Lemon Rum Madeleines

I always thought madeleines were cookies. Am I alone in this? They look like little shell-shaped cookies. But when I gave them to my friends today, one of them took a bite and immediately said "Whoa, is this like, the tiniest cake ever?" Turns out...yes...yes they are. According to wikipedia, madeleines are actually very small sponge cakes. 

Madelines are made with genoise cake batter, which means that instead of using chemical leavening, air is added during the mixing process to give the cake volume. Translation: lots and lots of beating make the batter light and airy. I had to bust out my electric mixer for this one.

The recipe I was using called for orange extract and orange zest. I had neither orange flavoring nor oranges. I did, however, have rum-flavored extract and lemon juice. Since madeleines are traditionally lemon-flavored anyway, I figured adding the two ingredients wouldn't be too much of a stretch. Emily, who was helping me make these, just rolled her eyes and muttered something about "the missing ingredient."

I've never actually eaten a madeleine until today, but these were really fantastic. Light and fluffy yet chewy, sweet, buttery, and just slightly lemony. Couldn't really taste the rum, but I didn't really miss it. The cakes were delicious by themselves, but I imagine they'd go great with tea.

Lemon Rum Madeleines

Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 cup powdered sugar

Steps:
(1) Preheat oven to 350.
(2) Spray madeleine pan with Pam or other non-stick spray.
(3) Mix together flour and baking powder in small bowl. Set aside.
(4) In a large bowl, beat together eggs, extract, and lemon juice with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes.
(5) Gradually add in powdered sugar. Beat another 5 minutes until thick.
(6) Gently fold the flour mixture into the batter.
(7) Add melted butter. Mix until smooth.
(8) Spoon one tablespoon of batter into the center of each shell indentation. (It will smooth out by itself, and pouring the batter into the center will give the cakes that signature "hump" in the middle.)
(9) Bake for about 8 minutes, or until edges are light brown.
(10) When cool, sprinkle tops with powdered sugar. (Optional!)