Julia Child's Madelines de Commercy

I have to admit that I hadn't heard of Julia Child until the very enjoyable film Julie and Julia where she was played by the amazing Meryl Streep. If you are even further behind than me, Julia Child is credited with bringing French cooking into American homes and her recipes have been relied on for generations. Who better than the Queen of French cooking to guide us through the sometimes murky waters of Madelines, a French delicacy!

Lightly flavoured with lemon, these Madelines have a slight crunch on the outside and a soft sponge interior. Perfect with a cup of tea on a drizzly Saturday in Dublin!

From Julia Child's Kitchen - Makes 2 dozen

2 large eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
4 ounces unsalted butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons for buttering the molds (total of 5 1/4 ounces)
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Grated lemon zest from 1/2 lemon
3 drops of lemon juice

1. Bring all the ingredients to room temperature.
2. Put the butter over a medium heat and allow to melt. Turn up the heat and watch while it sizzles and spits. Once brown flecks appear and the butter goes silent take off the heat and allow to cool but not congeal.
3. Take 1 tablespoon of the butter and use it to brush the madeline tin. Don't let big pools of butter sit at the bottom of the tin. Dust lightly with plain flour and place the tin in the fridge.
4. Mix the flour and sugar together in a clean bowl. Add 3/4 of the egg mixture and beat until well combined. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
5. Beat in the remaining egg and cooled butter saving 1 tablespoon of butter. Stir in the salt, vanilla and lemon.
6. Place the mixture in the fridge for a few hours- overnight is better as this will help the hump form.
7. When ready to bake preheat the oven to 180oC. Fill the madeline molds 2/3 full using approximately 1 large tablespoon of mixture.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden at the edges. Allow to cool and then remove gently from the pan.
9. Brush the pan with the remaining tablespoon of butter, dust with flour and place in the fridge for 1 hour before baking the second dozen.