Madeleines

Contrary to existing assumptions, I actually do sleep at night (bake at midnight a few times and you get this strange reputation). Granted, not always as much as other people or as long; or even as deeply as I’d like, but I do sleep. Over the last few days I’ve been sorely lacking in good sleep as I’ve been visiting Hubby and keeping time with his hours – not good as he’s been waking as early as 4:45 and sleeping as late as 11:00. When I got on the plane this morning to return to Atlanta, I really felt debilitated by lack of sleep, an unquiet mind (the OCD and ADD fighting for control as I was in a weakened state) and a distinct sense of malaise. It’s partly due to having to be separated from Hubby again until the end of the month; interminable, after having already been mostly separated (which isn’t the same as all separated) for the last several months; and partly due from external stresses which have intruded upon my happy-go-lucky little self in the last few weeks. That I haven’t had a proper meal in five days, subsisting almost solely on little more than junk food has also wreaked havoc with my system.

I'm more fortified now; Chris fed me when I popped into MF Sushibar to kill the layover time and I got to download my email. One in particular cheered me: my sister Souris and her husband Silvio have been renovating their kitchen. Now boasting state of the art appliances and exquisite countertops (and space), she has been having fun cooking at full speed again. After years of being mixer-deprived (on a notable occasion, when I was giving her instructions on making a cream cheese frosting and wrote, “Mix on high speed for 5-7 minutes,” she wrote back: “I only have one speed. I’m doing this by hand.”), she has decided to pick up a Kitchen Aid. She solicited advice from our sister Kaly on what to buy. Kaly included with her response a very tasty-sounding recipe for madeleines.

I'm currently on my way to San Francisco; and after dinner tonight at Bacar with colleagues, I am going to see if Wendy and Jesse can meet up with me for more culinary adventures. Maybe they'll let me use their kitchen to bake these madeleines. Although technically, they're three hours behind so I'd still be baking at midnight, wouldn't I?

Kaly's email:

Regarding the madeleines, do not change the proportions of the ingredients (you know, add more butter, take away the sugar, etc.). Emily Luchetti, whose book I got this recipe from, is a genius and this is the perfect madeleine. Follow it exactly and you will always get perfect madeleines that taste like they came from Paris. Also make sure you have a separate dry measuring cups for the dry ingredients and a liquid measuring cup for liquids. Dry ingredients (e.g., flour) should never be measured in liquid measuring cups.

Excuse all my side comments in the recipe, but it's stuff I learned while making these every week and they help.

I know the directions seem long because of my commentary, but by the second time you make these, you'll see that it takes about less than 10 minutes to make the batter and 10 more minutes you have warm, good madeleines for Silvio's coffee.

Bon Appetit! Call me if you need anything.

Brown Butter Madeleines

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
2 tablespoons soft sweet butter (this is for spreading in the pan but you don't need it since you have silicone)
¾ cups flour
4 large eggs
pinch salt
2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon chopped/grated lemon zest (peel of 1 lemon is sufficient)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (always use real vanilla, not imitation)
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melt the 6 ounces of butter (that's all 1 ½ sticks -- a stick of butter is 4 ounces) in a small pot. Heat butter over medium heat until it is brown and gives off a nutty aroma. Strain (I always put a piece of Bounty into a pyrex liquid measuring cup and just pour the butter in the cup through the Bounty. It keeps the gunk out and then I use the butter-soaked paper to wipe down my madeleine molds. Again, you don't need that step since you have silicone) and cool the butter to room temperature (by the time you finish whipping all the stuff together the butter is ready to go in -- do this step first so you can put it aside)

Butter the madeleine molds and dust the flour (you don't need to do this -- silicone!). Invert pan and tap out any excess flour.

Put the eggs with the salt in the bowl of an electric mixer (since you don't have one yet, use your hand held mixer and use the speeds mentioned). Whip on high speed until thick, about 3 minutes. Continuing to mix on high speed, slowly add the sugar in a steady stream and whip for 2 minutes until mixture is thick and ribbony. Decrease to low speed and add the lemon zest and vanilla (just until mixed).

By hand, fold 1/3 of the flour into batter, followed by 1/3 of melted butter. Continue folding the remaining flour and butter, 1/2 at a time, into the batter. (FOLDING means: Just put the flour or butter in and using a rubber spatula, gently lift and fold flour or butter in batter -- up, down and over motion, "folding" the batter onto itself, not in a circle like when you normally stir)

Spoon the batter into the molds, filling them 2/3 - 3/4 full (I just use a big dinner tablespoon)

Bake the madeleines for about 10 minutes, until golden brown (I find depending on your oven, that 11-12 minutes is closer -- look for a gold-brown on the bottom and a darker lemon color for the top of the cookie). Remove from the oven and unmold immediately (with your silicone a slight twist of the mold and dump should do the trick). Place on cooling racks. Dust with powdered sugar

Comments

[tanvi]

I adore madelines but dont own a madeline pan. I need to remedy that, and fast, so that I can try this recipe. Thanks to you and your sister for sharing the recipe!

[Cath]

Hi Tanvi! This recipe really is terrific -- less than 30 minutes for a plate of warm cookies! I'm not a huge fan of the silicone molds but my sister Souris had great results with hers. She has a Le Creuset and I have a Kitchen Aid (I was suckered in by the bright red color). Our sister Kaly has a traditional mold and swears she's never using anything else. Let me know how your madeleines come out!