Tuesday, May 18, 2010

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!)

16 comments:

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

Thats it. I have to buy a madeleine pan! These sound and look so good!!!

Melissa said...

I actually tasted it from a friend and couldn't provide me with the recipe. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Megan said...

This sound look so good, love your blog, keep it up.

Victoria said...

wow! I just love these cookies. Very delicious. Yummy. thanks for the share.

Lynn said...

Your lemon rum looks delicious and I like you ideas on your recipes.Thank you for sharing this post.

Jane said...

I'm so happy to have the recipe! I made it last night and it tastes Delicious! It was easy to make and everyone loved it.

Katie said...

My mom made this one for me before and it really taste good. I wish I can try in my own so I am the who make one for my mom now. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

Kayla said...

Perfect. I used both a silicone mold and a metal mold and the silicone madelines came out much better than the metal ones. A very lovely cookie.

Katie said...

I love this sweet cookie you have posted..Great share!

Jillian said...

nice picture so delicious, I got some lemon rum for a party, but i dont know what does best with it!

Jane said...

I just love these Lemon Rum Madeleines. I will try this at home. Thanks for the recipe!!

Christy said...

Yummy, I made it last night and it tastes Delicious! It was easy to make and everyone loved it, looking forward for your next post.

Christy said...

Wow, I have to buy a madeleine pan! These sound and look so good, keep it such kind of hard work, thanx for posting.

Jennifer said...

I used both a silicone mold and a metal mold and the silicone madelines came out much better than the metal ones. A very lovely cookie,thanx for all this.

Jennifer said...

I love pina coladas and was really excited to make these. The taste was good (used Duncan Hines pineapple cake mix), if not slightly artificial, but I didn't really taste the rum. If you don't have a madeleine pan, do not use a cookie sheet, like the recipe

Brittany said...

This was great! I made it vegan by using egg replacer and vegan butter, came out nice. I don't like very sweet cookies so I cut the suger to 1/3 cup.