Tuesday, May 20, 2008

TWD - Madelines



This week’s TWD recipe is madelines. Madelines are small shell caked sponge like cakes. They are of French origin. I have made madelines a few times before – mainly because I bought the Madeline tray and have felt obliged to use it.

The ones we made this week were traditional. They were flavoured with lemon zest (rubbed into the sugar which is a fantastic way to impart the real oiliness of the lemon zest into the cakes) and a dash of vanilla. In the past I have made chocolate ones and also rose scented. The recipe worked out great – my shells kept their shape and were nicely crusted on the outside. I think the trick of chilling the mixture before baking helped them keep their shape. The madelines are best eaten within a few hours of making and in my mind, are probably best when there is still some residual warmth from baking.



I find these to be quite plain little cakes – as they are intended to be. However, I think I prefer to eat them with something to jazz them up a bit – like whipped cream or jam. I actually froze them when I made them on Saturday. Last night our architect coming round, so I defrosted them and dipped the ends in some warmed ganache I had left over from some tarts I made in the weekend. They were really delicious and came through the freezing process extremely well!



See the other TWDers’ madelines here.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dipping them in chocolate sounds like a great idea, they look so good. It's good to know that they can be frozen, too. Very cool.

steph- whisk/spoon said...

mmmm...ganache....delicious! they look great on those beautiful plates!

Engineer Baker said...

Freezing - brilliant! Such cute lil madeleines too!

Gretchen Noelle said...

ooohhh....warm ganache! How delicious were those!

PheMom said...

Mmmm... I am so in for the ganache dipped ones! Beautiful job!

Bumblebutton said...

They are so pretty, and the ganache looks dipped just enough. Perfect!

Anonymous said...

these look great, I wanted to try this recipe as have never made or even tasted madeleines actually, but alas no tin...

mimi said...

ooh, look at the ones dipped in ganache! i bet that was tasty!

Cheryl said...

Yummy! With chocolate! Great idea!

noskos said...

They look fabulous!

Mumsy said...

Love the chocolate! Great job!

Jacque said...

I wondered if they would be plain in taste. Great idea with the ganache!

Casa Costello said...

What a fab tip to freeze - These would be great for unexpected guests! Hx

Anonymous said...

Mmm, love the chocolate dipped ones!! Looks gorgeous!

Lori said...

Love the chocolate semi dip. Very cute.

ostwestwind said...

You made Bärentatzen, bear's paws :-), my favourite cookies as a child. Looks great!

Ulrike from Küchenlatein

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear that they freeze well, as I have to freeze a LOT of baked goods around my house!

Christine said...

Love the ones dipped in chocolate! Yummy!

Garrett said...

Dipping in chocolate sounds like such a simple, but delicious addition. I'll have to keep that in mind for the next batch.

Anonymous said...

Rose scented? Ooh, that sounds good.

CB said...

Glad to read they freeze well. Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Jaime said...

love the ones dipped in chocolate!

Mari said...

Chocolate dipped madeleines would make some of my friends really happy! Excellent news that they freeze well too, thanks for sharing!

LyB said...

Your madeleines look wonderful. I haven't tried them dipped in chocolate yet, but I certainly will try a few with my next batch!

Cakelaw said...

Your madeleins are pciture perfect - lovely!

Anonymous said...

you never gave the recipe
in the USA a mass produce bakery called Entenman's just came out with Madelines and they are just divine. LISA USA-NJ