Browned Butter Madeleines

I got a madeleine pan for Christmas and decided to just jump in and try making a batch in the lull between Christmas and New Year's Eve. I find videos helpful when I need to learn a new technique, so I went to YouTube first. If you're here just for the recipe, I used this one over here. But I have things to say about making madeleines!

Inga from BuzzFeed recorded a video of her with Dominique Ansel, both being charming with one another, making matcha madeleines to hand out to the customers who lined up before the bakery opens. I didn't want to make a specific flavor for my first time, plus he chills the batter 12-18 hours, a long overnight (he says this is for the baking powder's sake.) He uses honey as well. "Not bad." One idea this gave me was that you may be able to easily make flavored madeleines with various flavored powders. He also uses browned butter, and fills the pan with a piping bag.

Kim-Joy, famous from the British Baking Show, had a few hints to making perfect madeleines on her basics video, including using the freezer to speed up the chilling time. Whisking 7 minutes is very important, because madeleines are a sponge cake, and this is crucial to the structure. She does a good job showing the difference between the original beating and the gentle mixing at the end. In a separate video, she shows how to make "pandaleines" using her usual cutesy vibe. I wasn't going to go super decorative in my first attempt but she made me feel I could do this in a shorter period of time. (There are step by step directions in her cookbook, Baking with Kim-Joy.)

Then I watched John at Preppy Kitchen make madeleines with browned butter and lemon. Some of what he did reinforced what I'd seen earlier, and his recipe was more straightforward. I think what I ended up doing was his ingredients plus using the cooking spray on the pan recommended by one of the other websites I consulted. If you watch his video, I'm not sure he's correct about Proust inventing the madeleine but that's a topic for another day.

So now I have this pan. Do you have any favorite madeleine recipes? I'd like to do a glaze or a dip in the next version I try.

 

Madeleines
(recipe courtesy of John at Preppy Kitchen)

Ingredients

• 7 tbsp unsalted butter (100g)
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 tbsp (100g) sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

• Melt the butter either in your microwave or in a small pot over medium heat. Browning the butter will add a lovely depth or flavor to the cakes but is of course optional. Once melted or browned pour the butter into a bowl and allow to cool.
• Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder into a bowl then whisk together and set aside.
• Add the eggs and sugar to the bowl or your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer. Beat on high until the mixture is a light yellow color with a thick silky texture, about 8-9 minutes. You'll see the beater leave trails when it's ready. Mix in the vanilla and lemon zest toward the end.
• Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and mix until just combined. You can sift the flour mixture into the eggs while you fold to avoid getting lumps or over-mixing the delicate batter.
• Drizzle the butter into the batter and gently mix until just combined.
• Cover and chill the batter as well as the buttered tins* for 1 hour then scoop one tablespoon of batter into each scallop-shaped well. Bake at 350F 8-10 minutes.
• Serve with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

 Notes from JennyBakes:

I am noting that the butter, sugar, and flour all weigh the same in this recipe - I think that's what makes these sponge cakes. The additional ingredients help a bit with texture and flavor.

I did not chill or butter my tins, but they were brand new - I washed and sprayed with non stick spray based on the recommendation I found elsewhere. They were easy to remove!