Bill Granger's Butterscotch Madeleines

I've been meaning to make some madeleines (little French cakes) for ages. The reason I hadn't made them was because I was too mean to buy the tin! And madeleines are just not madeleines unless they're baked in a special tin with scallop-shaped indentations.

Well, last year I finally bought the tin in a French supermarket - I spotted it as I was perusing the bakeware shelves, yes I know, call me odd but one of my pleasures in France is a good old mooch along the aisles of Super U. It wasn't expensive, about  4 euros I think, so I duly brought it home and it sat in the garage, where I keep my overflow of baking tins, unused.
Recently I was sorting out a pile of  recipe notes when I came across Bill Granger's recipe for butterscotch madeleines. Bill Granger is a laid back Australian food writer, tv chef and restaurateur known for his fuss-free, but tasty, cooking. The madeleine recipe must have caught my eye at some time and I'd jotted it down on a scrappy bit of paper. One to try when I have the tin I thought. So no excuses now - I had the tin and I had the recipe too.
Madelines are quite simple and quick to make, but don't skint on greasing and flouring the tin for each batch - I thought I could get away with it for the second batch as the tin is non-stick. They were ok but had a much better finish and slipped out of the tin more easily if freshly buttered and floured each time. The buttersctoch flavour is quite delicate so I enhanced the finished sponges with an extra squidge of golden syrup for yummy stickiness. They were delicious - perfect for a light summery cake or dessert with fresh raspberries and cream - be warned though they are very moreish so make plenty.

Makes about 20
Takes about 40 mins


100g unsalted butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 large eggs
60g caster sugar
75g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

1 Preheat the oven to 170C, fan 150C, gas 3. Melt the butter in a small pan. Remove from the heat and stir in the golden syrup. Leave to cool.

2 Grease a madeleine tray with a little extra melted butter and dust with flour, shaking off the excess.

3 In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs, sugar and a pinch of salt until pale and fluffy. (Use an electric mixer for this, the mixture needs to be thick enough to leave a trail when the whisk is lifted). Sift in the flour and baking powder, then pour in the cooled butter and syrup mixture. Gently fold everything together until just combined - be careful not to overwork the mixture.

4 Spoon the mixture into the prepared tray, filling each shell about two-thirds full. Bake for 8-10 mins until lightly golden and springy to the touch. Remove the madeleines from the tin and cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Best eaten within a day of making or can be frozen.

This recipe is from Bill's Basics by Bill Granger, published by Quadrille