Madeleines

I spotted RM5.30 (thanks for increasing your prices after GST) Madeleine moulds at Daiso and could have literally whooped for joy as I've been wanting to try out Madeleines for a long time. Think of Madeleines as French kuih buloh with their buttery taste encased in a bite sized shell shaped sponge cake.

This recipe was really easy and makes precisely 10 Madeleines in the Daiso pan. Since they were a hit with Hubs and Bubs, I'm thinking of getting an additional pan and doubling the recipe for more of these beautifully flavoured gems.

Ingredients:
2 eggs  
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract  
1/8 teaspoon salt  
1/3 cup white sugar  
1/2 cup all-purpose flour  
1 tablespoon lemon zest  
1/4 cup butter  
1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter and flour 12 (3 inch) Madeleine molds; set aside. 
Melt butter and let cool to room temperature. 
In a small mixing bowl, beat eggs, vanilla and salt at high speed until light. 
Beating constantly, gradually add sugar; and continue beating at high speed until mixture is thick and pale and ribbons form in bowl when beaters are lifted, 5 to 10 minutes. 
Sift flour into egg mixture 1/3 at a time, gently folding after each addition. 
Add lemon zest and pour melted butter around edge of batter. Quickly but gently fold butter into batter. Spoon batter into molds; it will mound slightly above tops. 
Bake 14 to 17 minutes, or until cakes are golden and the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertip. 
Use the tip of the knife to loosen madeleines from pan; invert onto rack.
Immediately sprinkle warm cookies with granulated sugar.

Apparently, "successful" Madeleines will develop a characteristic bump at the bottom. I managed to get it using this recipe. If the little bumps are important to you, online recipes seem to recommend chilling the batter in the fridge plus freezing the Madeleine moulds. I kept the batter for about 30 mins in the fridge for the flavours to develop but I did not freeze the moulds.

A couple of variations that I did:

•  Using molasses sugar instead of white sugar. These resulted in dark brown Madeleines but subsequently, fudgier and more moist.
• Brown the butter - this makes for a richer taste - but be careful not to burn it!
• I was lazy and skipped flouring the moulds though I did butter them thoroughly.
• Also skipped sprinkling sugar over them at the end - Bubs doesn't need any reason to be more hyper
• Planning to try lavender flavoured ones in the future. Infuse dried (edible) lavender into the melted butter for at least 15 mins, then strain out the butter.