Tuesday, April 16, 2013

BWJ - Madeleines



This week's Baking with Julia challenge is Madeleines, and is hosted by Katie and Amy of Counter Dog

I have made madeleines a number of times before - I am not a madeleine wiz like Kayte, but I have learned a couple of things about them.  First - do not overfill your moulds - underfill them slightly, as they spread like mad when baking, so unless you want barnacles instead of shells, take it easy on the batter.  The other thing I have learned about madeleines is that they bake crazy quick - I often find that if I follow the baking time in the recipe, my madeleines are often darker than I desire - behold the photo above.  These madeleines were only in the oven for 10 minutes, but they went dark underneath.

On the upside, I got perfect little humps in the backs of my madeleines.  What is it about French baked good - feet on macarons, humps on madeleines.  Heck, maybe they'll be sprouting arms next.

I didn't find these madeleines particularly dry, as some Julia bakers did, although I found the batter to be rather more solid than I am used to working with.

To check out what the other Julia bakers thought of this madeleine recipe, visit the LYL section of the BWJ website.

21 comments:

Blond Duck said...

I've never tried madelines!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Thanks for the tips re filling the madeline molds! I must admit that I don't make them that often!

Cathleen | My Culinary Mission said...

I've never heard about "feet" on macarons - I'll have to google that. Yeah, these were just OK.

sunshine x 2 said...

Love your insights!

Unknown said...

Your madeleines look lovely, your little humps are perfect!! I didn't have any humps on mine...
This recipe doesn't convince me for madeleines, I think it taste more like a ladyfingers!!
So it's not too bad, I'll keep this recipe as a base for dessert!!

Kari said...

I've never made madeleines so am not sure about 'humps', but I think I'd enjoy these regardless!

Finla said...

Love them and wish i had them with my tea.

Johanna GGG said...

never had a madeleine but I often admire their shapes - yours look very pretty - esp the dark and lighter ones (or sides) lined up

Mardi Michels said...

Hmmm - I overfilled mine too (even though I know better). Mine did not get the bumps :(

Cher Rockwell said...

Barnacles and sprouting feet, huh? :-)

These weren't my humpiest mads ever, but they were good for a dunk in a cuppa.

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

I forgot to set my timer, so my dry madeleines were probably from user error! I didn't know we should have those humps...nice to know :) Glad yours were perfect!

Tammy said...

Yup, mine definitely fell into the barnacle category. perfect description. no worries -- all was disguised under the powdered sugar.

loavesandstitches said...

Nice job! This is not my favorite recipe for madeleines, but everyone seemed to like them.

Kathy said...

My madeleines had nice little humps on them, too! I thought these were good…but I’ve made better! I liked Dorie’s recipe for madeleines better.
Yours look perfect!

mike509 said...

They look fantastic! I hear "darker" brings more flavor.. ;) If you enjoyed them - that's all that matters!

Anonymous said...

Your Madeleines look tasty!

TeaLady said...

I love the shape of these little cakes. Glad I got the pan. I thought they were a little dense for sponge cake but it could have been my folding.

Catherine from www.praycookblog.com said...

I enjoyed your post -- thanks for sharing! Blessings, Catherine www.praycookblog.com

Elaine said...

Your madeleines look cool with the dark and light sides. I totally don't get it about the feet and the humps either. LOL. I think these needed more flavor, so I probably didn't leave mine in long enough then if what Mike says is true.

Teresa said...

Love your comments about macarons and madeleines - French baking can be exacting, can't it?

Yours look perfect, even if they browned a bit.

CathyB said...

A little sprinkle of powdered sugar and no one will know they're a little dark. :)