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Chocolate
Madeleines
A madeleine is a small, plump sponge cake, eaten like a
cookie, often after dunking it in a cup
of tea or coffee. This version is a classic French recipe
for chocolate Madeleines, that gets a unique touch sweetness
from lavender
honey.
No
one is certain when madeleines first appeared, but one
story dates their origin to the town of Commercy in Lorraine,
later popularized at Versailles and then in Paris by Stanislas
Leczinski, King of Poland and father-in-law of Louis XV.
As the story goes, the cake was invented in 1755 during
a feast given in Commercy by Leczinski at which a young
servant named Madeleine cooked this traditional cake and
saved the dinner. and once you taste them, you'll know
why. The small, buttery French cakes, forever immortalized
in Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, as a "little
shell of cake, so generously sensual beneath the piety
of its stern pleating",
looking as
though they had been moulded in the fluted valve of a scallop
shell" are perfect for a Christmas
tea party or paired with some gourmet
tea to
give as a holiday gift. You will need to have a madeleine
pan for this
recipe.
Butter and flour madeleine tins. (You can also
use nonstick spray, but using the traditional butter adds to
the taste)
In a large saucepan, heat the butter over moderately high
heat until it begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma, about
5 minutes.
Melt the
chocolate either in the top of a double boiler, set over
simmering water, or in the microwave. Make sure the pan is
not touching the water. Remove the pan before all the chocolate
has melted and keep stirring to make sure all the pieces
have melted. (If using a microwave, heat and stir at 30 second
intervals.)
Sift sugar and flour into a medium bowl, then stir in the
ground almonds.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites
until frothy.
Add the
almond mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined.
Whisk in brown butter and honey until blended.
Add the
melted chocolate and whisk to blend.
Spoon the batter into the molds, filling the indentation almost
all the way. Refrigerate for an hour to let batter get firm.
Preheat
oven to 375° 10. Bake the madeleines about 12-15
minutes (Don't over bake--they should be springy to the touch.)
Remove
from oven. Tap pan against hard surface to loosen cookies,
then unmold onto a wire rack and let cool.
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