France- Madeleines

A Little History:

Madeleines are a small shell shaped sponge cake from the Lorraine region of France. There are many stories about how the small cakes came to be. One story suggests that the cakes were made for a 19th century pastry chef Madeleine Paulmier. Another story is that the same pastry chef made them for Stanisław I Leszczyński, who enjoyed them so much that he named them after her. Madeleines are traditionally made using a genoise cake batter and in order for the cakes to be consider madeleines they have to be shell shaped. 

Ingredients:

• 2 free range eggs
• 100 grams caster sugar
• 100 grams of plain flour, including some for dusting
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 3/4 teaspoons of baking powder
• 100 grams of butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for greasing

For this recipe you have to have a Madeleine tin, you can get these on amazon, ebay or lake land. I got mine off amazon for £10, I also chose a silicone one as I prefer silicone to metal.

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade/ 400 F/ Gas 6. Melt a little butter and brush the madeleine tray, then sprinkle a little flour on and tap out the excess, this will stop the madeleines from sticking.

2. Whisk the eggs and the sugar together until they are frothy (mine looked a little bit like a milkshake, I highly suggest you don't drink it!). Then lightly whisk in the rest of the ingredients, then leave to stand for 20 minutes.

3. After 20 minutes, pour the mixture slowly into the tin, don't overfill the tin otherwise it will make it difficult to get it to the oven.  I tipped the mixture into a jug so I could control how much mixture went into the tin and it was a lot less messy as well. Put in the oven for 8-10 minutes (I put mine in for nine).

 

4. The cakes should look golden and should be risen in the middle. Transfer the madeleines to a wire tray and wait for them to cool slightly. These are best eaten within the hour of serving. 

These are delicious, sticky and very moreish! The perfect bake for a summers day! 

So that finishes France, I'll be sad to leave but we are going to Germany next and as someone who likes German cuisine I am excited to make some of the classic bakes that the country has to offer! 

Thank you for reading and send me pictures of any of the bakes that you have done off this blog!!!!

Thanks to the BBC for the recipe!