Prue’s madeleine tower makes the perfect party piece, but even without the the cone these elegant little cakes are perfect for an afternoon pick me up! While traditional madeleines involve a longer resting time, this speedy recipe still yields delicious results. If you do decide to decorate them, don’t forget to make sure your food colouring is suitable for using in chocolate.
Prue Leith
Series 16
Makes:
31 madeleines
Difficulty:
Needs skill
Baking Time:
11 mins
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- Ingredients
- Method
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Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/Gas 7.
Step 2
Make the beurre noisette. Place the butter in a pan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.
Step 3
Increase the heat, stirring continuously until the butter starts to splutter, then reduce the heat to low, until the butter starts foaming. Simmer gently for 3–4 minutes until the butter turns to a dark golden colour and smells nutty.
Step 4
Remove from the heat and pass through a sieve lined with kitchen paper to remove any brown milk solids from the bottom of the pan. Place in the fridge to cool.
Step 5
Place the sugar and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on full speed for 4–5 minutes, until the mixture is thick enough to leave a ribbon trail when you lift the whisk.
Step 6
Sift the flour and baking powder together, then tip the mixture down the side of the bowl of the whisked egg mixture (this is better than sifting straight into the eggs, which could deflate the mixture).
Step 7
Pour the cooled melted butter down the other side of the bowl in the same way, then fold in the flour and butter until you have a smooth, light batter. Gently fold in the lemon zest until evenly distributed, then leave the batter to rest for 20 minutes.
Step 8
Grease the madeleine moulds with butter and place on 2 baking sheets in the freezer.
Step 9
For the lemon curd, tip the lemon juice into a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of gently simmering water. Add the eggs, sugar and butter and stir together with a whisk, then heat for 10 minutes, whisking occasionally until the mixture thickens to a thick custard consistency. Tip the curd into a shallow tray and leave to cool, then chill to set.
Step 10
Remove the madeleine moulds from the freezer, then spoon or pipe approx. 1 tablespoon of batter into 31 of the madeleine moulds.
Step 11
Bake for 9–11 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and gently tip upside down on a wire rack, then peel pack the moulds. Leave ridged side up to cool.
Step 12
Wash the madeleine moulds to remove any grease and dry them thoroughly. Arrange the madeleines in 5 rows – one row of 9, one row of 8, one row of 6, one of 5 and one of 3.
Step 13
To decorate, melt the white chocolate and coconut oil together in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally until just melted and smooth.
Step 14
Divide the white chocolate into 5 bowls in decreasing amounts. Pour the most amount into the bowl needed to coat the row of 9 madeleines and the least in the bowl to coat 3 madeleines.
Step 15
Using the oil based pink colourings, colour the chocolate in 5 shades of pink starting with the darkest pink in the biggest bowl of chocolate (to coat 9 madeleines) and the lightest pink in the smallest bowl of chocolate (to coat 3 madeleines).
Step 16
Pour the coloured chocolate into 5 separate piping bags. Snip off the ends and pipe some of the darkest pink into 9 of the moulds, the next shade into 8 of the moulds, the next shade into 6 of the moulds, the next shade into 5 of the moulds and the lightest shade into 3 of the moulds.
Step 17
Spoon the set lemon curd into a piping bag fitted with a small injection nozzle. Working quickly and one at a time, push the tip into the flat end of each madeleine and squeeze in some curd. Place the madeleine ridge-side down on top of the melted chocolate in the moulds. Chill to set.
Step 18
To assemble, working from the bottom of the polystyrene cone, attach the darkest pink madeleines with cocktail sticks in a row (with the scallop edge facing downwards) around the base of the cone.
Step 19
Continue attaching the madeleines in rows getting lighter in colour, finishing with the palest three at the top.
Step 20
Finish with a ribbon bow, attached with a cocktail stick in the top of the cone.
