What's not to love about these French little beauties? Simple ingredients but as with many things in life, it's what you do with them that matters!
Ingredients
- 160g butter, plus extra melted for greasing
- 50g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 5 egg whites, at room temperature
- 160g icing sugar
- 70g ground almonds
Method
- Lightly grease madeleine tins with melted butter, then dust with flour, shaking off any excess.
- Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but overnight is best.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C.
- Place the butter in a small pan and allow to brown slightly. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the egg whites, icing sugar, ground almonds. Using an electric mixer, beat until well combined and smooth.
- Slowly add the melted brown butter and slowly mix for 5 minutes, until smooth and thickened.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin so that it’s about level with the tops, leaving a little room for rising, and sprinkle over the toasted hazelnuts.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until well risen, golden and springy to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and leave to rest in the tin for 2 minutes, then ease out of the tins with a palette knife and leave to cool slightly on a wire rack.
To serve:
Arrange on plates and enjoy with coffee or a cup of tea.
Cook ahead:
Madeleines don’t keep particularly well so are best on the day that they are made, but the raw mixture will keep well in the fridge for 1 week, so you can make them as you need them. The tins are also best prepared 24 hours in advance and kept in the fridge until needed.
