Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Proust, Madeleines...and Me

Well, it's gotten so I am pretty much really looking forward to my Tuesdays with Dorie Baking sessions. This week the chosen recipe was classic Madeleines...Mmmm. Butter, a hint of lemon, nothing fussy. Right up my ally. Of course, the variations Dorie names look pretty enticing, too: Earl Grey, Lavender, Rosemary/orange, spiced and FLUFF FILLED CHOCOLATE MADELEINES...Sorry, did I yell that? Dorie likens it to a Hostess cupcake, and while that may be a stretch (no disprespect to Hostess, just more kudos to Dorie for being modest), I think that may be an interim experiment. Who knew? All of a sudden, I am a baker.

Once again, the recipe is simple, ingredients happen to be things I actually have in my cupboard. No special trips needed, not even for the pan, if you can believe it. Florida Table did a pumpkin Madeleine last fall and I bought (and didn't expense, in case anyone from the magazine is reading!) a silicone Madeleine pan...(mine is not quite this one, but you get the idea)...my only piece of silicone..I'd say it came in handy in this case because of the ease with which the mads fell out of the pan...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

First, the simple ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, lemon zest, eggs, vanilla and melted butter.



Whisk, mix, then this difficult instruction: let it sit for at least three hours. Mine sat overnight, so bright and early Sunday morning, I was baking. Isn't my family special?












You can see I was a bit zealous filling one or two of the molds, but mostly it was all good.












This photo shows that mound that Dorie says is what all those hours resting in the fridge do for the batter....


My pan is for eight. The recipe is for 12. What is up with that??? But it was the easiest thing in the world to give them a gentle push and to pop them out of the pan.





Mmmm. Mounds of Madeleines. Four went to my friend's son, Michael, who likes Madeleines above all else. I hope you liked these better than that famous coffee house's mads, you know the place, it starts with an S and ends with bucks...Say these were better, Michael, or no more baked goods come your way!!!

Mmm. Proust, Madeleines and me...now where is that copy of Proust I had lying around here? Oh, forget it. Just me and my Madeleines...

17 comments:

Linda said...

Those Starbucks cookies don't even come close to these...I'm glad you enjoyed them!

Gretchen Noelle said...

Lovely job on these. The other ideas sound so yummy don't they?

Annemarie said...

Great job. They look perfect. I need to get a silicone pan!

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm, these pics look yummy. Star who? Star what?

mimi said...

what lovely madeleines! i bet they were a lot better than the star!

Casa Costello said...

Who needs Proust when we can munch on these lovlies? Well done! Love the shots. Hx

ostwestwind said...

S, who? I can say I don't have it around the next hour driving by car.

Yours look appetizing.

Ulrike from Küchenlatein

Liliana said...

Your madeleines came out great!

Good idea to use the silicone pans.

Engineer Baker said...

Homemade always wins, and those look beautiful!

CB said...

oh these are WAY better than starbucks. Just guessing here since I've never had one at 'bucks. HAHA! Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

Great job on the madeleines!

Bumblebutton said...

Lovely, lovely. Next up--the 'hostess' ones?!

Mari said...

I would never have thought to use a silicone pan, but it obviously worked just fine, because yours look perfect.

Jayne said...

Those look great. I've got a few silicone pans I received as gifts - for some reason I resist using them. But maybe I'll give them a try.

Steph said...

They look so scrumptious!!

LyB said...

They look beautiful! I so loved these little gals, I think I'll go make some more... Well, maybe after I make the Sticky Buns! :)

Anonymous said...

Every time in Sur La Table I admire those pans, and next time I'm forking over the cash and buying one. Your photos look beautiful, too!