Madeleines - Almond

By mariannefeldman

ALMOND MADELEINES - makes 12

Published March 1, 1996.
Makes 12.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
The first step of our madeleine recipe was to prepare for the last and most difficult step: getting the cookies out of the pan. We coated not just the inside of the molds but also the rims with a little melted butter and a dash of flour. Releasing the cookies immediately after removing them from the oven also proved crucial. To avoid imprinting lines on our cookies from wire cooling racks, we turned the cookies out onto a tea towel, tapping the mold gently on the counter to release them, if needed. To our surprise, the best madeleine recipe, with a light, tight crumb, came from a combination of cake and all-purpose flours rather than from cake flour alone.

To coat the molds, mix two teaspoons of melted butter with one teaspoon of all-purpose flour. Brush the molds and rims thoroughly, but not thickly, with this mixture.

Ingredients

• INGREDIENTS
• 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cake flour
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1/4 cup ground almonds
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
• 2 large egg yolks

Preparation

Step 1

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to low center position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Sift flours and salt together in small bowl, gently stir in ground almonds; set aside.

2. Beat yolks with whole egg in bowl of electric mixer until light yellow and fluffy, about 5 minutes on high speed if using hand mixer, about 3 minutes if using heavy-duty mixer. Add sugar, vanilla and almond extracts and beat until a ribbon drops from beaters, about 5 minutes with hand mixer, 3 minutes with heavy-duty mixer. Gently fold in flour mixture, then melted butter.

3. Spoon batter into molds. (Batter should come just flush with mold rim.) Bake until tops are golden and cakes spring back when pressed lightly, about 10 minutes. Turn madeleines onto dry tea towel; cool to room temperature. (Can be stored in airtight container up to 3 days or frozen up to 1 month.)