Not many things beat a gift box of homemade goodies especially when they’re madeleines. Delicate, pretty, elegant and gorgeous. A sweet crusty cinnamon-sugar coated Parisian madeleine is the personification of a classy French lady. I baked a fresh batch of these the morning before visiting an old and very special friend (you know who you are) to take as a gift.
Makes about 12
- 100g unsalted butter, melted
- 100g caster sugar
- 100g plain flour
- 1 level tsp baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- Grated zest 1 lemon
- 50g blackcurrants/blueberries
- 50-100g cinnamon sugar (made with a ratio of 1 large tbsp: 300g golden granulate sugar)
- Whisk the eggs and the caster sugar together until pale and creamy.
- Add the flour, baking powder and lemon zest and lightly whisk in with the melted butter to prevent overdeveloping the gluten. Mix in the berries.
- Set aside for anywhere up to 3 hours. Apparently, the longer you leave the batter to chill the better as it chills and hydrates the flour. This helps to give you that bump on the back that is characteristic of a madeleine.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease your madeleine tray with a little melted butter and a dusting of flour if it is liable to sticking..
- Fill the moulds making sure you don’t overfill. The mixture will settle into place in the oven so don’t worry about smoothing them out.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on how big you made them and how large your madeleine pan is.
- Once golden and cooked, remove from the oven and, while warm, coat in a generous blanket of cinnamon sugar and then leave to cool on a wire rack before eating
- Best eaten fresh on the day or the sugar will make them sticky. Try with some cream/creme friache and some slow roasted strawberries.
