Lemon Madeleines

Makes 12 mac/e/eines

SERVING: Generally
served with tea, madeleines
are good at any time of day
or night, with anything from
coffee to Cognac. They are
a delight warm or at room
temperature and even still
nice when they're slightly
staleand perfect for
dunking.
STORING: You can make
the batter up to 2 days
ahead and keep it covered
in the refrigerator, but once
baked, madeleines are best
the day they're baked.

ADELEINES ARE THE NE PLUS ULTRA ofteacakes. Made with a but-1

tery whole-egg sponge cake batter, spooned into shell-shaped molds!
and baked until they turn golden on their shell side and grow a large bump OBJ
their bellies, madeleines have long been a touchstone sweet among patissici
and pastry lovers.
I don't know if the bosse, the "bump" or "hump," was as iconic in t
eighteenth centurythe time when madeleines were first madeas it i
today, but that dome has become the holy grail of madeleine bakers. And,l:
everyone else, I'm a seeker. I'd been making madeleines almost forever a
then, in one year, mine took a giant leap, thanks to tips from two of Paris'^
most talented pastry chefs: Philippe Conticini of Patisserie des Reves;
Fabrice Le Bourdat of Ble Sucre.
Philippe taught me to bake the chilled batter in a cold pan on a very 1
baking sheetit mimics the heat of a baker's hearth oven, the way a piz;
stone does. Because of this tiny but monumental tweak, my madeleinesl
which had always had respectable bumps, are now so bumpy they're in i
ger of rolling over from top-hump heaviness.
It was Fabrice who showed me how to glaze madeleines, accentuatingtl
domes. It's true that the cakes are luscious unadorned and pretty with justi
dusting of confectioners' sugar, but they're almost jewel-like and even morel
elegant when glazed.
Merci, mes cherspdtissiers.

FOR THE M A D E L E I N E S
2/3

cup (90 grams) all-purpose

flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
]A

teaspoon fleur de sel or a

pinch of fine sea salt

Vs cup (67 grams) sugar

1 stick (8 tablespoons;
4 ounces; 113 grams)
unsalted butter, melted
and still warm
2 tablespoons whole milk
Confectioners' sugar, for
dusting (optional)

Finely grated zest of i lemon

2 large eggs, at room
temperature
i tablespoon honey
i teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE GLAZE (OPTIONAL)

i cup (120 grams)

confectioners' sugar, sifted
About V4 cup (60 ml) freshly
squeezed lemon juice

TO MAKE THE M A D E L E I N E S : Whisk together the flour, baking powder a

salt together in a small bowl; set aside.
Working in a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together'

212

B A K I N G C H E Z MOI

your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs and'
energetically. You want the egg-sugar mixture to thicken ever so slightly a
pale just a little; this could take a couple of minutes (if you'd like, you<
use a mixer). When the whisk leaves tracks, beat in the honey and'
Using a gentler touchand a flexible spatula, if you'd likefold inithec
1
ingredients, folding only until they disappear into the batter. Finally, foldii
the warm melted butter and, when it's incorporated, the milk. You'll have a
smooth, shiny batter. Press a piece of plastic film against the surface of ti
batter and chill for at least i hour. ( The batter can be kept in the refrigerator j(
up to 2 days.}
An hour or so before you're ready to bake, butter the molds of a n-sl
madeleine pan, dust with flour and tap out the excess. Even if you have i
stick or silicone madeleine molds, it's a good idea to give them the bull
flour treatment. (Alternatively, you can use baker's spray.)
Spoon the batter into the moldsdon't worry about spreading it evenly;
the oven's heat will take care of thatand refrigerate for i hour more. (Yen
can cover the batter lightly with a sheet of wax or parchment paper, but inev-i
itably some of the batter will stick, so I leave the pan bare.)
WEHN YOU'RE READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven, put;
heavy baking sheet on the rack and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the madeleine pan on the hot baking sheet and bake for n i
13 minutes, or until the cakes are golden and the big bumps on their i
spring back when touched. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately!
release the madeleines from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against!
the counter. Gently pry any recalcitrant madeleines from the pan using youtl
fingers or a table knife. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow them to cooltoi
room temperature. (If you're not glazing them, you can serve them warm,!
Unglazed madeleines are nice with a dusting of confectioners' sugar.)
TO GLAZE THE MADELEINES: Center a rack in the oven and preheatt
oven to 500 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil andputl
cooling rack on it.
Put the confectioners' sugar in a bowl that's large enough to allow youtoi
dip the madeleines into the glaze. Whisk in the lemon juice a little at a t
until you get a glaze that's about as thick as heavy cream. (You'll have i
glaze than you need, but it's hard to work with a smaller amount.)
One by one, dip (don't soak) the bump side of each madeleine in t
glaze and put them bump side up on the cooling rack. Slide them in
oven, close the door and stay put: It takes i to 3 minutes for the glaze to me)
and coat the madeleines, and you want to be there to pull them out oft
oven at the first sign of a bubble in the glaze. Remove from the oven, liftt
hot cooling rack with the cakes onto another cooling rack, to protect ]
countertop, and let cool to room temperature.

214

BAKING CHEZ

MOI