Prep Time : 15 Minutes | Cook Time : 10 Minutes | Total Time : 2 hours + | Difficulty : Easier than you think
Hello my lovelies! As you may or may not have seen from my earlier posts I’m heading to Tokyo for 10 days at the end of the month. There will be a little hiatus while I’m away but there will also be a few excitedly Japan-inspired recipes in the next little while. I have madeleines on the brain at the moment. I have been watching (admittedly pirated) Great British Bake Off. If there was a way to watch it properly even for a fee I would be doing that but however. In a recent episode there were madeleines. I went to my books and found no less than 8 different recipes (I have a lot of books). There were common themes and I have settled on a not too fussy recipe that gives a lovely result with a high likelihood of the characteristic hump. In his researches David Lebovitz (on whose recipe this is based) couldn’t find any evidence of a good reason why the hump is desired. It just became the fashion and is. So I think you shouldn’t worry about whether your delicious home made Parisian treats are flat on top or not. No matter what Paul Hollywood says. Bake, eat and be merry I say. These mads are the perfect confluence of Paris and Tokyo. Green tea and St Germain.
Coincidentally the lovely delicate green of these madeleines is perfect for Christmas. Dip in white chocolate instead of dark and sprinkle with freeze dried raspberries and you have the perfect festive afternoon tea. Or breakfast. Just saying. Doesn’t hurt to have options up your sleeve.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl. You can do this by hand or with a hand held beater. Because you don’t need a full on mousse-y texture it’s a bit much to get the standing mixer out. We are whisking until the sugar is dissolved and the eggs have about doubled in volume.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and matcha. Fold gently to combine. Cover the bowl and set it aside to rest. Leave it resting for at least 30 minutes but up to an hour.
Melt the butter and honey together and leave it to cool down to room temperature. It wants to be still liquid but cool. Gently fold the melted butter and St Germain into the rested batter. Cover it and leave it to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. You can leave it for several hours or overnight in the fridge. The longer you let it stand (up to about 2 hours) the better your chances of cute bumps on the top of the madeleines.
Grease your madeleine pans with melted butter or coconut oil. You want something that will be solid at room temperature so it doesn’t absorb into the batter too quickly. Put the greased pans into the fridge while your batter is resting. This also helps with the shape and with turning the madeleines out.
Heat the oven to 200C (395F). Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon and fill one tray of madeleines about 3/4 full. Don’t fill all your trays now. Leave the other one in the fridge waiting. If you fill them and leave them sitting they are more likely to stick.
Bake the cakes for 8 to 10 minutes until they are brown at the edges and spring back when lightly pressed in the centre.
Leave the madeleines to cool in the pans for about 2 minutes before giving the pan a firm whack on the bench to release the cakes. Turn them out onto a wire rack to cool.
Once you have taken the first pan out fill the second pan and put it into the oven straight away. You can dip or drizzle the madeleines with melted chocolate or just dust them with icing sugar to enjoy warm and fresh. They are at their best within hours of being made so don’t hang about.
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Matcha + Elderflower Madeleines
Prep Time : 15 mins | Cook Time : 10 mins | Total Time : 2 hours+ | Difficulty : Easier than you think
Makes : 16 to 20 madeleines depending on your pan
Tender matcha cakes with crispy edges and a hint of floral elderflower.
Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
- 1 cup less 1 tablespoon (120 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 + 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons matcha powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 7 tablespoons (100 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon St Germain liqueur or elderflower cordial
- 2 ounces (50 grams) dark chocolate (optional)
– If using metric cups, reduce volume measures by 1 tablespoon for every cup of dry or liquid ingredients –
Equipment:
- Bowls and whisk or hand held beater
- Small saucepan
- 2 x 12 well madeleine pans greased with butter or coconut oil
Directions:
Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl. You can do this by hand or with a hand held beater. Because you don’t need a full on mousse-y texture it’s a bit much to get the standing mixer out. We are whisking until the sugar is dissolved and the eggs have about doubled in volume.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and matcha. Fold gently to combine. Cover the bowl and set it aside to rest. Leave it resting for at least 30 minutes but up to an hour.
Melt the butter and honey together and leave it to cool down to room temperature. It wants to be still liquid but cool. Gently fold the melted butter and St Germain into the rested batter. Cover it and leave it to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. You can leave it for several hours or overnight in the fridge. The longer you let it stand (up to about 2 hours) the better your chances of cute bumps on the top of the madeleines.
Grease your madeleine pans with melted butter or coconut oil. You want something that will be solid at room temperature so it doesn’t absorb into the batter too quickly. Put the greased pans into the fridge while your batter is resting. This also helps with the shape and with turning the madeleines out.
Heat the oven to 200C (395F). Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon and fill one tray of madeleines about 3/4 full. Don’t fill all your trays now. Leave the other one in the fridge waiting. If you fill them and leave them sitting they are more likely to stick.
Bake the cakes for 8 to 10 minutes until they are brown at the edges and spring back when lightly pressed in the centre.
Leave the madeleines to cool in the pans for about 2 minutes before giving the pan a firm whack on the bench to release the cakes. Turn them out onto a wire rack to cool.
Once you have taken the first pan out fill the second pan and put it into the oven straight away. You can dip or drizzle the madeleines with melted chocolate or just dust them with icing sugar to enjoy warm and fresh. They are at their best within hours of being made so don’t hang about.
Cook’s Notes:
- You can dip or drizzle these with any chocolate you like – white and dark both work really well.
- If you don’t like or have St Germain you can replace this with a tablespoon of milk.
– Eat these cakes as soon as you can to enjoy them at their best. To keep them longer than the next day freeze the madeleines and refresh them in a hot oven for a couple of minutes once thawed –
Adapted from My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz.
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So these sound super tasty! There’s a tea brand called Leaves of the world who make an excellent elderflower matcha that would be perfect for this recipe
I am a big tea lover so I will have to check them out! Thanks for the tip 🙂
If you do make an order use my blog code TEANOMADKIM20 to get 20% off your first order!