Orange Passionfruit Madeleines
I have never made madeleines before. They always seemed somehow a step more difficult than a standard cupcake. But why? Maybe because they need their own baking tray and I didn’t have one? Whatever the reason, I had never made them. But I was hosting a lunch last week and I thought madeleines would make a nice after lunch treat - a lovely pillowy soft mini cake that feels indulgent without being too much. So I bought a madeleine tray and got to making a batch.
The actual making of the madeleine batter is no more difficult than a standard sponge recipe. The biggest difference is the beating of the eggs and sugar as the first step which you do for longer than I would usually, and the resting time in the fridge. Don’t let either of these things put you off. I was on a tight timeframe to pull lunch together for my guests so I started by making the batter then put it in the fridge while I got on with other stuff (making other dishes, showering, tidying the house, setting the table etc). Just before my guests arrived, I spooned the batter into the madeleine tin - and 10 minutes later they were done. So easy.
I made one batch on the day for lunch and left the remaining batter in the fridge and made a second batch for afternoon tea the following day. Given they only take 10 minutes to cook, you can make the batter ahead of time and then just pop them in the oven just before you need them so that they are eaten fresh and warm. Yum.
A note about the passionfruit powder: buy this from a baking store like Redman in Singapore. They sell a variety of freeze dried dehydrated fruit powders (which are simply the fruit dehydrated and pulverised). I chose passionfruit but you could make raspberry sugar or plum sugar - whatever flavour you wish. I slightly guessed how much to add of the fruit powder and just adjusted to taste so take my measurements as a guide only and add more or less fruit powder or sugar to taste.
Orange Passionfruit Madeleine Recipe
Recipe adapted from Julia Busuttil
Makes approx. 24
ingredients
3 eggs
80g caster sugar
40g honey
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 tsp orange blossom water
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g self raising flour
pinch of sea salt
150g butter, melted and cooled (plus extra for greasing pan)
Passionfruit Sugar
2 tsp dehydrated passionfruit powder
4 tablespoon caster sugar
METHOD
Place the eggs, sugar and honey in a mixing bowl and whisk for 10-12 minutes until they are a pale yellow. As you whisk the mixture will grow in volume. Don’t get bored and stop this step too soon as this makes a difference to how pillowy soft the madeleines will be. Whisk in the orange zest, vanilla and orange blossom water until just incorporated. Using a spatula, gently fold in the flour and sea salt, being careful to not over mix as you want to keep all the air in the mixture that you’ve just spent 10 minutes beating in! Lastly, fold in the melted butter. This may take a little time to incorporate, go gently but get it mixed in as best you can.
Place the mixture in the fridge and let it rest for 45 mins to 1 hour. If you want to use the batter the following day, it is fine to stay resting in the fridge overnight (I did one batch on the day and another the day after, and both were good).
Preheat the oven to 180c fan-forced.
Brush some melted butter on the madeleine moulds to grease the pan. Spoon a little less than a tablespoon of batter into each mould. The madeleine moulds are very shallow so don’t overfill. Clean up the edges if some of the batter spills beyond the mould so that you get a clean madeleine shape when it’s cooked. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden and risen. Once cooked, let them rest for 1-2 minutes in the pan and then gently remove them from the tin.
Make the passionfruit sugar by combining the passionfruit powder and caster sugar in a bowl. While the madeleines are still warm, turn them over in the passionfruit sugar to give them a light dusting. Serve warm.
