These madeleines are best eaten the same day, and are especially good with a hot cup of tea. The difference in temperature between the hot oven and the cold mixture/pan is what makes these form that distinctive “hump” that all good madeleines need. And the cute panda faces will add a smile to your face!
Makes: 12-15
Ingredients:
- 100g (1/2 cup) caster or granulated sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 70g (1/3 cup minus 1 tsp) salted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 135g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp culinary lavender buds
- 30ml (2 Tbsp) whole milk
Lemon Dip:
- 40-45ml (2 2/3-3 Tbsp) lemon juice
- 200g (1 1/2 cups minus 1 Tbsp) icing (confectioners’) sugar
Plus:
- black food dye
- a little extra icing (confectioners’) sugar
Directions:
- Put the caster sugar and eggs, ideally, in a stand mixer (or use a handheld electric whisk) and whisk on high speed for about 7 minutes, or until thick and holds a trail. Meanwhile, melt the butter in 20-second bursts in the microwave so that it is liquid but not too hot. Combine the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Grind the lavender with a mortar and pestle to break up.
- When the sugar and egg mixture is thick and holds a trail, pour in the milk, then sift in the flour and baking powder. Add the lavender and then whisk until just incorporated. Pour in the cooled melted butter and whisk again until just combined. Do not overmix. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Grease a madeleine mould, then freeze it. Preheat the oven to 240 degrees Celsius (475 degrees Fahrenheit/Gas mark 9).
- When the mixture has finished chilling, use a spatula to transfer it to a piping bag. Snip a medium tip and pipe 12-15 blobs into the chilled mould.
- Place in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit/Gas mark 6). Bake for 8-12 minutes until each madeleine has a hump and is starting to colour at the edges. When baked, slide them out of the mould and onto a rack.
- Meanwhile, make the lemon dip. Whisk the lemon juice and icing sugar together until smooth and runny but still opaque when coating the back of a spoon. Add a little more lemon juice or icing sugar until you have the correct consistency. Pour into a cup suitable for dipping the madeleines into and cover with plastic wrap.
- When the madeleines are cool, dip, one by one (narrow, scalloped end first), into the lemon dip. Leave the madeleines to set on a rack.
- Mix the remaining lemon dip with black food dye and a little extra icing sugar until it becomes pipeable. Transfer to a piping bag and cut a small tip. When the white icing has set, use the black icing to pipe ears, eyes and a nose on each madeleine.
Also from Baking with Kim-Joy:
Infuse your baking with a sprinkle of glitter, a rainbow of colors and a menagerie of woodland creatures with the help of this unique baking book from everyone’s favorite Great British Baking Show finalist, Kim-Joy! If you’ve ever wanted to know how to bring your baking to life, Kim-Joy will show you how in this fun and practical book. As well as basic cake mixes, cookie doughs, fillings/frostings and decorating techniques, she shares 40 of her wonderfully imaginative designs for iced cookie creatures, big occasion cakes, character macarons and meringues, ornate breads and showstopping traybakes. Recipes include step-by-step photography and adorable illustrations accompanied by little messages of positivity throughout. Whether you want to learn how to make a llama cookie, a cat paradise cake, a panda-madeleine or a choux-bun turtle, there’s something here to capture your imagination and spread a little (Kim-)Joy!
Recipes excerpted with permission from Baking with Kim-Joy: Cute and Creative Bakes to Make You Smile by Kim-Joy, published by Hardie Grant Books, September 2019, RRP $24.99 hardcover.