Tuesday 20 May 2008

TWD - Madeleine Flavoured Blobs!


Yes, I know they look nothing like traditional madeleines - I couldn't find a tin anywhere (not even TK Maxx and they normally come up trumps for everything!) But me being me couldn't leave the shop without buying at least one tin so voila! Madeleine flavoured blobs!

This week's choice of traditional madeleines (P167 Baking:From My Home to Yours) was from Tara from Smells Like Home. For once a recipe that doesn't yield enough for the street and doesn't cost a fortune (well, it wouldn't if I didn't buy a new tin every time I baked!)

Results - Tasty but not earth-shattering - they just tasted like the remnants of cake I cut off celebration cakes each week to level them.

Scores: I am on my own this week as they were so quick to make no-one is home from work/school yet - and I may eat them all before they get home!

Taste: 8 out of 10
Ingredients: 10 out of 10
Ease to prepare: 9 out of 10 (Only took 9 mins in the oven but had to do Dorie's signature chill in the fridge for 3 hours first!)

Recipe follows below - I used Self-raising flour and did away with the baking powder and salt.

Traditional Madeleines

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 stick (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Working in a mixer bowl, or in a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl. Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick, and light, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the better form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines.

(For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the Madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge; see below for instructions on prepping the pan.)

Getting ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds, or up to 36 mini madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick pan, give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, no prep is needed. Place the pan(s) on a baking sheet.

Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don't worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven's heat will take care of that. Bake large Madeleines for 11-13 minutes, and minis for 8-10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the madeleines from the mods by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any recalcitrant madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

If you are making minis and have more batter, bake the next batch(Es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the pans before baking.

Just before serving, dust the madeleines with confectioner's sugar.

24 comments:

Engineer Baker said...

I love the label for this post. So funny!

Bumblebutton said...

Super cute blobs! And I like your ratings!

Rebecca of "Ezra Pound Cake" said...

Ha! They worked! Awesome. Dorie and her multiple pans ...

Rebecca
http://www.ezrapoundcake.com

Madam Chow said...

I like your kabob idea - at least yours were edible!

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

The shape doesn't really matter I don't think, as long as they are light and spongey... Look great!

CB said...

I'll bob for those cookies anyday! HAHA! Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Sharon said...

I agree that the ingredients at least weren't too costly -- if you had the pan.

Marie Rayner said...

LOL I had a big chuckle when I saw your picture! Love the title too. They do look rather tasty though. Kudos to you for trying! I did muffins but am now wishing I had made the madeleines. It seems they worked well for lots of pople without the pan anyways!

Dianne's Dishes said...

Cute blobs!

mimi said...

what cute blobs! they came out looking great!

Chris said...

Tastiest looking blobs I have ever seen! :)

Cheryl said...

Awesome blobs!

LyB said...

Those are so cute, I wish you'd posted a picture of your pan so I'd know what to look for on my next trip to the kitchen store! ;)

Gretchen Noelle said...

Lovely blobs. Have you tried them with coffee or tea? I found them better with a hot drink.

Susan @ SGCC said...

Hey! Those little blobs are adorable! They look like gum drops!

Annemarie said...

Way to be creative with it!!

Dolores said...

I think your madeleine blobs are beautiful. And who *doesn't* need a new cake tin with every baking adventure?

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

Love your madeleine blobs! Very cute stacked like a kebab.

Mumsy said...

Those are darling! I absolutely love them!

kimberly salem said...

the blobs are very cute! :) love the vertical stack, very creative!

Jayne said...

I think your blobs are going to start a new trend. Very cool!

marae said...

these are so cute Helen...see I'm leaving a comment, not just lurking and reading. :) i love comments too so i hear ya!

Cecilia said...

What kind of pan did you use to get little blobs? They might not be the traditional shells, but they still look yummy.

Jenny said...

Hehe I love the shape! And calling them blobs certainly makes them more kid friendly.