Madeleines

At this point, one should probably eschew that well-worn, tea-soaked reference to Proust when talking about the fantastic fusion of cookie and cake that is the madeleine. For him, it may have brought back visions of the past, but for me, it's quite the opposite. There are moments, simple and innocent ones, that remind me of the buttery, citrusy madeleine.

A few years ago I bought a silicon madeleine pan from the culinary mecca that is E. Dehillerin. It, unlike my copy of Larousse Gastronomique (which provided the recipe), has never been used.


Ingredients

• 100g melted butter, not hot
• juice from half a lemon
• pinch of salt
• 125g caster sugar
• 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk
• 125g self-raising flour

1. Without a silicon pan, one should butter the moulds.
2. Combine the lemon juice, salt, sugar and eggs. Mix well.
3. Sprinkle in the flour and combine until smooth.
4. Add the melted butter and combine.
5. Fill the moulds about two-thirds of the way up.
6. Bake in a pre-heated over at 180ºC for 25 minutes.
7. Turn them out on a rack and allow to cool. 

With my fan-assisted oven, it took 22 mins at 165ºC to get the results you see in the photo above. The texture was just as I had remembered it.