I have a serious obsession with madeleines at the moment, so please excuse the second Madeleine recipe in a month. These have a real nutty depth of flavour. The batter will sit happily for a few hours in the fridge so can be made up in advance, which is always a bonus in my book.
Madeleines
100g S/R flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
2 eggs
50g soft brown sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
90g unsalted butter, melted
70g very finely chopped pecans
Syrup
30g caster sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
Splash of water
Vanilla pod
Makes 12 large Madeleines
You will also need a madeleine pan, greased with cake release spray, plus a piping bag. You can find the pans in most good homeware stores now or online.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In another bowl, or free-standing machine, whisk together the eggs, sugar and maple syrup until frothy. Add the sieved dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.
Stir in the melted butter and fold in the finely chopped pecans. Cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6
Pour the batter into a piping bag and pipe the moulds two-thirds full. Bake for 5 minutes, reduce the heat of the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4 and rotate the madeleines. Bake for a further 5 minutes until the centres of the cakes rise and the edges are golden brown.
Heat together the splash of water, vanilla pod, the caster sugar and maple syrup until the liquid becomes reduced and very syrupy. Then brush over the warm cakes.