A French baker and a Polish King walk into a bar…

Stop me if you’ve heard this one… But seriously, according to one tale a French baker and a Polish King would collaborate in bringing to the world one of the most beloved French confections … the Madeleine. There’s as many theories about the origins of the Madeleine as the origins of the Universe, though not as much fervent argument (I think. Uh-oh, maybe I was wrong). My favorite is still the one about the Polish King who became so enamored with the petite cake when he tasted it that he named it after Madeleine, the French servant who baked them. At least King Stanisław Leszczyński had some sweets to cheer him up when he was in exile from his country.

Of course the history of the Madeleine doesn’t just include Kings and Queens. You’ve got your literary references as well. Who can forget it was Proust who gave the Madeleine much acclaim in Remembrance of Things Past. Talk about being enamored, “…at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory – this new sensation having had on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence … I had ceased now to feel mediocre, contingent, mortal.” Now I’ve been known to drown my sorrows with sweets, but I don’t remember ever having one of those experiences. “I had ceased not to feel … mortal”!? Wow. Maybe I’m just not that type of a writer. I’d love to eat something that made me feel like a superhero.

You may remember from a previous post that I had been in search of a Madeleine Pan. Fate smiled down on me last week and I found one. I finally got to use it the other day when I made the Orange-Cardamom Madeleines from Martha Stewart’s Cookies book. Of course my original plan was to do a half recipe of the Orange-Cardamom Madeleines and a half recipe of the traditional Lemon Madeleines. I can’t keep doing full recipes of everything otherwise I’ll be crane-worthy to get out of the house. My plan was bigger than my ability (as usual), and I only ended up with the half batch of Orange-Cardamoms. I’m kind of glad though because I think I’ll end up trying this recipe for the more traditional Madeleines. There’s an article about the baker and a repeat of the recipe here (this is actually where I first came across it, but I wanted a link to the original baker since she did a post about it on her blog). I like the idea of using the browned butter.  

This recipe for the most part went off without a hitch, at least in the sense that they looked and tasted pretty good in the end. I, however, did run into some problems having nothing to do with the recipe (of course). Zesting oranges is not my forte as you can see. I need to start keeping a photoblog of all the stuff that ends up on the floor when I’m baking.

Here’s the recipe with my notes in italics:

Orange-Cardamom Madeleines

batter:
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, plus more to grease pan
1 tablespoon of good-quality honey (Does good-quality even need to be said? Use good quality everything when you can afford it.)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used bleached all-purpose flour since this is a more cake-like cookie)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (Unless you like lots of spice cut way down on this. I used only a 1/4 teaspoon for the half batch I did because I wasn’t sure if I really liked the cardamom that much. I’m Polish and our cuisine isn’t exactly known for setting your mouth on fire, metaphorically or otherwise. I think it was almost just the right amount. It really could have used a bit more. Just be aware of the strong taste.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs

glaze:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
2 tablespoons strained fresh orange juice

Brush molds of a madeleine pan with butter. Make the batter: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat, and stir in honey and vanilla. Let cool 10 minutes. I nearly ended up with my own browned butter. Well maybe not nearly. I actually used the same method for melting chocolate, using a metal mixing bowl and a small saucepan as a double boiler. I used this method because I was only melting two tablespoons and it just seemed wrong to use even the smallest saucepan I have to melt that small amount. I nearly had browned butter because I wanted to check my computer for measurement conversions on my computer upstairs and got distracted by MSN headlines. I guess it’s a good thing I used the double boiler method.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt in a small bowl. Stir together sugar and eggs in a bowl. Gently fold in flour mixture until combined. Add butter mixture, and fold until combined. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes. I don’t know what it is about me, but I always end up being late for a lot of things. I swear I’ll be late to my own funeral. In this case I didn’t get the batter out of the fridge until after an hour. Yes, it actually took that long for me to zest and juice an orange. It didn’t help that the first one turned out to be a bad orange, something I didn’t notice until the glaze was made and I was cutting up the rind to throw down the disposal. It also didn’t help that all the zest from the second orange I zested ended up on the floor. Thankfully the third time was the charm, but that whole exasperating process took me an hour including my frustration break in between the last two oranges.

Preheat oven to 325, with rack in center. Spoon batter into prepared pan, filling each mold halfway. Tap pan on work surface to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until cookies are puffed and edges are golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool slightly. Unmold cookies onto rack, and let cool completely.

Make the glaze: Stir together sugar, orange zest and juice in a small bowl until glaze is smooth, thick, and opaque. Using a small pastry brush, coat ridged side of each cookie with glaze. Let set 15 minutes. Cookies can be stored in a single layer in an airtight container up to 3 days. The cookies pictured in the book have a slightly milky look from the glaze. You need to make sure you don’t use any more orange juice than the recipe calls for to get that milky look. My first glaze (from orange #2 but with zest from #3) didn’t produce any milkiness at all, but I ended up probably adding a teaspoon or so extra of juice just because I wanted to use it up. Foolish me. I should know better when it comes to baking to be precise, but this is how you remind yourself right? The second glaze (from orange #3 no zest) came out much better because I used the precise amount of juice. I did add maybe a half tablespoon more confectioners sugar for good measure and it came out better.

All-in-all this was quite a tasty cookie. Despite my orange troubles it was an enjoyable experience, plus I love the historical lore surrounding this delightful cookie.

Tagged as: Oops!, Orange, Recipe!