Saturday, October 30, 2010

Chocolate with Francois - Chocolate-Honey Madeleines

Prior to this month's choice, by Julie of Little Bit of Everything, I had never baked Madeleines. I have seen them, and the pans for them, but never had any desire to try them. They looked to me to be fussy cookies, and I assumed they would be a lot of work and they just didn't interest me. Having said all that, when I saw that it was Julie that had picked this recipe I decided I had to give it a go. The fact that they were chocolate madeleines certainly didn't hurt. :)

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. These cookies were really quite simple to pull together. I decided to only bake half of the recipe, not knowing if I would like them or not. I had all the ingredients on hand except for the orange. However I did have orange extract and added a scant 1/4 teaspoon in place of the zest. I had everything mixed up and in the fridge in less than 30 minutes.

I ended up baking the Madeleines the following night after I got home from Starbucks. I knew if I didn't bake them that night I wouldn't have another chance to bake them before the 30th. So, after the hubby went to bed I heated up the oven and got ready to bake my first ever Madeleines.

Not having a Madeleine pan I used my mini muffin pan. Thanks Julie, for posting that hint. I also used cooking spray to prepare the pan. I used a star tip and pastry bag to pipe the batter into the pan. I was hoping the cookies would retain the swirls. They didn't. :( But, they baked up in the time recommended in the recipe and smelled delicious as they baked.

When I pulled the pan from the oven I saw I had about a dozen mini muffins. As I mentioned, no ridges or swirls remained after baking. I flipped them onto the prepared pan and after placing the pan in the sink, I picked up one to try. What? Thirty seconds isn't enough cooling time? :D Maybe not, but after smelling them bake I couldn't wait!
Delicious! A bit hot, but so yummy. Tender inside, a slight crunch on the edges. I can't say I tasted the honey. I had my doubts about whether I would taste it considering there was only 1/2 a tablespoon in the recipe. I could taste the orange flavor. It didn't overpower the chocolate, and I like the combination of orange and chocolate. I tried another one, just to be sure the taste and quality was the same. And then tried another one. :) So good! I may have tried one or two more before putting them away. In my defense I was only following the directions in the recipe. Francois says these should be eaten the day they are baked, as they aren't as good the next day. You know what? He's right. The next day I had one and it was nowhere near as yummy as the couple 5, or maybe it was 6 that I had the night before. It was chewy-er, rubbery-er (is that even a word!?!). The flavor was still good, but the texture had changed completely. Definitely better eaten the day they are baked, fresh out of the oven.

Overall? I would call them a success. Simple to put together. A lot of flavor. Light and delicious. I would love to try the regular ones as the recipes I have read call for lemon zest. I also think if I made these again I might add a bit more honey and skip the orange zest altogether. See if the honey flavor comes through. So, my thanks to Julie for choosing a great recipe. I am glad to be able to cross Madeleines off my list of things I haven't baked. Still have to try fresh croissants but that will be another day. :) Swing by CWF to see who else tried these and what they thought of them.

9 comments:

  1. Yup, yours look just perfect! The classic doming that took away your ridges evaded me, but they were still tasty and fun. Who doesn't love a recipe you can mix a couple of days in advance and leave in the fridge?

    ReplyDelete
  2. These look beautiful! I know I thought they were delicious, too. This eating the same day they are made kills me (and my hips).

    I know your schedule has been hectic, thanks so much for baking with me this month!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are a fancy lady. You made them pretty in the pan. I love the domes you got. The orange addition is a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I liked them. I baked them and enjoyed them for 3 days after. One of the better F.P recipes, I thought. That could be because it was an easier one. Some of F.P's instructions get so involved.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Sue!

    I made my way here through Grandma's Table from Yorktown! You are right up the road. I would love to work at StarBuck's, LOL, I have applied to our local one for PT work, but no reply, yet. I look forward to exploring your blog.

    Beth

    ReplyDelete
  6. Okay, you know I don't like chocolate, but these do look pretty cute...and very worthy for my chocolate loving guys here. Great photos.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice job on these ..I love how you used the muffin pans too

    ReplyDelete
  8. These look great...I love Madeleines..there the perfect treat!

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to comment. I love hearing from others.