Madeleines

Oh how I dream of sitting in a cafe in Paris having one of these sweet little delectables. But alas, I sit here in my house and try to replicate what is almost impossible to replicate. These seemingly easy little cakes are a little deceptive as everything from their texture, to their shape, to their taste is hard to get exact. However, the recipe I usually turn to for failproof Traditional Madelienes is Dorie Greenspans recipe from her book Baking: From my Home to Yours. You really can't go wrong with any Dorie Recipe and this one is no exception. Her recipe gives you a light lemony cakey Madeleine.


Traditional Madeleines
adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my Home to Yours

Ingredients
2/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs. at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 stick (6 tbsp)unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Confectioneres sugar for dusting

Directions
1. Take sugar and lemon zest and put in a bowl of a mixer. Using your fingers mix them together until they are blended and sugar is moist and fragrant.
2. Add the eggs to the sugar blend. Then using the whisk attachment of your mixer, blend for about 2 or 3 minutes-mixture should be a greyish color and have a thick consistency. Beat in the vanilla.
3. With a rubber spatula gently fold in the dry ingredients. Followed by the butter.
4. Wrap the batter and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and upto 2 days. You can refrigerate the Madeleines in their mold if you please.
5. Put Madeleines in mold, if you havn't already done so. Tap the Madeleine on the counter to settle the batter and get out any air bubbles and whatnot.
6. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400F.
7. Bake large molds for 11-13 minutes and mini molds for about 8 minutes.

Enjoy!