Words Wayne Good, images by Brydie Thompson
Madeleines are those great go to sweet treats that are just perfect with a coffee, and I eat MANY of these when I am in France. Infinitely easier to make than a macaron. You do need Madeleine tins, but once you have made this investment you can continue to make these delicious French morsels.
125g butter, plus 50g extra for greasing the tins
finely grated zest of an orange
3 large eggs (I’m using my duck eggs at the moment. Wonderful for baking)
½ cup caster sugar
pinch of salt
1¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
200g good dark chocolate
Melt the first quantity of butter in a pan and add the orange zest. Set aside to cool slightly.
Place the eggs, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl and beat for about 5 minutes or until pale and thick.
Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and gently fold through, ensuring all the dry ingredients are well mixed in. Fold through the butter.
Cover the mixture, and place overnight into the fridge. This is important to stop the Madeleines from being too spongy.
The following day, heat your oven to 180°C fan bake. Melt the 50g of extra butter and, using a brush, generously coat your Madeleine tins with butter. (I’ve tried using the spray oil, and this does not work.) Spoon the batter into each tin, about three-quarters full. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, ensuring they are starting to turn golden and are firm to the touch.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before carefully removing from the tin. You may need the point of a small knife to lift them carefully. Cool on a wire rack.
While they are cooling, melt the chocolate in a double boiler, over simmering water. Make sure that the bowl containing the chocolate does not come directly into contact with the simmering water, or else the chocolate will go funny and grainy.
Dip each Madeleine in the melted chocolate, only going halfway, and allow the excess chocolate to drip off, before placing onto a rack to set.
Enjoy!