a small piece of cake

oh my. i don't know why i was worried, because madeleines are a (small, shell-like) piece of cake to make. i ended up going with the larousse recipe, partly because the lebovitz didn't seem like it would make lots (none of the recipes included info on the final output) and also because my computer, which lurks around the dinner table generally, had been put away in expectation of guests. i did incorporate the lebovitz tweaks that i remembered, namely beating the eggs and sugar together first, and chilling the batter and mold. i still have some batter in the fridge actually, and since lebovitz says to chill for "up to twelve hours" i should be good to bake some more.

here are the three remaining madeleines which have yet to be gobbled, reclining in the last rays of the afternoon sun:



and a snap of the fabled "hump" which some worry is difficult to attain:



(i love that photo; makes it look fairly majestic i think.)

and while we're at it, a snap of some pretty flowers and mostly-gone chocolate gateau a l'ocean:



the rillettes were not so pretty to look at, but super yum to eat on home-made bread as well as being super easy. and trout remoulade is always delish. all in all a success i'd say!

madeleines

4 large eggs (i did not weigh them, but will hazard a guess that's about 9 oz)
9 oz sugar
9 oz soft flour (aka cake or pastry flour - not self-rising)
9 oz unsalted butter, melted
pinch salt
zest of a lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

grease and flour a madeline mold, chill.

beat the eggs and sugar together until tripled in volume.

gradually add flour and fold in gently with spatula.

gradually add melted butter and flavourings and fold in gently with a spatula.

chill batter for an hour or two. pre-heat oven to 425F.

spoon dollops of batter into molds. it will be thick, it's almost like making a drop cookie. the temptation is to overfill the molds, but you don't need much more than a tablespoon.

bake for about 10 or 15 minutes. allow to cool in the mold on a rack before trying to slide them out. it is so much easier to get them out once they've cooled. i find the best way to get them out of the mold is to press gently with both of my thumbs against the flat end of the madeleine, and slide it along the same direction as the grooves of the shell.

makes about 3 dozen.