Madeleine
Adapted from Sassa's kitchen
These are delicate little butter cakes known for their distinct scalloped shell shape. Often served with nothing more than a sprinkle of icing sugar on top, we prefer them with a simple lemon icing. A dunk in dark chocolate is also nice. Makes 24.
Ingredients
2 large eggs
½ cup caster sugar
1 cup flour (plus one tablespoon for preparing the Madeleine tin)
140 g browned butter
Butter to grease Madeleine tins
Pinch of salt
1 grated rind lemon
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla essence
Glaze
Juice of a lemon
Icing sugar to make a nice consistency (about a cup)
Method
Whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy
Mix in flour, salt and lemon rind.
Brown the butter in a saucepan (melt it and after the initial foam subsides, a second fluffy layer of foam will form; underneath this, the milk solids in the butter will brown - aim for a nice toasty brown).
Allow the butter to cool.
Butter the Madeleine tins and sprinkle with a bit of flour to keep the cakes from sticking. Cool the tins in the fridge.
When the butter is more or less room temperature, mix it into the batter along with the lemon juice and vanilla.
Let this batter rest and thicken a bit while the oven preheats to 190 °C.
When the oven is hot, drop a tablespoon of batter in each scallop of the Madeleine tin and bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
Let the cakes cool on a rack before dipping one side in the glaze and allowing it to set.
Best served fresh
Notes
We borrowed Sassa's Madeleine tins, but if you don't need the classic shape, a very shallow cupcake tin will work.