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Madeleines
Shell-shaped butter sponges from Commercy with a little hump
Madeleines come from Commercy, a small town in Lorraine, where they've been sold in boxes to travellers since the 1700s, and Proust made them famous dipped in lime-blossom tea. These little scallop-shaped sponges are crisp and golden at the edges, soft and buttery inside, and should have a proud hump on the back. French children eat them for goûter, the after-school snack, and they are best within an hour of baking. You'll need a madeleine tin. Chef's tip: chill the batter and the buttered tin before baking; putting room-temperature batter in a warm tin is the common mistake and the madeleines come out flat with no hump.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- 3 ½ oz butterplus 15 g softened for the tin
- 2 eggsat room temperature
- 3 ⅛ oz caster sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp lemon zestfinely grated
- 3 ½ oz plain flourplus extra for the tin
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp icing sugar (optional)to dust
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Melt 3 ½ oz butter in a small pan over a low heat and let it cool until just warm.
Step 2: Whisk 2 eggs, 3 ⅛ oz caster sugar, 1 tbsp honey and 1 tsp lemon zest with an electric whisk for 4–5 minutes, until pale, thick and doubled in volume.
5 minStep 3: Sift in 3 ½ oz plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 pinch salt and fold gently. Fold in the cooled butter until smooth. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour (or up to a day).
Step 4: Brush a 12-hole madeleine tin with softened butter, dust with flour, tap out the excess and chill the tin.
Step 5: Heat the oven to 400°F (375°F fan). Spoon a heaped tablespoon of batter into each shell, about three-quarters full; don't spread it.
Step 6: Bake for 5 minutes, then lower the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and bake 4–5 minutes more, until a hump has formed and the edges are golden brown and spring back when pressed.
10 minStep 7: Tap out of the tin straight away onto a rack. Dust with 1 tbsp icing sugar and eat warm.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 150 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 16 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
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Good to know
- How long does madeleines take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
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