Earl Gray Madeleine

Rosa, author of Pemberley Cup&Cakes , brings us the recipe for madeleines, those French madeleines that make you start the day with a smile! She suggests making them with a touch of tea, to make them even more aromatic, although they accept alternatives (Rosa gives you some more ideas to adapt them to your taste).

How do you feel like turning on the oven now, right? You will agree with me that it never hurts to be able to turn any moment into a special moment without complicating life too much. And one of my favorite ways is to use a good homemade sweet, simple but made with great care. Because that shows.

So this time I have prepared some delicious and delicate madeleines , which are made almost alone , but which you will enjoy delighted as if it were the most elaborate dessert. These beauties are, as their name suggests, direct relatives of our muffins, although of French origin and with their characteristic shell shape. Perhaps the most notable difference is that, unlike muffins, it is customary to make madeleines with butter .

This variation, however, does not go unnoticed in the exquisite nuance of flavor that it gives them, and even so I wanted to make them even more special. For greater delight I have given them a touch of Earl Gray tea , which is, by far, one of the types of tea that I have liked the most since I can remember. On this particular occasion I have used the Anastasia variety from Kusmi Tea, an exquisite blend of black tea, flavored with bergamot, lemon and orange blossom. Can you already imagine the result?

This particular tea is also accompanied by a fascinating story and if there is something that I can hardly resist, it is a good story behind a good recipe. As its name suggests, its creation was inspired by the life of Grand Duchess Anastasia, the fourth daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar of the Romanov dynasty and, in turn, the last tsar in history almost almost 100 years. It is not for nothing that Kusmi Tea quickly became the official tea of ​​the Tsar during his golden age. The good news is that today we can continue to enjoy it comfortably in our homes without losing any of its splendor. And why not, well accompanied by a couple of these madeleines (or three). Unbeatable panorama it seems to me...

Le Creuset nonstick shell pan , Tokyo Design Studio porcelain mug, Kitchen Craft measuring spoons , and Chemex sugar and milk jug .

INGREDIENTS (for 12 madeleines )

All ingredients must be at room temperature, unless otherwise indicated.

• 70g unsalted butter
• 10gr (2 tablespoons) Earl Gray tea (loose leaf) *
• 90g of common wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon baker's yeast
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 60g of white sugar
• Zest of ½ medium lemon (only the yellow skin, always avoiding the white membrane, as it is bitter)
• 1 egg (L)
• 1 egg yolk (L)
• 20g (1 tablespoon) mild honey
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• Icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

(1 teaspoon = 5ml / 1 tablespoon = 15ml)

*I propose you to give a touch to the recipe for this tea, but in Notes you will see equally delicious alternatives.

Elaboration

1. We start by flavoring the butter with the tea, for which we melt it in a saucepan over a very low heat. Once completely melted, leave for another 1-2 minutes and remove from heat (be careful not to leave it too long or it will end up burning in a matter of seconds) and add the tea leaves. Let infuse for about 15 minutes.
2. After this time, we pass it through a fine mesh strainer to discard the tea leaves and let it filter until it is used. It is even more than advisable to place a mesh to squeeze or a coffee filter and thus eliminate even the smallest remains.
3. In a separate large bowl , sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. We booked.
4. In another large bowl, combine the sugar and the lemon zest and rub both with your fingertips so that the sugar is well impregnated with the oils and aroma of the fruit.
5. Now add the egg and yolk to the flavored sugar and beat with the whisk for about 4-5 minutes (a little less if we use electric whisks ) until they triple or quadruple their initial size and acquire a spongy consistency and a visibly paler color.
6. Then add the honey and vanilla extract and beat a little more until perfectly combined.
7. Next, we add to the previous mixture the dry ingredients that we had reserved (point 3) in two batches and mix with the help of a spatula or wooden spoon gently and using enveloping movements just until there are no visible remains of flour.
8. Next, we add the infused butter, already warm and still in a liquid state, also in two batches, and mix again gently with the spatula until completely incorporated, but without overdoing the mixture or we will end up with the volume obtained in our dough.
9. Once the mixture is ready, we cover it with transparent film, making sure that it is completely in contact with the surface of the dough to prevent it from drying out, and we refrigerate it for about 4 hours (it can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days). In this way, thanks to the contrast produced when the cold dough comes into contact with the high temperature of the oven, we will more easily achieve the small crest characteristic of the madeleines .
10. When it's time to resume our recipe, we preheat the oven (electric and airless) to 230ºC for about 20-25 minutes and place the oven tray in the central position.
11. Meanwhile, we grease a special mold for madeleines , like this one from Le Creuset with a good layer of release spray and put it in the freezer.
12. As soon as the oven has reached the right temperature, remove the mixture and the mold from the cold and distribute the dough equally between each of the cavities of the mold, making sure that it does not reach the edge (it is not necessary to smooth the surface, as it will be leveled in the oven). With a tablespoon (without heaping) approx. of dough per madeleine will suffice. To fill the mold we can use a couple of spoons or a pastry bag for greater precision.
13. Reduce the oven temperature to 200ºC and immediately bake for about 10 minutes until the typical tuft has formed in the center of each shell, the surface has acquired a beautiful golden hue and the edges are more toasty and crispy.
14. We then remove from the oven and unmold our madeleines by gently tapping the edge of the mold against the work surface. If any resist (although I highly doubt that it will happen to you if you are using the Le Creuset mold), we can use a silicone spatula .
15. We then place them on a cooling rack with the top facing up and let them cool to room temperature.
16. When serving them, we can end up sprinkling them with a touch of icing sugar on top.

There is nothing like enjoying some good homemade madeleines on the first day. From the second day they will begin to dry out, but they can be frozen well wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil for up to 2 months.

Le Creuset teapot , Tokyo Design Studio porcelain mug, Chemex sugar and milk jug , Kitchen Craft measuring spoons , and nonstick shell pan LeCreuset .

Grades

• If you prefer, you can also use the theine-free version of this rich tea: Decaffeinated Earl Gray by Kusmi Tea .
• If you are not much of tea but you do not want to give up that aromatic touch in your madeleines , you should know that you can replace it with 1 tablespoon of dried lavender flowers (suitable for consumption, of course), aromatic herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary…), or even a mixture of your favorite spices (½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg and a pinch of ground ginger, for example, which we will sift together with the flour).

I cannot stop insisting on how really easy it is to enjoy a recipe as exquisite as these madeleines (it almost costs more to explain it than to prepare it, but you know how I like to describe each step in detail), so don't take long to check it out. Bon appétit!

Le Creuset nonstick shell pan , Tokyo Design Studio porcelain mug, Kitchen Craft measuring spoons , Chemex sugar and milk jug, and Birkmann round cooling rack .