France: Douze Points.

Well, well, well, top marks for France!!! These Madeleines are just fantastic!!

I’m very happy with my metal Madeleine pan. It’s already slightly tricky to get in the oven without burning your fingers, so I can imagine how difficult a silicone pan could be to get in without making a mess!

Putting my seldom used French to good use, I’ve translated a really authentic French recipe for Madeleines from this website: http://www.750g.com/fiche_de_cuisine.2.123.1918.htm. Each batch yields about 36 Madeleines and they are so good I’ve baked over 100 already! The large yield from this recipe may make you think you should make a smaller batch or even buy several pans. I’ve always been taught to put any cake mixture into the oven as soon as the mix is wet but the beauty about this recipe is that the Madeleine batter is required to rest in the fridge for a minimum of two hours. It is possible to bake them sooner, and they will taste fine, but trust me in that they improve greatly with the rest. Furthermore, they are so easy to make and can be made the night before, rest in the fridge overnight and be ready for a very quick and tasty breakfast or brunch.

Getting back to the equipment, it is not absolutely necessary to purchase a Madeleine pan, albeit pretty as they may be - you will get a perfect result making these in a cupcake tray!

Here’s how I made them:

- 225g Plain Flour
- 175g Caster Sugar
- 100g Unsalted Butter
- 1 heaped teaspoon Baking Powder
- 4 eggs
- Pinch salt
- Zest of one Lemon (optional)

• Melt the butter and let it cool slightly.
• Crack the four eggs into a large bowl.
• Add the sugar and whisk until all the sugar is dissolved and it looks a little frothy.
• Mix the flour and baking powder together and sift into to the egg and sugar mix.
• Mix this all together with the salt and lemon zest.
• Stir in the melted butter.
• Cover with Clingfilm and leave in the fridge for at least two hours.
• Preheat oven to 220C.
• Butter the pan, and then dust with flour (shaking off any excess).
• Fill each mould three quarters full with the Madeleine batter.
• Bake in the oven for eight minutes
• Allow to cool, enjoy!!

Good music to eat Madeleines with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-7vv8F6XBE in fact anything by Jacques Dutronc seems to work well with Madeleines as does Carla Bruni!

Bon appétit!

11 down, 16 to go…