Recipe: Madeleines

I believe most of people know what Madeleines are. 

Those shell shaped little tea cakes with French origins have wonderful buttery flavor, soft middle and are slightly crispy on the outside. The taste the best just couple of minutes after they are out of the oven, when still warm. It's the best moment to enjoy moist and tenderness of this little french cake. You can dust them with icing sugar just before serving. 

Lemon Madeleines (makes 30 little cakes )

180 g butter plus 2 tbsp to grease  // 200 g caster sugar // 15 g lemon zest  // 4 eggs // 250 g flour 

// 5g baking powder 

Place the butter, sugar and the lemon zest in a mixing bowl and beat until white and creamy. Slowly add the eggs, one by one, scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure batter it's fully mixed. In this stage it'll look runny but don't you worry!

 As soon you add dry ingredients  it will turn into perfect mix. 

Sift together the flour and the baking powder then gently add to the eggs. Cover the batter with cling film and leave it the fridge for an hour. 

Meanwhile grease 2 Madeleine tins and preheat the oven to 180 °C. When batter is ready, fill each mold with 1 tsp of batter. Bake for around 8-10 minutes (timing depends on tin size). 

Madeleines should be golden brown and puffed in the middle. Remove cakes from the oven and let it cool for couple of minutes on a rack or a tea towel. Dust with a icing sugar just before serving. 

Enjoy! 

**recipe and photos by Ollie Bo