My first attempt at making Proust's favorite cookie resulted in a complete failure. (Have you ever seen a recipe that doesn't mention Proust?) I place part of the blame on the recipe, which was obtained from Regan Daley's In the Sweet Kitchen, simply because nearly everything I try from this tabletop cookbook fails. I believe the problem was an abundance of moisture, thanks mostly to the heavy honey employed in the recipe. The madeleine came out as a dense scaloped pancake with little distinctive flavor. My dark non-stick pan also burned the edges unforgivably. Like I said, it was a complete failure.
For my second attempt, I wanted to start anew. I returned the madeleine mold to Williams-Sonoma and got the traditional shiny aluminum mold (not available online), which I stubbornly refused to buy the first time around despite several recomendations. I wanted these new madeleines to taste similar to the one available at Le Petit Mitron, my local supplier of Parisian sweets. Their madeleine is dense with flavor, with a hint of lemon to cut through the distinguished vanilla and butter flavor (my guess is they use clarified butter, which has no water and few milk solids*).
On Leite's Culinaria I located a recipe for Gourmet Magazine's version, which seemed like it would produce a light vanilla, pound-cakey madeleine. Plus, the process is ridiculously easy, more than I can say for many mulit-task madeleine recipes. One bowl and an electric mixer covers the supplies.
I've heard from a few sources, mostly French, that leaving the eggs out for at least an hour is best for madeleine recipes. When a room temperature egg is cracked, less mixing is required to whip the egg yolks and whites. Gourmet's recipe was different than others I'd found, in that the eggs weren't separated or whipped, but just blended with the sugar. Then the vanilla and orange peel are added, and finally the cup of all-purpose flour. The trouble here is mixing too much.
The batter looks and smells a lot like a simple butter cake, although it does have a heavenly Madagascar Bourbon vanilla flavor. I spooned the batter into the prepared pan and then into my 375-degrees oven they went. Some recipes call for a short rest in the refrigerator, which supposedly develops the cookie's hump by allowing it to relax the proteins (I think). You certainly could accomodate for that step with this recipe.
Finally it was time to taste. The vanilla flavor was less pronounced then I thought, but that was fine, because the orange peel was allowed to peak through. It tasted a little like a butter-cupcake, but the texture was tighter and smooth. Some of the sides were slightly singed, but the aluminum mold really did the job fine -- just make sure to butter the scalloped-edges. Now, go forth and make your own! (RECIPE BELOW, or hit link)
*Here's a link to Joy of Baking, which has a recipe that uses clarified butter (plus an explanation on how to make it from any old unsalted stick).
Madeleines
by Gourmet Magazine (found on recipe index at Leite's Culinaria)
I. Ingredients
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon grated lemon peel
A pinch of salt [Love the simplicity]
1 cup all-purpose flour [If you have the elusive cake flour, you could always use that too]
10 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Extra: powdered sugar to make them beautiful
II.
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Generously butter and flour a pan for
large madeleines (it should have twelve individual shells). Using an electric mixer, beat the
eggs and the sugar in a large bowl just to blend. Beat in the vanilla, lemon
peel and salt. Add the flour; beat just until blended. Gradually add the cooled
melted butter in a steady stream, beating just until blended.
2. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the batter into each indentation in the madeleine
pan. Bake until puffed and brown, about 16 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently
remove the cookies from the pan. Repeat the process, buttering and flouring pan
before each batch. (The cookies can be made 1 day ahead.)
3. Dust cookies with powdered sugar just before serving.
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