Crusty Moist Madeleines

These little plumpy morsels in their recognizable shell shape may have originated from France, but its fan base spans the globe. I read that some had said, for the tastiest and most delicately authentic madeleines, one needs to go to France. Hmm...sounds like a darn good idea to me!

The first time I tried making madeleines was well, not quite in their original form as I didn't have any madeleine pans then so I basically used my bear mould pan. I had used the recipe from Lee Mei of Cooking Hut, who shared a classic recipe which uses yeast instead of baking powder.

Last week after purchasing my madeleine pans, I got eager and wanted to make some badly. After searching and comparing about 5-6 recipes (and they all have the same classic ingredients), I stumbled upon one which uses some milk and honey. The result was good if you want crusty edges with a buttery moist inside. These are however, best eaten on the same day they are baked as leaving a day older will have them less spongy.

Recipe for "Crusty on the outside, moist in the inside Madeleines" (found at www.epicurious.com)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus additional for brushing molds
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons mild honey

Method:
Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Brush molds with melted butter.

Sift together flour and baking powder into a large bowl, then whisk in zest.

Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into another bowl with tip of a paring knife (reserve pod for another use). Add sugar and rub together until vanilla is well dispersed, then whisk in eggs, milk, honey, and remaining 1 3/4 sticks melted butter. Fold into flour mixture until just combined.

Spoon a rounded tablespoon of batter into each mold, filling it about two-thirds full. Bake (with 2 pans on one rack), switching position of pans halfway through baking and rotating 180 degrees, until golden around edges and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a madeleine comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes total. (I baked longer for crustier edges)

Turn out madeleines onto a rack and serve slightly warm.

Notes: These madeleines are best eaten when just baked. The batter can be made 3 hours ahead, then chilled, covered.

Cheers

petite nyonya