Cook The Book: Around My French Table—Dessert

I got my copy of Dorie Greenspan's around my french table from the San Francisco Public Library, too. They have 16 copies, so there wasn't even a waiting list.

As Angela pointed out, I'm a baker, not a cook, so I headed directly to the Desserts section. Cocoa sablés on page 402 immediately caught my eye, but then I discovered honey-spiced madeleines on page 408. I'm a little cookied-out after my Christmas cookie project and I love madeleines. Also, honey is one of my favorite flavors (after chocolate, of course), so I looked no further and began assembling my ingredients.

Mix the sugar and orange peel. 

 Add eggs and beat with the whisk attachment until thick. Add honey and vanilla, beating more after each addition.

Sift dry ingredients over egg mixture. 

Change the attachment to the silicone paddle if you have one, and stir the dry ingredients in at your mixer's slowest speed. With mixer running, slowly pour in melted butter and stir until fully incorporated. If you don't have a silicone paddle, fold these ingredients in by hand with a rubber spatula.

The silicone paddle is definitely worth the investment. It scrapes the sides of the bowl, so you don't have to stop and do that. And it folds. I've even made sponge cake with this paddle. This is the brand I have, the BeaterBlade.

 Cover your batter with plastic wrap and chill. It isn't absolutely necessary to chill the batter but you probably won't get the characteristic "bumps" if you don't. Half an hour in the freezer should do the job.

I use a standard madeleine pan, with 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter in each mold. This recipe gave me 20 madeleines.

 Baked madeleines

 Close up of both sides

These madeleines are light and delicious, and beautiful as well.