Meyer Lemon Madeleines with Lavender Glaze

I’m a big fan of french pastries and sweets, not only because they’re delicious–that’s a given, but they’re always so thoughtfully and beautifully presented. They’re often like eating mini artful masterpieces, which makes the experience that much more enjoyable and fun. For Christmas, I received a madeleine pan (My family knows me too well!), so naturally I got right to work whipping up a batch. In case you’re not familiar, Madeleines (pronounced mad.lɛn) are small french sponge cakes baked into a distinctive shell shape.

I found inspiration in A Cup of Mai’s yummy lemon madeleine recipe, and for a twist added a light lavender glaze to the tops of the cookies. I chose to use a Meyer Lemon because they’re in season right now, and I love the sweet, floral flavor, but you could certainly use whatever kind is in season. These little treasures are so delicious (dip them in your coffee!) and fun to make, I’ll definitely be making them again, and next time I want to do one of these!

Ingredients:

For the Mini Cakes:

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. Meyer lemon zest (I used a microplane zester.)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted + additional flour for dusting the pan
• 4 Tbls. ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled + additional softened butter for greasing the pan

For the Glaze:

• 1/3 c + 1 Tbls milk
• 1 Tbls dried culinary lavender + additional lavender buds for garnish (optional)
• 1 c powdered sugar

Special Equipment:

• Madeleine pan (Mine is Chicago Metallic)
• Electric mixer
• Cooling rack
• Fine mesh sieve or strainer

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Using softened butter, grease each shell mold  and dust with flour. Turn pan over and tap out excess flour.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, granulated sugar and salt. Using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk, mix on medium-high speed for 5 minutes  until fluffy and lighter in color. Add in almond extract, vanilla extract, and lemon zest, and mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce mixing speed to low and add in flour gradually until completely integrated.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold in 1/2 of the melted butter just until combined. Then fold in the remaining 1/2 of the butter.

Spoon the mixture into the shell molds, filling about 3/4 full. Bake approximately 8 minutes or until edges are light brown and tops spring back up when touched.

Let cool in the pan for 1-2 minutes. Then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool. If any stick in the pan, gently loosen with a knife.

While the madeleines cool, combine milk and lavender buds in a saucepan. The smaller the saucepan, the better. Heat on medium, stirring frequently just until the mixture begins in boil. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Note: Keep a close eye on the mixture while heating, as you want to make sure the milk doesn’t burn. Pour mixture through a sieve or fine strainer into a small to medium sized bowl. Discard lavender buds.  Add powered sugar to milk mixture and stir until smooth.

Dip the shell side of the madeleines  into the glaze, shake off excess glaze, and place face up back on the cooling rack. Garnish with lavender buds if desired and allow glaze to set.