Chocolate Dipped Madeleines

A few years ago I was staying with my friend in the Scottish Borders and on Sunday morning her very elegant neighbour popped round for coffee and brought with her freshly baked french madeleines - it was to me such an effortlessly chic and personal gesture and the madeleines were like manna from heaven - warm and buttery sponge in those beautiful scalloped shapes.
I had never heard of, or tasted madeleines to that point but I just had to learn how to make them. So luckily, I picked up a few Madeleine trays in TK Maxx and set about making my first batch when I got back. They are now one of my favourite lazy weekend treats to bake, perfect with coffee and the weekend papers. 

The beauty of madeleines is they are made with very simple ingredients and once you apply a few simple rules they are easy to whip up and should bake to heavenly perfection. 

Simple Rules

1. Don't over mix the batter. We want them to be light and fluffy.

2. Allow the batter to sit in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours so the madeleines will rise better. You can even make the batter the day before, leave it in the fridge overnight so all you have to do then is bake them - perfect for a lazy Sunday morning.

3. Make sure to brush the tray with lightly melted butter, ensuring each mould is fully coated and then dust over with flour, tapping out the excess. This helps to ensure each madeleine is easily removed from each mould. 

4. Don't overfill each mould - stop just before it reaches the top, as the batter will expand in the oven. 

Below is a recipe I like to use from Rachel Allen from one of my favourite baking books by her simply called  'Cake'.

Ingredients:

1 egg
50 g (2oz) caster sugar
50 g (2oz) plain flour, plus a little extra for dusting
1/4 tsp baking powder
50 g (2oz) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
icing sugar, for dusting
100 g dark or white chocolate (broken into pieces)

Method:

1.Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Brush a little of the melted butter over the madeleine tray (making sure to coat every ridge) and dust a little flour into each one, tapping out any excess.

2.Place the egg and sugar in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer. Using a hand-held electric beater or the food mixer with its whisk attachment, whisk on a high speed for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is pale, thick and mousse-like and has grown almost three times in volume.

3.Sift the flour, and baking powder into the whisked egg and sugar and carefully fold in, then fold in the melted butter and vanilla extract, taking care not to over-mix!

4.Pour the batter directly from the bowl or using a tablespoon to spoon it in, divide the batter between the madeleine moulds, filling each almost to the top.

5.Bake for 12–15 minutes or until golden and lightly springy to the touch.Remove from the oven and carefully remove each madeleine from its mould using a palette knife, then place on a wire rack to cool.

6.Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Leave just until melted, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat.

7.Holding one of the madeleines by one end, dip it into the chocolate so that it comes about a third of the way up.

8.Remove from the chocolate, shaking off any excess into the bowl, then place on a sheet of baking parchment to set. Repeat with the rest of the madeleines until all of them are dipped.

9. Once the chocolate has set they are ready to eat! Place on a sharing platter and serve. 

Voilá!