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Madelines: big love for little cakes!

By on February 21, 2014

From Julie of By the Recipe.

I’ve been known to tell a story or two. And usually they are really long. This one is maybe not as long as I thought it would be.

For a time, my beloved and I lived in Vermont. New to the United States, a whole new world had opened up to me, in the form of Williams-Sonoma. I had never seen a catalogue, let alone visited a store. I had never even heard of them. I know, sheltered life.

I loved everything about the store. And the catalogue? I could look at it over and over again, much like a child with their favourite book.

I always returned to the page or part of the store where I could find the trays to make madeleines. Madeleines are a small cake that is served often at breakfast in France. If you’ve never had one, you must. They are delightful.

I always looked at the tray as being excessive. Not that it was expensive, but rather that it seemed silly to buy it when it only had one purpose. Even if that purpose came in the form of a small, shell-like cake, that melts in your mouth.

Did I really want to add to my kitchen supplies? Especially something that may or not be used often. And this was back when I had yet to start developing my cooking skills.

So we moved back to Canada, without Williams-Sonoma. Without the Madeleine pan.

Four and a half years later, Williams-Sonoma opens a store here, where I live. Of course, it’s in a part of town where I’ve never ventured. It’s just before Christmas as well. Crazy busy shopping time.

Fast forward to this week. My beloved took me on a mini road trip…to the new Williams-Sonoma.

The store is beautiful. Skillets. Pots. Wooden spoons. Linens. Cookbooks. Dishes. Bake wear. Knives. Mixers. Make your own cheese kits!

Funny that it’s taken me 9 years, and only $30, but I came home with a beautiful pan.

It was worth the wait.

Madeleines

This recipe is from the cardboard sleeve that was wrapped around my pan. From what I’ve seen online, it’s a good basic starting point. As it was the first time trying madeleines, I didn’t change anything in the recipe.

4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
Softened unsalted butter for brushing molds
2 eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted,plus more for dusting pan

Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter, and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Using a pastry brush, brush the softened butter over each mold of the Madeleine pan, carefully buttering every ridge. Dust the molds with flour, tilting the own to coat the surfaces evenly. Turn the pan upside down and gently tap out the excess flour.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar and salt. Using a wire whisk, or handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat vigorously until pale, thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Sprinkle the sifted flour over the egg mixture and stir or beat on low speed until incorporated.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in half of the melted butter until just blended, then fold in the remaining butter.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared molds, using a heaping 1 tablespoon of batter for each mold. Bake the madeleines until the tops spring back when lightly touched, 8 to 12 minutes.

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Remove the pan from the oven and invert it over a wire rack, then rap the pan on the rack to release the madeleines. If any should stick, use your fingers to loosen the edges, being careful not to touch the hot pan, and invert and rap again.

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Let the madeleines cool on the rack for 10 minutes. Using a fine mesh sieve, dust the tops with confectioner’s sugar and serve.

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**I did end up changing one thing, by accident. When I removed the pan from the oven I had misread the instructions. I left the madeleines in the pan to cool. If I hadn’t looked at the recipe again, I would have left them there for 10 minutes, to cool. Instead I looked at the recipe at the 5 minute mark and realized they should be out of the pan. By then the pan had cooled enough that I could easily slide each madeleine out of their mold. I then put them on the rack to finish cooling, groove sides up.

 

Julie of By The Recipe says this about her food writing:

I’m not sure which came first: my sweet tooth, or my desire to bake.  Before I was a wife and a mother, I was a baker.  I love to bake.

Before kids, I wasn’t much of a cook. After kids, my cooking abilities improved, I guess because I needed to feed my family. Over the years I have come to enjoy cooking, almost as much as baking.  But let’s be honest, the best part of baking and cooking are the accolades of a great mouthful of food. That inspires me.

When I cook, I cook by the recipe. Almost always.

 

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