Madeleines (French Butter Cakes)
Why I Love This Recipe
The Madeleine was made famous by Marcel Proust in his novel 'Remembrance of Things Past'. Their origin is a little fuzzy, but it seems to have all started in the French town of Commercy, in the region of Lorraine, during the 18th century. One story is that these tea cakes were served to Stanislaw Lezczynski, Duke of Lorraine, and he liked them so much he named them "Madeleines'' after the girl who made them.
Submitted by: "The Gonzalez Family"
Ingredients You'll Need
2 free-range eggs
100g caster sugar
120g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
100g butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for greasing
Directions
In a small saucepan, melt the butter and then keep it warm.
In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of the electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar at high speed until the mixture is thick and pale in color.
Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest and juice.
Then sift about one-third of the flour mixture over the whipped eggs and gently fold in, using a rubber spatula or whisk. Sift and fold in half of the remaining flour, and then sift and fold in the rest.
Then, with a spatula, gently fold the melted butter completely into the egg batter. Leave to stand for 20 minutes before carefully pouring into the prepared madeleine tray.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Using a pastry brush; generously grease the molds of Madeleine tray with very soft or melted butter. Then dust the molds with flour, tapping out the excess flour.
Drop a generous tablespoonful of the batter into the center of each prepared mold, leaving the batter mounded in the center. (This will result in the classic "humped or domed" appearance of the Madeleines.)
Bake the Madeleines for about 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers spring back when lightly touched. (Do not over bake or they will be dry.)
Remove the pans from the oven and immediately tap each pan against the counter to release the Madeleines. Transfer the madeleines to a wire rack and leave for a few minutes to cool slightly. These are best eaten within an hour of cooking. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
