Lovin' From the Oven

Classic French Madeleines

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IMG_3621Happy New Year, fellow blog readers! I was a bit ambitious for our New Year’s party and tried my hand at madeleines for the first time. Thanks to this Madeleines book by Barbara Feldman Morse, it was a cinch.

IMG_3661Madeleines are the perfect excuse for having a party. After prepping and baking a couple of different flavors, you can set up a sprinkles/toppings bar for guests to decorate their own madeleines. Kids, especially, would love it!

IMG_3624I chose to try classic french madeleines and dark chocolate espresso madeleines so I could have the best of both worlds. To be honest, my first batch was a disaster. Not because they turned out terrible, but because I thought I could hold the pan with one hand right out of the oven. The corner of the pan just bumped the side of the oven when they came out and the whole batch went tumbling down.

IMG_3639It wasn’t all bad, though. I managed to salvage two and a half madeleines. My DH ate the half and then quickly finished off the other two so I knew they were good. Not to worry, I was planning on making a couple of batches anyway. I only had one madeleine pan to bake with, so I was making twelve at a time (half a batch). The pan that Quick Books sent me is awesome. Nothing stuck, the madeleines shaped wonderfully (assuming you put in just the right amount of batter), and it’s lightweight and heavy duty at the same time.

IMG_3649I enjoyed the madeleines plain, but my DH preferred them dipped in dark chocolate. I threw an assortment of sprinkles on top for the new year. Plus, they’re more eye-catching with bold and bright colors.

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IMG_3659This is the first time that I’ve baked with vanilla bean paste and let me tell you, it’s a game changer. The little specks of vanilla bean laced throughout the layers of each madeleine enhanced the flavor. As for the dark chocolate madeleines, the large amount of coffee added into the batter deepened the cocoa.

IMG_3666From what I’ve learned after my many batches, here are a couple of tips for your first time:

  1. Filling up the pan cavity almost all the way was too much for me. They overflowed. It’s better to start out with a little less than a little too much.
  2. When they say to mix the eggs and sugar together for five minutes, do it! The aerating is necessary for a light and fluffy madeleine. A mixer is your best friend when it comes to making madeleines.
  3. Use top of the line ingredients. Since there are so few ingredients in making a basic madeleine, it makes a huge difference the quality of your butter, vanilla, and chocolate.
  4. Baking spray is your best friend. If you generously cover your pan, those babies will slip out with little effort.
  5. Speaking of getting them out of a pan, I inverted them over a cooling rack and gently tapped the back of the pan to let them fall out. For the ones that didn’t come out out on their own, I used my finger to gently push one corner of the madeleine and they’d just slide out without a problem.
  6. You must let them cool on a baking rack. Leaving them on a flat surface will not cut it because both sides need to cool.
  7. The texture changes dramatically straight from the oven to after cooling. They’ll be a lot more dense after being cooled. I prefer to eat them warm and fluffy, but that timeframe’s very small.

IMG_3669Now, thanks to my friend over at Quirk Books, I’m giving away a copy of Madeleines and a madeleine pan for one reader to bake with this new year! The book has more recipes than you’ll ever need to entertain. There’s sweet, savory, light, heavy, fruity, and indulgent. Enter via the Rafflecopter below.IMG_3678

Print
Classic French Madeleines

Ingredients

  • 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest (I subbed this with grated vanilla beans)

Directions

  1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two 12-shell pans with baking spray.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.
  3. Place butter in another bowl and microwave on low power for 1 minute, or until melted. Allow to cool to room temperature.
  4. Place eggs and sugar in a 2-quart glass bowl or measuring cup and beat with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  5. Add vanilla and zest and continue beating for another minute or so. Fold in the flour mixture until just blended, then drizzle the cooled butter over the batter and incorporate completely.
  6. Using a 1 1/2 inch-diamter scoop or a teaspoon, fill shell molds with bater until almost full. Gently press batter to distribute it evenly.
  7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until madeleines puff up and are golden brown.
  8. Remove pans from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 2 to 3 minutes, then invert and tap madeleines onto the rack. You may also use a small offset spatula to remove each one individually. Let cool completely if planning to store and/ or freeze. Otherwise, serving madeleines warm from the oven is best!
https://lovintheoven.com/classic-french-madeleines/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored post, but the opinions expressed are my own.

Martha Stewart’s Gingerbread

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I was sent Martha Stewart’s new book, Martha Stewart’s Cakes: Our First-Ever Book of Bundts, Loaves, Layers, Coffee Cakes, and more, to review and I was so excited to receive it in the mail since I’m a fan of her other ones (Cookies and Cupcakes). I never got a chance to grab her Pies & Tarts, but I’m sure it’s just as good as the rest.

Right off the bat, I loved how uniform the book was with the rest. They’re all the same size and line up beautifully on my cooking bookshelf. Is that weird? Hey, books can make or break your kitchen shelf.

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There are over 150 different kinds of cakes in this cookbook, one for everyone. There are also plenty of full page photos to show you exactly what the outcome is supposed to look like. A cookbook is nothing without pictures, and this one doesn’t disappoint in that aspect.

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The pages are nice and thick, yet still easy to flip through. The recipe that caught my eye was gingerbread. I’m all about starting holiday recipes as soon as possible.

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I made mini loaves rather than making a big pan, but my gingerbread turned out pretty much the same as the picture. I didn’t level my batter when pouring it into the pans, so my top was a bit uneven. My fault… I’ve been known to be an impatient baker sometimes.

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Again, my impatience comes through in these photos because I didn’t wait for it to cool before cutting. I just wanted to dive into the cinnamon ginger smell piercing my nostrils. The slices would have been cleaner if I waited, but who can resist warm gingerbread?

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I brought these to the Giants vs Dodgers baseball game last week (woooo! I can cross AT&T park/going to a Giants game off of my bucket list of things to do before moving back to LA in May) and it was devoured in seconds. Literally. Everyone gave great feedback.

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The dusting of powdered sugar on top is optional, but it brings its own level of sweetness to a pretty tame (in sweetness) bread. I wouldn’t do without it.

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In the book, Martha discusses the ten golden rules for cakes:

  1. Read the recipe all the way through before you begin.
  2. Choose your ingredients wisely.
  3. Be mindful of recipe details.
  4. Don’t rush the mixing process.
  5. Prepare you pans properly.
  6. A good oven thermometer is key.
  7. Rotate cake pans.
  8. Watch out for clues.
  9. Let cakes cool completely.
  10. Serve your cake at the right temperature.

I totally failed on 2/10 rules: “Be mindful of recipe details” and “let cakes cool completely.” I didn’t even out the batter before baking and couldn’t wait for it to cool completely. Oops.

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If gingerbread isn’t your number one choice, there are other recipes in the book that might tickle your fancy: margarita cheesecake, mint chocolate-chip cake, blackberry cornmeal cake (looking forward to trying that one!),  chocolate baked alaskas, or coconut-lime-berry cake, just to name a few.

Print
Martha Stewart’s Gingerbread

Serving Size: one 9x5 loaf

Martha Stewart's Gingerbread from her book, Cakes. Can be found on page 26 of her cookbook.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground gloves
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl.
  2. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.
  3. Transfer batter to prepared pans; smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Run a thin knife around edge of cake to loosen. Turn out cake onto a serving platter; dust generously with confectioners' sugar.
https://lovintheoven.com/martha-stewarts-gingerbread/

I was sent this book to review, but the opinions expressed are my own.

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