Truth be told, if I hadn't skipped the last several Sweet Melissa Sundays recipes, I would have skipped this one. Even though I've been home from vacation for a few days, I haven't accomplished a lot.
The recipe calls for roasted hazelnuts, and I stressed over this. With skins or without? Dry roasted? Then I realized I had hazelnut flour, so I used that instead of buying roasted hazelnuts and grinding them in the food processor. The recipe calls for chestnut honey, but since it only uses 1 tablespoon for the whole recipe (and I only made a half recipe), I just used clover honey from the pantry. Maybe the chestnut honey would have made this better, but I kind of doubt 1/2 tablespoon of honey could transform a recipe.
This was the easiest madeleine recipe I've ever made. The dry ingredients (hazelnut flour, confectioners' sugar and flour) are whisked. The butter is melted and browned (I skipped straining the browned butter). Egg whites are beaten until frothy, then mixed in with the honey to the dry ingredients. Finally, the browned butter is mixed in to the batter. Spoon the batter into the molds and refrigerate for two hours before baking. How easy is that?! The batter was DELICIOUS, and I was so excited to taste the baked madeleines. I'm sorry to say the baked madeleines were overly sweet and I couldn't taste the browned butter and hazelnuts. Very disappointing.
The full recipe yields 24 madeleines, but I got 15 from my half batch.
This recipe was chosen by Debbie of Cafe Chibita. Thanks for hosting this week, Debbie. I hope you're feeling better! Sorry I wasn't thrilled with your pick.
I've never made or eaten a madeleine, so I had nothing to compare these to. I thought they were delicious.
ReplyDeleteYour madeleines are gorgeous and I love your plate! I thought the batter was delicious as well but also enjoyed the finished product. Sorry you were disappointed!
ReplyDeleteThe madeleines look lovely. I'm wondering if using hazelnut flour rather than ground hazelnuts was the lack-of-flavor culprit, because I could really taste the hazelnuts. I think they could have used a bit less sugar, though.
ReplyDeleteMargot, I think you're on to something. Tracey mentioned she could really taste them, and she cracked and ground her own.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful madeleines! I love the pale golden color. Mine were on the opposite side of the golden spectrum, unfortunately. I used almonds instead of hazelnuts because that was I had on hand and I enjoyed the flavor.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if my using walnuts made a difference, for the better, because they had a subtle taste, and I am nto sure from what. Perhaps, the burning the minis did that but whatever, we liked these.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry you didn't. Would you try another flavor?
This one was almost a skip for me too Leslie. After all the time I spent cracking and grounding those hazelnuts I was wishing I had skipped :) Your madeleines look lovely - doesn't seem like you had any of the issues with overbaking I did.
ReplyDeleteat least they look gorgeous!! i didn't taste the hazelnuts either, and i actually ground mine up. and then slathered them with honey to make sure that i could taste at least THAT.
ReplyDeleteYour madeleines look wonderful and you tried the recipe! We will not like every recipe but the experience makes us grow as bakers =) and I think you did a wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteWhat a disappointment - delicious batter, and then you bake it and don't like the result. Sorry about that, thats a stinker!
ReplyDeleteI've never had a madeline so I'm also clueless. Sorry they didn't thrill you, but they sure look pretty!
ReplyDeleteThey look nice. Sorry you didn't like the taste. I used almonds in mine which I toasted first, and then ground in the FP. The almond taste was definitely there. Give it another go using fresh hazelnuts or try almonds. I added a couple of enhancements to the recipe that you might like too (salt, lemon zest and vanilla).
ReplyDeleteThese are lovely looking madeleines. And welcome back from holidays!
ReplyDeleteOh well, every recipe can't be a hit. They do look lovely .
ReplyDeleteMimi