A few years ago I was so lucky to spend christmas and new year on holiday, we started off in New York, it was truly amazing, I swear it was the most magical place i'd ever been too. Richard and I spent some quality time together, whilst the boys spent their time trailing around 5th Ave and such like.Anyway before we went my gorgeous hubby had made reservations at the most wonderful place I have ever eaten in, I swear I will remember this night for the rest of my life, we have been to some amazing places, but none have ever matched up to 'Daniel'.
There were lots of older not so good looking men with the most stunningly beautiful young women, the decor and ambience were amazing.
As we sat down they brought over a small stool (for my handbag),there was a Bedouin tent in one corner for a private dining.The food was like nothing i've ever experienced,to begin we had the most amazing amuse bouche, then I had a prawn cocktail like i've never had before, then beef that literally melted in my mouth, dessert to die for,but the thing that i'll never forget are the buttery light as air madeleines that they serve with coffee,so today I decided to see if I could surf the web to find the recipe, and to my delight there it was.So today I made some, they were gorgeous,so I share it with you.
This following recipe was originally published in the cookbook “Chef Daniel Boulud – Cooking in New York City.
Makes 6 dozen small or 1 dozen large madeleines
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon ( I used orange zest)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and kept warm
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
1. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl using a wire whisk, mix the eggs, sugar, honey, brown sugar and lemon zest. Add the flour mixture and whisk just until combined. Add the melted butter, stirring just until incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Liberally spray either a nonstick 20 mould or 12 mould madeleine pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the batter in a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip. Pipe the moulds two-thirds full, using about 1 teaspoon of batter for the 20 mould pan and 2 tablespoons of batter for the 12 mould pan.
4. For the small madeleines, bake until the centres rise and the edges are golden brown, about 4 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking. For the large madeleines, bake for 5 minutes, reduce the heat to 350°F, rotate the pan halfway, and continue baking until the centres rise and the edges are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, invert the pan and tap it against the counter to release the madeleines. Serve the madeleines warm, dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
