Lundi: Recipes

Madeleines are those shell shaped cakes that are popular in French and Creole kitchens.  These are delightful with coffee in the afternoon or for the kids when they get home from school.  Though they are usually a rich vanilla cake, this recipe for madeleines adds the decadent taste of chocolate.  To make these cakes in the shape of shells you will need a madeleine mold; these are easy to find at kitchen stores.  If not, this recipe makes moist cupcakes fit for a birthday party.

1 cup plus 1 ½ tbsps unsalted butter, softened

7 large eggs

1 ¼ cups bakers’ sugar

2 cups plus 3 tbsps sifted all purpose flour

¾ cups plus 2 tbsps unsweetened cocoa

Butter madeleine molds or prepare cupcake pans.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream the butter in a large bowl.

Using eggs at room temperature, whisk all seven whole eggs together with the sugar in a separate bowl.  Continue whisking for seven to ten minutes until this mixture increases in volume (a whisk attachment on a hand mixer can be used in which case the process will only take three to five minutes).

Sift the flour over the egg mixture and fold the ingredients together.  Remove about two cups of this batter and whisk it into the creamed butter until smooth, then fold this into the remaining batter.  Sift the cocoa over the batter and fold together.

Spoon into madeleine pans or cupcake cups.  Bake 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  If using a madeleine pan, unmold immediately after taking them from the oven and cool on a rack.  Cupcakes should sit a moment before being removed from the pan and cooling on a rack as well. 

Store your madeleines at room temperature in an air tight container for up to a week.  Bon appetite ~

Header: The Stove by D.A. Colville c 1988 via Old Paint