Brown butter and honey madeleines
Prep 15 mins
Cook 15 mins
Makes about 16
Difficulty 2.5
Madeleines are little cakes that are made in a shell- shaped tin. They are very buttery and should be eaten warm, but the batter can be in the tin ready to be baked just before serving. Once you’ve tried them warm, you’ll know why. Madeleines should have a bump that rises from the middle. You’ll need a large madeleine mould for these and for best results the tray should be cold as well as the batter before baking.
This recipe originally appeared in the French edition of Eatable magazine, on sale here in print and digital.
100g unsalted butter, plus extra melted for brushing the moulds
1 egg
2 egg whites
70g caster sugar 3 tsp honey
90g plain flour, sieved 3⁄4 tsp baking powder
1. Butter a large madeleine mould tray and refrigerate until required. (If the tray is new and non-stick or you’re using a silicon mould, you might not need to do this, but if the tray is older it’s best to dust lightly with flour also to prevent madeleines from sticking.)
2. Heat butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming and fragrantly nut-brown (5 minutes). Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Set aside to cool.
3. Whisk egg, whites, honey and sugar in an electric mixer until fluffy. Add flour aand baking powder and whisk to combine, then stir through brown butter.
4. Spoon batter into prepared tin, filling three- quarters of the way to top. Refrigerate for 1 hour to firm and rest. You can leave the batter in the tray for a few hours before baking, and up to overnight. Refrigerate remaining batter in a container or piping bag, ready for the second batch.
5. Preheat oven to 190°C. Bake madeleines until they are golden and risen and spring back when lightly touched (12-14 minutes). Remove from oven and while warm, tap the tray to release madeleines. Dust with icing sugar and serve with whipped cream and extra honey, while you regrease the tray and bake the second batch.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
N O T E
You'll need a large madeleine tray for this recipe, which is availabale from good kitchen shops such as Red Spoon.
