Almond Madeleines with Lavender

by Patsy Jamieson

I have to admit that I am a little obsessed with madeleines, the shell-shaped tea cakes made famous in the French writer Marcel Proust’s novel Remembrance of Things Past. With their crispy exterior and tender, cakey center, these small cakes are irresistible. I am partial to madeleines flavored with lavender, but the recipe lends itself to delicious variations and I have included some of my favorites below the recipe.

To make madeleines, you need a special pan to create the distinctive shell shape. The first madeleine pan I owned was made with stainless steel, and I had some trouble with sticking. However, I found that if I buttered the molds carefully, dusted them with flour and unmolded the madeleines as soon as they came out of the oven, they released fairly well. I recently upgraded my madeleine pan to a modern nonstick one, and sticking is not an issue at all. Nonstick madeleine pans are now widely available at cookware shops and online and you can find them for less than $15.00. I recommend that you use a metal rather than silicone pan. A silicone pan will not produce the appealing crispy edges. But if you don’t have a madeleine pan, you can use a mini-muffin pan; adjust the baking time as necessary.

 Another challenge I faced in my quest to make a perfect madeleine was to obtain the signature hump. A little internet research revealed that the hump develops when the cold batter meets the heat of the oven. To achieve the elusive hump, I chill the batter thoroughly prior to baking. As the batter needs to chill for at least two hours before baking, plan accordingly. But this chilling time is actually convenient because you can pop the madeleines into the oven shortly before serving. There is nothing better than a fresh-from-the-oven madeleine! If your madeleines don’t form a hump, don’t worry. They will still be delicious.

 While you can enrich your madeleine batter with simple melted butter, I prefer to continue to cook the butter until the milk solids turn brown and a nutty aroma develops. This brown butter, called beurre noisette in French, enhances the butter flavor.

Madeleines are a quintessentially French treat, but they have recently become popular in North America. You can find them at many supermarkets, and even Costco.  However, storebought madeleines do not compare with the ones you make at home. So, put the kettle on, brew some tea, and enjoy your homemade madeleines !

Yield: about 18 madeleines.

Special equipment: madeleine pan or mini muffin pan

Ingredients

2 large eggs

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, plus softened butter for coating molds

4 teaspoons dried culinary lavender buds (see Ingredient Note)

½ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for preparing the molds

¼ cup almond flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup sliced almonds (optional)

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

Preparation

1. Place the uncracked eggs in a bowl of warm water to come to room temperature.

2. Heat 6 tablespoons butter in a small heavy saucepan (not a dark colored pan) over low heat until melted. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the milk solids are brown and the butter develops a nutty aroma, 3 to 6 minutes. Pour the brown butter into a small heatproof bowl and let cool. (To cool butter quickly, set the bowl in a larger pan of cold water.)

3. Grind the lavender buds in a spice mill (such as a clean coffee grinder reserved for spices).

4. Whisk the flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

5. Crack the eggs in a medium mixing bowl. Add the sugar and beat with a portable electric mixer at medium-high speed until thickened and pale in color, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the lavender and vanilla. (You can also use a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment to beat the eggs and sugar, but a portable mixer and medium mixing bowl can be more convenient because the bowl takes up less space in the fridge.) Fold in the flour mixture with a flexible spatula. Slowly, fold in the cooled brown butter. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for up to 24 hours.

6. When you are ready to bake, position rack in the center of the oven; preheat to 400ºF. Use a pastry brush to coat the madeleine molds evenly with softened butter. Dust the molds with flour and tap out the excess. Spoon the batter by scant tablespoonfuls into chilled prepared molds, filling each one about three-quarters full. Sprinkle the sliced almonds over top, if desired.

7. Bake until the tops spring back lightly when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 11 to 14 minutes. Immediately, turn the madeleines out onto a rack to cool. Tap the madeleine pan on the counter to dislodge madeleines, if necessary. To use up any additional better, cool the pans, clean them and reapply the butter and flour before filling the molds. (Madeleines are best the day they are made —although day-old madeleines are tasty dunked in hot tea of coffee. For longer storage, freeze madeleines in an airtight container or zip-close bag.) Shortly before serving, dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

Variations:

 Almond Madeleines. Omit the lavender. Add ¼ teaspoon almond extract when you add the vanilla.

 Lemon Madeleines: Omit the lavender. Add 2 teaspoons lemon zest to the eggs and sugar in Step 5.

 Pistachio and Cardamom Madeleines with White Chocolate: Omit the lavender. Add ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom to the flour mixture in Step 4. If you don’t plan to dip the madeleines in white chocolate, sprinkle with chopped shelled pistachios in Step 6. To coat the madeleines with white chocolate, dip half of each cooled, baked madeleine in melted white chocolate. Sprinkle with pistachios, then place in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

 Hazelnut and Orange Madeleines with Dark Chocolate. Omit the lavender. Substitute hazelnut flour for almond flour in Step 4. Add 2 teaspoons orange zest to the eggs and sugar in Step 5. If you don’t plan to dip the madeleines in dark chocolate, sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts in Step 7. To coat the madeleines with dark chocolate, dip half of each cooled, baked madeleine in melted dark chocolate. Sprinkle with hazelnuts, then place in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

Ingredient Note: Be sure to use lavender intended for culinary use. That way, you can be sure that it has not been treated with harmful pesticides. Some varieties of lavender are grown for cosmetic and aroma therapy uses and have a high camphor content, which may have a strong medicinal flavor. In recipes for baked goods, grind the lavender is a spice mill, such as a clean coffee grinder. You can find culinary lavender in the bulk section of natural foods stores like City Market in Burlington and online. I purchased this container of dried lavender buds at Atwater Market in Montreal.