Orange Blossom Water Madeleines

These madeleines are Middle Eastern Inspired, with orange blossom water, honey and pistachios

I should create a folder on my blog dedicated to madeleines! I love these little cakes so much that I keep reinventing them with different flavours. I also make it often, when I know friends are coming over for tea, as the batter can be made in advance and baked up whilst your guests are there. In fact, it is recommended that they are eaten fresh out of the oven. After all, they only take ten minutes to bake.

In this version, I have drawn inspiration from Middle Eastern flavours to create a version which has orange blossom water, pistachio and honey in it. This draws parallels to some of the ingredients used in making a baklava. For an extra boost of flavour, I brush the outsides with a honey orange glaze as well. This is completely optional though, as it does also add to the sweetness of the madeleine.

For alternative variations to this recipe, try these lemon and poppyseed madeleines or these brown butter, honey and almond madeleines.

TIPS FOR MAKING THESE ORANGE BLOSSOM AND PISTACHIO MADELEINES

• How long should I beat the eggs and sugar for? The eggs and sugar need to be whipped for a good 10 minutes. They should quadruple in volume, and be pale and fluffy. It is really important to aerate the mixture.
• Why do you fold in the dry ingredients? Once the eggs and sugar have been whipped, gently fold in the remaining ingredients so as to not knock out the air in the eggs.
• Do I have to rest the batter? It is crucial to rest the batter for at least two hours. The signature hump is derived from baking a cold batter in a hot oven.
• Can I use a piping bag to fill the madeleine tin? Some people put the madeleine batter in a piping bag. It is easier than spooning it into the tin. I do however feel, that it deflates some of the air in the whipped eggs – your call!
• How do I prevent the madeleines from sticking to the tin? For the madeleines to release easily, brush the tin with melted butter. Then sift over some flour and thoroughly tap out excess. The flour helps it to release easily. Too much flour however, leaves a residue on the baked madeleine which does not look as attractive.
• What happens if the madeleines still stick? If the madeleines do tend to stick, run a knife around the rim to loosen them.
• Why is the oven set to such a high temperature initially? Turning the oven to 220 degrees celcius initially, helps the madeleines to rise up, as opposed to spread. This also helps them form their hump.
• Why do you reduce the heat thereafter? To prevent them from burning, you want to reduce the heat to 180 degrees celcius, thereafter.
• How long do the madeleines last for? Due to the fact that there is very little fat in the batter, they do dry out fairly quickly, so best to eat them as close to fresh as possible.

If you make this recipe, please share it with me by tagging me on Instagram @adventureswithsugar or on Facebook at Adventures with Sugar. Please also leave a comment below to let me know how you got on with the recipe.

FOR THE MADELEINES ( MAKES 24)

• 200g butter
• 30ml honey (2 Tablespoons)
• 2 Tablespoons orange zest
• 4 large eggs
• 130g castor sugar
• 15ml orange blossom water (1 Tablespoon)
• 200g cake flour
• 10ml baking powder (2 tsp)
• 2.5ml salt (1/2 tsp)

FOR THE GLAZE

• 40g icing sugar
• 15ml runny honey (1 Tablespoon)
• 15ml orange juice (1 Tablespoon)

TO DECORATE

• 25g crushed pistachios

METHOD

1. Place the butter, honey and orange zest in a bowl and melt. Set aside to cool.
2. Whilst the honey and butter are cooling, place the eggs, sugar and orange blossom water in a bowl and, with an electric mixer, beat on high speed until thick and pale. The batter dropped from the beater should leave a trail on the batter (ie. ribbon stage).
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and by hand, gently fold the dry ingredients into the sugar and egg mixture.
4. Place three tablespoons of the egg and sugar mixture into the melted butter mixture and mix. This helps to more easily incorporate the melted butter into the mixture, without knocking out the air which has been incorporated into the eggs.
5. Once the butter has been mixed in, add this to remaining egg and sugar mixture and mix to combine, being careful not to knock out the air in the whipped egg whites.
6. Cover the bowl with clingwrap and let it sit in the fridge for at least two hours, but ideally overnight.
7. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celcius. Brush your madeleine moulds with melted butter and dust with flour, so that the entire mould is coated. Make sure to tap out the excess flour.
8. Spoon the batter into the madeleine moulds. It should rise two thirds of the way up the sides of the moulds.
9. Bake the madeleines for 5 minutes at 220 degrees celcius .
10. Then drop the temperature to 180 degrees celcius and bake for another 5 minutes. The madeleines should begin to brown around the edges and spring back when tapped in the middle. Remove them from the oven.
11. Wait for around 3 minutes, then release them from the tray. Once they are out of the tray, let them cool for five more minutes.
12. In this time, make the honey orange glaze by combining all of the ingredients together. Once the madeleines are cool, brush them with the glaze.
13. Roll them in crushed pistachios to finish.

Recipe by adventureswithsugar.com