Chocolate Madeleine's - CBC 12a

12a I hear you ask?  I don't like the other number, the one after 12 but before 14.  Not that I'm superstitious or anything but lets face it my baking has not been going to plan lately and I don't need any more bad luck in the kitchen!  And my theory seems to have worked, these little guys turned out a charm!  Phew.

I will admit to being a bit nervous about trying them to be honest.  I've always wanted to make Madeleine's, their scalloped shell pattern always reminds me of the sea and that reminds me of summer holidays and collecting shells.  Oh the joy of youth!  After some research I knew that a proper Madeleine tin was required, the real deal and not silicone and all the better if you could manage to pick one up from a French flea market and drag it back to your British kitchen kicking and screaming.  Unfortunately I couldn't source one of these so ended up purchasing two plum purple silicone moulds yesterday.  Undeterred (though the colour of the moulds is a little disturbing!) I set about making my first ever batch this afternoon.  My only dilemma was which recipe to use?  I have collected so many and they all sound so great (except for the ginger ones [urgh] but Hubby and his family will love them which is why I collected the recipe!)

How different can a recipe be for the exact same thing?  It would appear that not all Madeleine's are made equal at all.  some use baking powder and others won;t allow the same ingredient within cooee.  Some have ground almonds.  2 eggs, 3 eggs or 4 eggs.  The variations are endless and that is before you even start to think about what flavour you want.  The one thing consistent comment throughout though is that you are looking for a hump to form on the top while baking.  I was filled with the same kind of dread that the mandatory 'macaroon-foot' brought on. 

Head spinning and heart pumping I crossed my fingers and plumped for a Donna Hay recipe ... Nigella needed a break!

Chocolate Madeleine's
2 eggs
75g caster sugar
50g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder
60g butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 180C.  Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk to combine.  Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa over the egg mixture and fold through with the melted butter.  Spoon the mixture into greased large Madeleine tins until two thirds full.  Bake for 10 mins or until the Madeleine's are set.

Makes 12 although I actually got 18 out of my mixture
Donna Hay's Simple Essentials Chocolate

I did become filled with panic after the egg and sugar whisking.  How much whisking is required to combine the two?  Are we talking combined as in 'mixed together' or combined as in 'light and fluffy' - argh!  I ended up on middle ground, still slightly foamy and still slightly liquid.  After adding the rest of the ingredients though the dry ingredients went lumpy so I soon abandoned the folding technique and went back to the whisk.  This seems to have worked well, the mixture was perfectly combined and more importantly, the hump formed during baking.  Yay - I think my baking mojo is on the return ;0)

Best served with a cuppa while still warm from the oven.  I find that they are just as happy to pop into your tummy without a cuppa as they are with!