Recipe

Brown butter and orange madeleines

The secret to this soft and fluffy brown butter and orange madeleines recipe is to allow the batter to chill before baking. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy these gorgeous little French cakes while they're fresh

Mar 28, 2017 1:34am
By Julie Le Clerc
  • 10 mins preparation
  • 10 mins cooking
  • Makes 24
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This recipe first appeared in Food magazine.
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Ingredients

  • 180 gram butter
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 1 orange, finely zested
  • 1 1/3 cup plain flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
  • icing sugar, to dust

Method

  • 1
    Melt butter in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture bubbles and foams and the milk solids begin to separate. Continue to cook for approximately 5 minutes more or until the mixture turns nut brown (it will smell nutty, too). Transfer to a bowl to cool.
  • 2
    In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then stir in the zest.
  • 3
    Gently fold the flour and baking powder into the batter until just combined. Gradually add the cooled butter in a thin and steady stream, stirring until it is just combined.
  • 4
    Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow mixture to rest for at least an hour in the fridge – and overnight if possible.
  • 5
    Preheat oven to 180°C. Butter two madeleine trays and dust with flour. Place a tablespoon of batter into each indentation. Tap trays lightly on a bench to ensure mixture fills each indentation. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden and set in the middle; do not over-bake or they will be dry.
  • 6
    Immediately tap to release madeleines from tin. Allow to cool on a wire rack before dusting with icing sugar to serve. Best eaten on the day they are baked.

Notes

  • If you don’t have a traditional scallop-shaped madeleine tin then these little cakes can easily be made in patty pans or paper cases – as pictured. Just be aware that depending on the size of the pans, the cakes may take an extra 5 minutes to cook through. - The secret to soft and fluffy madeleines is to allow the batter to chill before baking. Straight from the fridge into a hot oven it will rise to the occasion in just 10 minutes. PER SERVE Energy 120kcal, 503kj • Protein 2g • Total Fat 6.1g • Saturated Fat 2.4g • Carbohydrate 14.6g • Fibre 0.3g • Sodium 60mg

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