Sunday, June 20, 2010

SMS: Chestnut Honey Madeleines


Shortly after Josh and I moved in together, we went on a shopping spree to fill in the gaps for our shared kitchen. Although I did cook (not as much as I do now), I had always lived with roommates and had limited kitchen equipment of my own. And Josh didn’t cook at all, unless you count heating up bags of frozen pasta, so his kitchen was pretty sparse. He didn’t even have a cutting board until I came along – you should see him now though, he has excellent knife skills. Anyway, when we went shopping, one of the items I deemed *essential* was a Madeleine pan. Actually two: both mini and standard. Did I really think I was going to be making the tender little cakes all the time? This was a couple years ago and I can probably count on one hand how many times the pans have been used, so I was happy to see this week’s Sweet Melissa selection was Chestnut Honey Madeleines and I would have an opportunity to use the pans.


I was worried that the recipe would involve chestnuts, which would be impossible to find this time of year, but it actually called for chestnut honey. I just used clover honey, which seemed to work fine. The recipe did call for roasted hazelnuts. I was very happy that last time I needed hazelnuts, I roasted and peeled the skins (tedious!) off extra nuts, which saved a lot of time when I wanted to make these cookies. I made a half recipe, which yielded a dozen minis and 6 standard size Madeleines. The recipe says to place the oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven, but it did not specify to rotate in the middle of baking, which I should have known better to do, because the Madeleines on the lower level were quite a bit darker. Luckily they still tasted fine, just not as pretty.


Hazelnuts are so often paired with chocolate (also delicious) that I’m glad they had a chance to be the star of this recipe and I really enjoyed the flavor in these little cakes. The recipe was heavy in sugar and low in honey, so I’m curious how they’d be if the recipe could be tweaked to add a more prominent honey flavor. We rated this recipe a 7.5 (approaching on 8) for Deliciousness and I gave them a 2.5 for Effort, for an EDR 3. Thank you to Debbie of Café Chibita for selecting this yummy treat and giving me an opportunity to use my Madeleine pans. The recipe will be posted on Debbie’s site and visit the Sweet Melissa site to see what the other bakers thought of this selection.

I’d also like to wish a happy Father’s Day to my dad (and all other dads out there). Eloise says happy Father’s Day to Josh. Seriously, she loves me (anyone holding bread or willing to pet her, actually), but she’s really a daddy’s girl!

16 comments:

Julie said...

Beautiful madeleines! I love that you decided the pan was an "essential".

Gloria - The Ginger Snap Girl said...

Your madeleines look perfect! I'm certain they are delicious! :) If only we could sample the goodies we share on SMS!

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

So, that is what a real madeleine looks like. They appear more shallow than our little muffins. Mine did not seem like a cookie, at all.

A very pretty cookie, you made.

Gloria - The Ginger Snap Girl said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog Margot. I would love to participate in sharing goodies once a month. Sounds fantastic! Definitely let me know when it resumes. :)

JoAnn Freda said...

I didn't even know these could be made at home. They look very professional and tasty.

Candy said...

Beautiful! Love the story about how you insisted that madeleine pans are an essential kitchen item!

Unknown said...

Shane and I had a similar shopping trip for our kitchen after our wedding, but at the time I didn't bake so none of the baking pans were picked up until years later :) I love the idea of a mini madeleine pan, I'm going to keep my eyes out for that one. Glad the madeleines were a hit, they look yummy! Oh, and thanks for the shot of Eloise, I always love seeing her - she's gorgeous!

Leslie said...

Ha ha! Isn't it funny the things we can't live without? Your madeleines look incredible but I bet you used a real madeleine pan, not a silicone one like I did. I'm so over silicone; it makes me mad every time I use it, and then I have to clean it without damaging its precious "nonstick" (ha!) surface.

Sorry. Didn't mean to turn this into a silicone pan rant. It's just that yours look so great! And that's a wonderful picture! I'm glad this was enjoyed by Eloise's dad (a/k/a Josh).

Anonymous said...

haha i LOVE that a madeleine pan was an essential kitchen item! at least i'm not the only one with a quirky sense of priorities ;)

your madeleines look great!

Hanaâ said...

They look really pretty from baking them in your Madeleine pan. You might have not used this pan often in the past, but c'mon, isn't this recipe worth repeating? :o) We enjoyed them a lot!

spike. said...

I've held out on buying a pan so far- but I think I'm going to cave soon. your madeleines look lovely

Stephanie said...

You're right -hazelnut never really gets to shine through on its own! And I agree- honey flavor wasn't so prominent in these. I'd love to play around with the rest to reduce sugar / up the honey and see the results!

Anonymous said...

Two madeleine pans! Well, they came in handy, because these look wonderful.

Our dog worships my husband. She likes me a lot, but sometimes I think she thinks I'm the hired help!

Anonymous said...

I love how you deemed madeleine pans as "essential" and actually have them in different sizes!!
...(and I thought I was crazy...:P)...
I'm glad you were able to use your pans with the rest of us this week! Thank you!

rebecca @ beurrista said...

I, too, have barely used my pans, but I think I will much more now with this recipe. This recipe was definitely worth the effort.

Yours look fantastic!

Mimi said...

Picture perfect madeleines. Looks like you made a good decision on just what is essential to a kitchen.
Mimi