Recipe Credit: Dorie Greenspan
Traditional madeleines are among the most recognizable pastries in the French repertoire because of their look: They’re made in scallop-shaped molds from which they emerge ridged on one side, plump and full-bellied on the other and golden. That they are among the best known is thanks to the French author, Marcel Proust, who immortalized them in his novel In Search of Lost Time. The story of Proust’s narrator dipping the cookie into his tea and having that first taste bring back a flood of childhood memories is known by so many. With that short entry, Proust and the madeleine gained such celebrity that even people who’ve never tasted the cookie refer to it with confidence as a touchstone. Yet, when you take away all the literary allusions and all the romance, what you’re left with is a tea cake that deserves to be famous for its deliciousness alone.
It’s because it is so intrinsically lovely that changing the shape of the cake does nothing to diminish its pleasures. And so, while this recipe will make beautiful, scalloped tea cakes with prodigious humps and lovely ridges, it also makes exceptionally good mini muffin-shaped cakes. The mini mads have the classic’s bump, but because that bump sits on a baby-muffin base, it’s more like a roly-poly topknot, and the cake is more like an anytime treat than a sophisticated pastry. I take that as a good thing.
Oh, and just to set the record straight, while it’s Proust who gets all the credit for making madeleines a household name, the honor really belongs to King Stanislas Leszcynski of Poland, who, in the eighteenth century, tasted a tea cake made by a local woman in Commercy, France. He was so delighted with the cake that he named it after the baker, Madeleine.
GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START
Oven: The recipe was tested in a conventional/non-fan oven.
Flour: In my recipes, 1 cup all-purpose flour equals 136 grams.
The butter: Madeleines can be made with butter that’s just melted or with butter that has been cooked until it’s browned. In French, this is called beurre noisette because the fragrance of the cooked butter is reminiscent of hazelnuts (noisettes). If you decide to use brown butter, start with an additional 1 1/2 tablespoons (about 21 grams) of butter.
Resting/Chilling: Because of the baking powder in this recipe, you can use the batter as soon as it’s mixed, but the flavor, texture and appearance of the little cakes improve if you chill the batter for at least 1 hour. You can keep the batter in the refrigerator for up to 3 days – press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter to create an airtight seal.
Prepping the pans: I think you get better color when you butter and flour the molds, but baker’s spray is fast and easy and turns out pretty little cakes.
Portioning: Traditionally, the batter is piped into the pans, but you can also portion out the batter using a cookie scoop with a capacity of about 2 teaspoons (the equivalent of a size 60 portioner).
Makes 24 mini-muffin madeleines
Ingredients:
- 91 grams (6 1/2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into chunks (see above)
- 102 grams (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour (see above)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 67 grams (1/3 cup) sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Direction:
Melt the butter and keep it warm while you make the batter. If you want to brown the butter, place it in a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let it bubble gently until you catch the aroma of nuts and it has turned golden brown. There may be darker bits on the bottom of the pan and that’s just fine. Measure out 91 grams of the butter and keep warm.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Put the sugar in a large bowl and, one by one, whisk in the eggs, then beat with a little energy until the mixture pales and thickens a bit. Whisk in the milk, honey and vanilla. Switch to a flexible spatula and gently stir the flour mixture into the batter in two to three additions, scraping the bowl as needed.
Still working with the spatula and a light touch, fold the warm butter into the batter in three to four portions. You’ll have a lovely thick batter with a sheen.
You can bake the batter now, chill it for at least 1 hour (good, if you’ve got the time), or hold it for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. If you’re refrigerating the batter, press a piece of plastic wrap directly against the surface to create an airtight seal.
When you’re ready to bake: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Center the rack if you’re using one pan; divide the oven into thirds if you have two pans so that each pan is on its own rack. Generously butter the mini-muffin molds, dust the interiors with flour and tap out the excess. Alternatively, you can use baker’s spray.
Divide the batter evenly among the molds, either piping the batter into the cups or using a cookie scoop – the batter will come halfway up the sides of the molds and that’s fine.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are golden brown around the edges and puffed in the center. They’ll feel springy to the touch and a tester inserted into the center of the cakes
will come out clean. As soon as you take the pan out of the oven, rap it against the counter to loosen the madeleines. If any stick, gently pry them out with a table knife.
Serve now, when they’re still warm, or let cool on a rack and serve at room temperature.
STORING:
The madeleines can be kept covered for up to 2 days at room temperature. They will get denser, but their taste will still be good. They can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 1 month.