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CHESTNUT HONEY SPICE MADELEINES

A tender, cakelet, perfectly spiced and sweetened with chestnut honey. Perfect for your next coffee break. Or even breakfast!
Prep Time 3 hours
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 12 minutes
Servings 12

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup (75 g) sugar
  • grated zest of 1 small orange (or zest of 1/2 plus of a larger one)
  • 2 large eggs , at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons Chestnut honey (please go this extra step- this honey will take the recipe to the next level!)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 6 tablespoons (90 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt and pepper and set aside.
  2. Working in a mixer bowl, stir the sugar and orange zest together. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment, add the eggs to the bowl and beat for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is light, fluffy and thickened.
  3. Add in the honey, then the vanilla. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently fold in the dry ingredients followed by the melted butter. Ensure that the butter has cooled down.
  4. You can use the batter now, but Dorie Greenspan says it’s better if you can give it a little rest. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and chill for 3 hours or, if you have the time, overnight. Making the batter in advance also means you can have madeleines that are fresh from the oven and still warm if you’re serving them for breakfast, or prepare them in the morning and bake them for teatime in the afternoon.
  5. When you’re ready to bake them, centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds (or 36 mini-molds), dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. If you have a non-stick madeleine mold, butter and flour it anyway or give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. (If your pan is silicone, you can leave it as is.) Place the pan on a baking sheet. I actually chill my molds in the freezer and then butter them. See the Notes below.
  6. Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one three-quarters full (if you overfill the molds, they’ll spill out over the sides a bit and won’t be quite as pretty when they’re done).
  7. Bake the large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes and the minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the madeleines are golden and the tops spring back when prodded gently. Do not overtake.
  8. Remove the pan from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any stuck madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just-warm or room temperature.

Recipe Notes

This batter works better after chilling it in the fridge for at least 3 hours. You can have the batter rest in the bowl, or do as outlined below.

Chilling your madeleine pans is also a great trick. Once you are ready to use them, pull them out of the freezer and brush with butter. The butter will immediately harden once hitting the cold surface. Then quickly fill them and if you have the patience, return them to the fridge to set for 3 hours. Then move ahead with the baking.

Adapted from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan