Honey & Almond Madeleines

I know that it's the New Year and we should all be detoxing after a glutenous Christmas, but the weather has been so miserable recently that I still feel like I'm in hibernation mode.

These buttery French cakes are best enjoyed still warm from the oven with a cup of tea or coffee. The batter can be made in advance and baked in time for tea.

This was my first attempt at baking madeleines and I was incredibly happy with how they turned out. There was enough batter to make 20 madeleines, but this will vary slightly depending on your tin.

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 80g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 80g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 40g ground almonds
• 75g butter, plus extra for greasing the tin

• Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5
• Generously butter, then flour, the madeleine or bun tins (if you are using a silicone madeleine tray you will not need to flour the tray as well).

 

• Beat the eggs with the sugar, honey and vanilla extract until light and airy. 
• Whisk in the flour and ground almonds until completely incorporated, then gradually whisk in the cooled, melted butter. 
• Spoon the batter into the tins and bake for 10-12 mins, depending on the size of the tins.

• When the madeleines are golden, risen and baked all the way through, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 2 mins before turning out.