Lavender Madeleines

Madeleines are small French tea cakes with a distinctive shell-like shape on one side (acquired from being baked in pans with shell-shaped depressions), and a smooth, with a hump, on the other side.

Made famous by Marcel Proust, these freshly baked buttery little French cakes go very well with a cup of tea or coffee. One thing to note before starting to bake is the preparation of the baking pan that gives Madeleines their distinctive shape. Do butter and flour the pans properly so that the baked Madeleines can be removed easily. For a more pronounced characteristic 'hump', you can chill the batter at least 1/2 hour before using. The batter can be stored covered in the fridge for about 3 days.

For this bake, I am trying out this Lavender Madeleine recipe from Just One CookBook since I have bought some culinary lavender recently.

Lavender Madeleines

recipe from Just One CookBook

makes 12

Ingredients:

115g all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbspn culinary lavender, crushed to release its fragrance

2 large eggs, at room temperature

75g sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

115g butter, melted

Extra butter and flour for greasing and dusting pan

Confectioners sugar (Optional)

Method:

1. Grease and flour a Madeleine pan well.

2. Preheat oven to 190°C.

3. Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in lavender. Set aside.

4. Beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

5. Add flour mixture and melted butter.

6. Gently fold in flour and butter until well incorporated.

7. Spoon batter into each pan mold until almost full.

8. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the centers spring back when lightly touched. Do not over bake.

9. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Turn the pan over and give it a light tap to unmold.

10. Cool on rack, shell side up.

11. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve with tea or coffee.

Note:

For a more pronounced “hump” appearance, cover batter and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Then spoon batter into prepared mold, leaving batter mounded in the center.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe

Do link back to LY's Kitchen Ventures if you have used any information published in this blog.