Lemon Madeleines - a yummy snack in a flash!

Madeleine is mini sponge cake baked in shell-shaped pan. It is one of the classic French cakes. It is very easy and quick to make yet so nice and attractive, almost effortless to make.

I have a soft spot for homeware, bakeware in particular. It is my hobby to browse kitchenware shop looking for something new and/or  interesting (though I must admit that I don’t do that often anymore as I am doing more shopping and browsing online nowadays). I came across Madeleine pan on sale and was intrigued with its decorative shape. Well, my weakest spot is ‘bargain’. Add bargain to bakeware, it means ‘MUST purchase’. With these soft spots, my kitchen is filled with bakeware goodies that are only used occasionally.

I think I had the pan for months before I started to make something with it (with this in mind, I just remembered I also have a mini 12-bundt pan that I still haven’t used). I didn’t quite understand the procrastination with the pan as Madeleine was so so easy to make and it made a great snack.

I used the recipe by Shannon Bennette, a famous French chef in Melbourne, from Australian Woman Weekly Magazine website. It is a simple lemon Madeleine recipe. It is also a great way to use up the lemons we’ve been collecting from S’ mom. 

These Madeleines were great. Lemons added wonderful flavor and aroma to the them. It made attractive and yummy snacks in no time. Perfect for any afternoon tea or anytime of the day really. 

Lemon Madeleines
make 24 madeleines, approx 12 servings
source: http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/food/7928822/madeleines


Ingredients

100 g butter, softened
1/2 cup (110 g) caster sugar (fine sugar)
3 eggs
1 cup (150 g) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, until just combined. Beat in sifted flour and baking powder, then lemon rind, juice and vanilla extract. Cover and refridgerate the mixture for 30 minutes until cold.

Preheat oven to 160c/180c (convection/conventional oven). Grease and flour 2 x 12-hole Madeleine pans.

Do not need to spread the filling in the tins.
It will automatically fill the tins when it is hot and baked. 

Fill each hole with one heaped teaspoon of Madeleine mixture. Bake for 8-10 minutes until bronwed lightly and just firm to touch. Stand for few minutes, then tap the pans to release Madeleines. Let them cool on wire rack.

Great snacks for afternoon tea!

Submitting this post to Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Graziana at Cooking with Herbs.