![]() ![]() A tip-off from Greenspan, following conversations with two Parisian pastry chefs, makes more of a difference: not only does she rest and chill the batter before piping it into the moulds, but she chills it in the tin, too, and then slides this on to a hot baking sheet. The idea of resting is to hydrate the flour, which thickens the batter, and is supposed to give the cakes their characteristic little bump – though I must say, Pizey’s boast a rather impressive shape without it. Roux goes for a more moderate 30 minutes, while Audot and Pizey bake theirs immediately. Rouxel and Gellatly both rest their batters before baking, overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian Resting, preparing the tin and piping Roux and Rouxel are the only ones to specify the addition of a little salt – and, as ever, a pinch makes all the difference. I particularly like the flavour of the first with honey, but the zests are also rather lovely – better, in my opinion, and certainly more distinctive than Roux’s vanilla extract, which makes his madeleines taste rather generically of “sponge”. Audot uses orange blossom water and lemon zest, and Pizey uses orange zest, too. Flavouring?Ĭitrussy additions are common in madeleine recipes. FlourĪudot calls for fine cake flour, but the plain variety, thoroughly sifted, does the job just as well. Though not strictly traditional, it is common enough to allow me to include without worrying I’ll never be able to holiday in France again, and it certainly helps keep the cakes nice and soft. Roux, Gellatly and Rouxel also all use honey, I suspect as much for the moisture it gives as its lovely flavour. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the Guardian (He also adds milk to his batter, resulting in a damp, almost crumpet-like texture that I’m rather less keen on.) SweetenerĪudot and Pizey both use straight caster sugar, while Roux and Rouxel mix theirs with dark brown sugar and Gellatly goes for a mixture of caster and demerara, which I think works best with the toasty flavour of the butter – toffee-like, but without a hint of bitterness. Only the recipe in Roger Pizey’s World’s Best Cakes suggests this step, but I love the extra dimension it lends to what is otherwise a fairly simple, if distinctively shaped, little sponge. That said, the traditional madeleines of Commercy, where Leszczyński’s peasant is said to have resided, are made with beurre noisette, butter that has been browned to give it a nutty flavour. Those attracted by the first and possibly older variety will be well served by Audot’s recipe, but I happen to think the latter goes better with a cup of tea. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the GuardianĬlearly, there is a trade off between flavour and texture – madeleines can either be delicate in both respects, or rich, soft and moist. More modern instructions rely on baking powder, which, though no doubt frowned upon by purists, helps to give the madeleines their distinctive bulbous profile: like a camel, they stand or fall on their humps – Dorie Greenspan calls la bosse – the bump – “the holy grail of madeleine bakers”. According to the Oxford Companion to Food, they would traditionally have been leavened with beaten egg whites, as in the recipe Geraldene Holt includes in her classic book of Cakes, which is taken from Louis-Eustache Audot’s 1858 La cuisinière de la campagne et de la ville. The most significant difference in the recipes I dig up is the raising agent responsible for the madeleine’s characteristic fluffy texture. (Serving suggestion courtesy of Marcel Proust.) Raising agent ![]() ![]() Wherever they came from originally, I know where they’re going – straight into my cup of tea. Some credit them to Talleyrand’s personal chef, others to a peasant woman named Madeleine whose baking attracted the attention and championing of the Duke of Lorraine, Stanisław Leszczyński. The pre-Proustian origins of the madeleine are a mystery.
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