Vanilla Spice Madelines
There are some days my mind is so distracted that accomplishing anything is a chore. That's when I retreat to my kitchen to create. It sounds counterintuitive, I know. But when I'm in my kitchen I'm focused. I'm grounded. I can concentrate and work through recipes. Today was one of those days. And, I took full advantage of the opportunity to play!
I snagged some of those awesome fleximolds for Christmas. You know, the silicone ones. Non-stick, flexible, nearly indestructible. I have a couple, but today it was all about the Madelines molds. It's been since my trip to France that I've baked Madelines, so I was eager to work through several recipes that I have been collecting. A soft buttery cake and a cup of tea seemed to be the answer to my scattered thoughts.
I dove into the recipes only to discover that each one is so drastically different, it would require some serious thought - and a huge leap of faith - to see if I could create the little teacake I was beginning to crave. My final recipe was largely adapted from Lisa Yockelson's Baking by Flavor. She describes a light, vanilla flavored Madeline - but I had my mind on a spice scented version. Vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg to warm my home and ease my mind on this rainy, raw kind of Central Pennsylvania day.
In the end, my home smelled divine. The alluring aroma of vanilla with the beguiling edge of spice. Mmmmm. The cakes weren’t as flavorful as they were aromatic. But, it didn’t seem to matter to me. I had my cake; I had my tea... and I had a fire to cozy up to. The rest of the day was about mindless stuff that made me feel indulgent and decadent on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.
Vanilla Madelines
adapted from Baking by Flavor, by Lisa Yockelson. Copyright © 2002 by Lisa Yockelson.
Makes 18 large Madelines and 36 small Madelines
Ingredients:
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup cake flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ heaping teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup superfine sugar
2 ½ tablespoons vanilla powder
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup milk
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Sift the flours, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon into a large bowl. Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter for a few minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla powder and continue mixing until combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing. Blend in the vanilla extract. Add the sifted ingredients in two additions, mixing on a low speed until just combined. Mix in the milk. The batter should be thick, but creamy.
Fill in the Madeline molds spreading the batter to fill the mold, leaving a little mound in the middle of the mold (which makes a plump cake when baked).
Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes for the large molds and about 10 minutes for the small molds until the cakes are plump, set and a metal skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. The edges of fully baked Madelines will be light golden brown. Cool the Madelines in the pan for 1 minute, then flip them out onto a cooling rack. Serve the Madelines warm, or within a few hours of baking.
