Monday, February 14, 2011

Honey Madeleines

Forget Valentine's Day, today is Jason's birthday! I normally don't bake, but I wanted to attempt to make something sweet for the occasion. One of our favorite restaurants is Fleur de Lys in San Francisco. I am madly in love with Hubert Keller and the man can do no wrong in my eyes. After you've had a ba-zillion courses at Fleur de Lys, they always bring you a piping hot plate of fresh madeleines right out of the oven with your check. Dust them with powdered sugar, dunk them in melted chocolate, or eat them as is. These suckers taste like little, lemony clouds of pound cake.


Honey Madeleines
Recipe courtesy of Hubert Keller at http://www.williamssonoma.com/

Ingredients:

  • 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at
     room temperature, plus more for brushing
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 Tbs. honey
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the 6 Tbs. (3⁄4 stick) butter until it starts to brown and gives off a nutty aroma, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small heatproof bowl and let cool.

Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour and baking powder; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs on high speed until pale yellow and thick, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and honey and beat until thick, about 5 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture, then the lemon zest, vanilla and melted butter and beat until well blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour.

Preheat an oven to 375ºF. Butter and flour a 9-well silicone madeleine mold and place on a baking sheet.

Whisk the batter briefly. Fill each prepared well three-fourths full of batter. Bake until the madeleines are golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes.

Immediately invert the mold onto a wire rack and remove the madeleines, using a toothpick to gently loosen them, if needed. Let the mold and the baking sheet cool completely, then repeat with more butter, flour and the remaining batter.
Makes about 24 madeleines.