May 10, 2018
These delicate French treats have a lightly crisp exterior and a soft sponge centre, each can be polished off in just two bites. You can keep these plain by omitting the chocolate stage and swapping the vanilla for a citrus zest, but who can say no to chocolate? And, we've paired them up with a smashing salted caramel dipping sauce.
Equipment required
9 hole madeleine pan.
1 baking tray
Piping bags x 2
Heavy bottomed saucepan (not non-stick)
Ingredients
For the Madeleines
45g/ 1.6oz unsalted butter, melted (plus extra for greasing)
1 free range egg
35g/ 1.2oz caster sugar
45g/ 1.6oz self-raising flour (plus extra for dusting)
1tsp acacia honey (or other runny honey)
½ tsp vanilla paste
1tbsp cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt
1tbsp icing sugar, for dusting (optional)
For the salted caramel dipping sauce
75g/ 2.6oz caster sugar
25g/ 0.9oz soft brown sugar
60g/ 2.1oz double cream
30g/ 1oz unsalted butter
½ tsp sea salt
Step 1 – Melt the butter and whisk up the egg and sugar.
Preheat your oven to 180C (160C fan, gas mark 4), put the baking tray into the oven to heat up. Lightly grease your madeleine moulds and dust with flour, tap out any excess and pop in the fridge to cool while you prepare your batter. Start by melting the butter in a saucepan, you want the butter to be golden brown in colour, but definitely not burnt. Whip it off the heat as soon as the colour is achieved and set aside to cool. Crack the egg into a bowl and add the sugar, whisk until bubbly, thick and light in colour.
Step 2 – Add the wet then the dry ingredients, except for the cocoa.
Pour in the melted butter, vanilla paste and honey and whisk lightly to combine. Add the flour and pinch of salt and fold into the wet mixture, you should have a smooth batter. Divide the mixture roughly into two bowls.
Step 3 – Divide the mixture into two.
Add the cocoa powder to one of the two bowls and fold into the mixture then, get two piping bags and place tip end down into pint glasses to make them easier to fill.
Step 4 – Fill you madeleine pans and bake.
Divide the plain and chocolate mixture into the prepared piping bags. Pipe a small amount of vanilla into each mould, starting at one end of the shell and working your way to the other. Switch to chocolate and repeat the process until both mixtures are used up and your forms are filled, just beneath the line – don't overfill them, otherwise you'll end up with amorphous blobs rather than pretty shells. Swirl the mixture around a little to create a nice marble effect. Place in the oven atop the baking tray you conveniently preheated earlier and bake for 9-12minutes until the madeleines have peaked slightly and are golden in colour. While they are baking you should have just enough time to prepare your dipping sauce.
Step 5< – Salted caramel sauce time!
Place the sugars into a thick bottomed saucepan and set onto a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring until completely melted. Add the butter to the saucepan, taking care as this will cause bubbling, and melt. Once thick and well combined, slowly add the double cream, stirring as you go – again take care as the mixture can spit and bubble. Allow to simmer away for a minute or so before adding the salt, then remove the lot from the heat and allow to cool before pouring into a pretty dipping bowl or a jar ready to use later. You can make this ahead of time, the sauce will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days – it will become very thick but you can blitz it in the microwave or in a saucepan to loosen it up before serving.
Step 6 – Back to the madeleines…
Once your madeleines are baked, remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tray while they are still warm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving, if you can wait that long – don't forget, they are meant to be a gift for your Mum!
Enjoy! Hatty x
Recipe courtesy of Hatty Bakewell's, delicious local homemade cakes for any occasion.
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