based on a recipe found on Joy Of Baking , one of the sites that I read the most few years ago, when I first fell in love with baking, and Jamie Oliver's recipe.  I used less sugar as illustrated by both sites, and the result is not only is it less sweet but a stronger taste of the eggs.

They taste best when they are fresh from oven, with a crispy skin and fluffy centre.  One small tip, make a batch and store in fridge for up to 1 week, just bake them 15 minutes before serving! What's better to wake your husband up with fresh madeleine scent!

Madeleine (makes 12 pcs)

Ingredients

55g butter
65g flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/16 tsp salt
2 eggs (in room temperature)
50g sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp lemon zest (optional)

For Pandan flavour:
1 tbsp pantan paste
1 tbsp full fat coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 190*C.

Melt the butter over simmering water, and keep it warm.

In a medium bowl, sifted together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolk with sugar in high speed, until it become pale in yellow and fluffy, it will take about 5 minutes.  After that, gently beat in vanilla and lemon zest (Or the pandan paste and coconut milk if doing 2nd option), do not over mix.  In 3 additions, sift in the dry ingredients to the egg yolk batter, gently fold in until even after each addition.

Beat together egg and sugar until fluffy.

Add lemon zest and vanilla, mix well.

Sift in flour mixture in 3 additions.

Fold in gently after each addition.

When the dry ingredients are mixed to the egg yolk batter, take 3 tbsp of the batter into the warm melted butter.  Whisk it slightly so that the density is easier to mix in with the egg batter.

Mix 3 tbsp of batter with melted butter to thicken the density.

Gently pour half the melted butter mixture into egg batter and fold in.  Continue for 2nd addition after evenly mixed.

In 2 addition, mix melted butter with egg batter.

Before they are ready to bake, pour the batter in tupperware and refrigerate for at least 1 hour - this step is essential if you want the madeleine to raise beautifully. 

Transfer batter into tupperware and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

While chilling the batter, we can prepare the baking tray.  Brush the madeleine shell with melted butter, dust it over with flour.  Then toss it in the fridge to chill for 5 minutes.

Brush the shell with melted butter.

Dust with flour.

Chilli n fridge for 5 minutes to allow the flour to set.

When ready to bake, the chilled batter is a bit set.  Scoop 1 tbsp of the batter into the middle madeleine shell (the deepest part of the shell).

Scoop the batter into the middle of the shell.

Bake for 11 mintues until it raises well with gold edges.

Bake for 11 minutes until it raises nicely with golden edges.

To serve, sprinkle a teaspoonful of icing sugar for aesthetics and flavour.

I have also made it in Pandan flavour - equally tasty!