Madeleines
Made from an airy sponge cake batter, these oversized lemon-scented pastries are baked until dark brown to impart a delectable crust at Belle Epoque Boulangerie in Antibes, France. This recipe first appeared in our June/July 2012 issue along with Sylvie Bigar's story The Road to Paradise.
Enlarge Image
Credit: Landon Nordeman
INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour, plus more for pan1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 ½ cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Zest of 2 lemons
6 eggs, separated
20 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat oven to 325°. Grease and flour eight 5 ¾" x 3 ¼" x 1 ¾" mini loaf pans, and set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, beat sugar, vanilla, zest, and egg yolks on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until pale, tripled in volume, and mixture falls back in thick ribbons when lifted from beaters, about 6 minutes. Add flour mixture and butter, and using a rubber spatula, gently fold into batter until almost combined.2. Place egg whites in a clean bowl and beat on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Add ⅓ of the beaten egg whites to the batter and stir until smooth; add remaining whites and fold in gently until combined. Divide batter evenly among pans, and bake until deep golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, and then invert cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.
You could taste the lemon in the batter - but no so much in the baked cakes.
Followed exact ingredients. Changed the method - whirl lemon zest with sugar in processor before adding to eggs. Use Julia Child's method of buttering molds: 1 1/2 T. melted butter and 1 T. flour mixed together & painted on pan. Baked in standard muffin tin at 325 for 35 minutes & remaining batter in Madeleine pan at 350 for 20 minutes.
Texture was almost the same as Julia Child's Madeleines, which she calls
"more like pound cake", despite the fact that these whites were beaten
separately.
Will definitely make again!
You could taste the lemon in the batter - but no so much in the baked cakes.
Followed exact ingredients. Changed the method - whirl lemon zest with sugar in processor before adding to eggs. Use Julia Child's method of buttering molds: 1 1/2 T. melted butter and 1 T. flour mixed together & painted on pan. Baked in standard muffin tin at 325 for 35 minutes & remaining batter in Madeleine pan at 350 for 20 minutes.
Texture was almost the same as Julia Child's Madeleines, which she calls
"more like pound cake", despite the fact that these whites were beaten
separately.
Will definitely make again! Rating: 4