Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Madeleines

Having time to spare, I decided to join the Tuesdays with Dorie blog group. This week's recipe was traditional madeleines. Being relatively new to the baking scene, I pulled an amateur move and burnt my first batch. The recipe calls for the cakes to be cooked for 11-13 minutes, so I set the timer for 12 and walked away. I forgot that I should probably start checking doneness around 9 minutes just to be safe, and paid for it. After eating a couple, I could tell that, minus the char, they would taste delicious, so I made another batch.

The second batch came out much better, but I pulled them out after only 9 minutes and they were still darker than those pictured in Dorie's book. However, after looking around on the internet a bit, I found that many from bakeries were the same color as mine, so I can't have been too far off.

When going to the kitchen store to pick up my madeleine mold, the lady behind the counter kindly asked me who was going to be baking them. After I replied that I was, she smiled and said, "I was hoping that would be your response." I assume they don't get too many 23 year old guys baking little cakes.

The pictures are still coming out fairly amateurish at this point in the blog. I want my rebate check to come in so I can go get a camera, instead of having to borrow my roommate's. Not only do I feel a little awkward taking pictures of my food with his camera, but I also don't know how to get it to focus correctly, like moowie's closeups.

I was also very happy that I got the coveted traditional "bump" on these little cakes the first time around (from reading about these a bit online, I guess they sometimes don't form, or are avoided by pouring smaller portions of batter into the mold). A lot of people in the Tuesdays with Dorie crowd had problems with this, and the only thing I can think of is possible gluten formation. When adding in the flour and butter, I folded by hand until just barely combined (think muffin method). There were still lumps of flour in it, but I left it alone, since they would bake out of it. I'm assuming people who left it in stand mixer until it was homogenous might have issues with the bump. The batter sat in my refrigerator for 3 hours, which was plenty. This recipe will definitely be fun to repeat, and at least now I've learned to be more careful with following baking recipes at face value.

Recipe: Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan, pp. 166-168

41 comments:

April said...

Love the bumps!

Mumsy said...

Wow! They look great, Garrett! Welcome to the group!

Engineer Baker said...

I'll have to try undermixing next time - great tip!

Kayte said...

I am new this week to TWD also...but not new to Madeleines, so I got lucky this week by not being tested too much...next week, we will see!

I notice that you have a dark Madeleine pan and that, in my humble opinion, may be the reason you feel yours are darker than the ones pictured in the book. On my blog I did a little bit about the differences in pans (not professional, just my opinion if you want to check it out)...www.grandmaskitchentable.typepad.com

I enjoyed your post and photos!

~Kayte

Sihan said...

hey garrett. guess we're pretty much on the same boat with the over-enthusiasm and the darkened madeleines. yours has such gorgeous humps though. great job!

Bumblebutton said...

Welcome! Nice job with the humps. And you'll see as TWD bakes along, we all have learned a thing or two!

LyB said...

I think the color of your Madeleines is probably due to the dark pan you used. Cakes tend to bake a lot quicker in those darker pans. They look wonderful and delicious though! Welcome to the group! :)

vibi said...

Thanks Garrett for stopping by for a comment on my blog!
Your Madeleines looks fabulous, you even managed to get the humps on top (which you will notice is pretty rare!)
I also would have had a dark batch had I not baked it in the higher third of my oven, for I know my oven is wayyyyy stronger than most. From your experience, perhaps yours is too! (I can't just lower the temp. as it just keeps from baking correctly, but the higher level is what I found to be the best for certain, more delicate baked goods)
Great Job! BRAVO!

Judy said...

Great bumps! Overmixing could be one of the reasons for no bumps. I mixed it all by hand, so next time I'll experiment with undermixing.

noskos said...

Nice humps!! I agree with KBG and lyb that the darkness comes from the dark tin you use. Looks like you had fun making them and learned something doing it, what more do you want? :-)

Thanks for the cornbread tip, when I make it (not often it's not big on this side of the pond) I normally use a muffin tin.

Unknown said...

yours look better than what's in dorie's book. nice job

CB said...

Love your bumps. oh wait. That didn't sound good. HAHA! Thanks for the info about folding the flour and lack of bumps. Good to know for next time! Welcome to TWD!
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Amy said...

Great job! Welcome to the group.

Madam Chow said...

I am mightily impressed that you got the "bump!" And I love that story about the cooking store.

Christine said...

Welcome to TWD! I love your madeleines great bumps!

Sharon said...

Welcome to TWD! Great looking Madelines!

Dianne's Dishes said...

Welcome! Your Madelines look great!

The Kitchen Vixen said...

welcome to the group! your madeleines look great;)

Melissa said...

Welcome! Those look wonderful!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

these are the most perfect i've seen yet--good job, and welcome to the group!

L said...

Great job. Look at those bumps. I got them on my second batch but not the first. Beautiful! Welcome to the group.

BAKE-EN said...

Great job! You must have loved this recipe as it had 2 teaspoons of vanilla in it! When I was making the batter I thought it would be too much, but that wasn't the case.

Heather B said...

Welcome to the group! I think your first time out was a great success! They look great!

Shirlie said...

I love how nicely browned your madeleines turned out. Welcome to TWD and I look forward to seeing your weekly creations!

Susie Homemaker said...

wow! you actually went out and bought the pan! I give you and A just for that! But really, they look fab - and welcome to the group!

Susan @ SGCC said...

Your madeleines look perfect! You did a great job on your first try. Well done!

Donna said...

Your humps are perfect! Great job.Glad you tried another batch especially after going out to buy a new pan!
Oh, and just so you don't feel all alone, my son took over our bakery when we ran away from home! He was baking with us since he was 12! He's 29 now and loves it even more now that he's raking in all the "dough"...I mean moola!
Welcome to TWD!
Donna@Spatulas & Corkscrews

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your first Tuesday. The Madeleines looks great.
My husband is just a year or two older than you and he bakes all the time (mostly bread). Sometimes people act like it's a real novelty. So funny. ;)

Jacque said...

Good job on your first TWD! Your madeleines really "rose" to the occasion (hyuk, hyuk).

I wonder if your oven runs a little hot. You can buy one or several small dial thermometers to go into the oven. That way you can verify the temperature.

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

You got the desired "bumps". Great job!

Elle said...

Hi Garrett! Those are beautiful Madeleines! Something I've yet to try, but always think I should. Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog!

Anne said...

They look awesome- welcome to the group!

Lani T said...

I feel you on the camera situation...can't wait for my birthday to get one that will take good close-ups. Welcome to TWD, and great job on the Madeleines!

kimberly salem said...

welcome to twd, your madeleines look lovely and bump-y :)
are you using a point & shoot camera? you might want to try the macro setting for closeups -- it looks like a flower. good luck!

Anonymous said...

i love your humps!
and i don't care how dirty that sounds. :)

i also love the thought of you buying a Madeleine pan. that makes me giggle and feel all warm inside.

hopefully i'll get off my ass and actually start updating my foodie blog... but till then i'll just keep lurky lurking yours.

Di said...

Nice job on the madeleines. I love reading other people's thoughts on why something does or doesn't work. Welcome to the group!

Karen said...

Nice job. they look great!

Piggy said...

my madeleines are darker than the ones in the book as well.. but the little cakes taste great, don't they? ;-)

Gretchen Noelle said...

Great job on these! These look delicious to me!

enza said...

would you like a salted madeleine?
I developed a salted one here http://iodagrande.blogspot.com/2007/12/madeleines-pomodori-secchi-e-feta.html if you like I'll made the effort to translate it!

Sherry Trifle - Lovely Cats said...

I'm so pleased you have joined TWD. You will love it. Your Madeleines came out really well; good job.