A great housewife will always place the blame elsewhere. Watch and learn my pretties!
These madeleines did’t come out the way I expected. Could it be my fault? Nah, surely you jest LOL! I was inspired by those delicious madeleines I had at Bar Boulud and thought I’d try making my own. I was hoping that I could find a recipe by Daniel Boulud himself, but no such luck. Instead I found one by Heston Blumenthal. I’ve never tried a Heston Blumenthal recipe before, but anything with his name on it inspires confidence from me. I mean he is a culinary genius, so I figured they should be pretty great. The recipe is quite a bit more complicated than your standard madeleine recipe, but that’s to be expected. Everything Blumenthal does is complicated. According to the article I read, he used this recipe to woo his wife while they were courting. I don’t know about you, but I’d take sweets over roses anytime. My heart is most definitely reached through my stomach. Here’s the thing… I am guessing that his wife wasn’t playing hard to get, because in all honesty, these madeleines were kinda crap. I followed the recipe to the letter, and while the madeleines looked nice, and the taste was good, the texture was highly unusual (and not in a good way). Blumenthal uses ground almonds which gives a very dense and slightly chewy quality to the madeleines. No, these were definitely not the springy soft pillows of loveliness I had at Bar Boulud. I guess not every recipe with a big name attached to it is a good one. Have you ever tried a recipe by someone that your really respected which ended in disappointment?
If you would like to try this recipe, and maybe see if you can outdo the housewife (no daaahlings, it can’t be done, but you are welcome to try), here is Blumenthal’s recipe which appeared in The Sunday Times.
Heston Blumenthal’s Madeleines
Makes 10
125g unsalted butter, plus a little for the mould
100g icing sugar
40g ground almonds
40g plain flour, plus a little for the mould
3 large egg whites
2 tsp best-quality honey
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
Salt
Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas Mark 3. Melt the butter over a medium heat for a few minutes until it starts to sizzle and has a nice nutty scent — beurre noisette. Strain and set aside.
Sieve the icing sugar, ground almonds and flour into a bowl. Using a fork, whisk the egg whites into the dry mix. Next, add the honey and continue to whisk. Incorporate the warm — but not hot —beurre noisette and lemon zest and mix until homogenous. Add a little salt to taste.
Leave the madeleine mixture to rest in the fridge (covered with clingfilm pressed onto the surface) for at least an hour. Resting the dough is important, as the gluten relaxes and produces a lighter result.
Butter a madeleine mould and lightly dust with flour. (This double coating really works as a nonstick surface — you don’t want to be struggling with removing the madeleines while the tea is stewing.) Fill the moulds with the madeleine mixture and return to the fridge for half an hour to rest again (please be patient).
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until set and lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven, turn out from the tin and leave to cool on a cake rack for 5 minutes before serving.
Oh honey I wouldn’t go up against HH, anyway I’m hopless in the kitchen…lol.
xoxo
Just goes to show you sometimes the ugliest things can be the tastiest and the prettiest boring.
Love love love madeleines.
There are so many different ways to cook them, and they are fun to experiment with.
If it wasn’t too hot to turn the oven on I would go amd make some now.
Yes, I do agree that not every recipe with a big name attached to it is a good recipe. And there’s bad experience happened to me.
My feeling was……I shouldn’t have trusted anything they say though they are famous, cause I have my own instinct!
*see gauntlet on ground, gently sidesteps, waves white lace hanky in surrender*
You are a scream HH, shame these didn’t turn out as tasty as you’d hoped. I’d like to try making madeleines but cannot justify paying for such a speicific baking pan, but you never know..I might just change my mind
HH, there’s always next time…think of the Macarons you made! Once you get the right recipe, I am sure the madeleine would be as perfect as the macarons.
Daahling, I think my awards just came in the right timing! You really worked hard lately…..attending baking classes and more & more baking stuffs coming up from you. So proud of you! Hope you’re having a nice day.
Cheers, Kristy
Well they certainly look cute. Love the doily.
I need to give these cookies a try. They look delicious!
These madeleines look perfect, daaahling. Too bad they didn’t taste so good. After being disappointed with several recipes in the past, I now try to read several versions of a recipe to avoid future disasters.
Oh! Your madeleines look perfect, so delicate…
That’s so frustrating when something doesn’t turn out as expected. I’ll admit, I’m about ready to give up on Martha Stewart’s baked goods…they just never seem to work for me! The madelines are gorgeous though, daahling. XO
The madeleines look gorgeous, but I know what you mean. Sounds like the culprit might be the ground almonds.
I bet you’ll have fun testing out new madeleine recipes:-)
Madeleines are generally so yummy that I’m surprised that you didn’t like these. We ate m’s every day while on a visit to Paris a few years ago. They were all heavenly. I don’t dare make this recipe for fear that I’ll really really like it!
A pity they didn’t taste as good as they look but I do admire your honestly… from Heston… oops I mean, from Trissa…
I love Madeleines, so it’s so disappointing that the recipe did not come out well…
I posted a recipe for some great chocolate chip cookies. Maybe those can satisfy your sweet tooth today!
I am satisfied because I know you put lot of effort and a loving heart to made this Madeleines ! But if it is not perfect then I am sure you will make it next time like that of your Macrons ! All the best!
They do look beautiful too bad that the taste wasn’t that great!!
I am not fond of the normal madeleines. I like more diferent flavours in mine,..
Kisses from Brussels to you!!
I think the reason these didn’t taste like the madeleines at Bar Boulud is because Heston’s recipe is not a madeleine, it’s a financier. All he’s done is shape his cookie in a madeleine tin rather than the traditional rectangular financier mould. A madeleine retains the egg yolks and omits the ground almonds. You may have more success with these recipes:
David Lebovitz: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/12/humpy_madeleine.html
101 Cookbooks: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/madeleines-recipe.html
Eric Lanlard: http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/eric-lanlard/petit-fours-recipe_p_1.html
Ahh what a shame but LOL at his wife not playing hard to get! that has happened with a Gordon Ramsay 3 star chef recipe. It was all too hard and complicated.
I am sure if I attempted this recipe I would really botch it, seems way over my head for sure!
Oh Madeleines – the one recipe I have had on my ‘to try’ list for longer than I would like to admit. I have a hard time justifying the purchase of the pan because it is such a specialty item. I love your photo though and maybe I will have to splurge and give Heston’s (p.s. love him!) recipe a try!!
Dear HH – I feel your pain – don’t you just hate when the food LOOKS better than it tastes! Ouch – and after ALL this effort.
Take heart in the fact that you’ve done foodie mankind (and womankind) a service by laying it out there – sharing with us why we should scurry past Heston Blumenthal’s Madeleines recipe in the future
I for one am terribly grateful that you’ve done so. You have now inspired me to try out a recipe by Richard Grausman whom I must say I have a lot of faith in – it will be interesting for sure.
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
I have a super madeleine recipe from my mother….exactly the way you like them. What is funny, is that I had some pine nut madeleines recently so have been experimenting with them AND pistachio and almond madeleines. In almost every case, the madeleines were chewier. Frankly. I like them because they were unusual, but if you’re a purist, you wouldn’t be a fan. (Those chewy madeleines I had in the restaurant were minis and served on a composed dessert dish, as a side.)
I’m surprised that the recipe calls for just the egg whites and not the yolk. The addition of ground almond is interesting. Recipe is so simple. I’d rather make my own madeleines than buy them.
I agree madelines should be fluffy – I have a good recipe for them on my blog that I got at a pastry course in Paris – a real winner and pretty easy too if you are inspired to make more.
You have no idea how I’ve been craving to make these buttery small cakes.
All I’m missing is the proper pan and I’m ready to go.
Now, thanks to you…this is one recipe I can eliminate thanks to your candid remarks.
I really feel for anyone who puts their heart into baking…only to be disappointed with someone else’s recipe…you can only wonder if they test their recipes at all?
If I ever get my pan…I will forge through and hopefully hunt one down…and I’ll certainly share it along ;o)
Great post…thanks for the heads up.
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
I have been eyeing a silcone madeline pan lately… I wonder if it will produce those memories of madelines past….probably not. You do need France as part of the recipe I think…. the air of Paris does it perfectly. Too bad Heston let you down, HH. He’s usually a lot of fun!
I think sometimes chef recipes get lost in the translation from professional kitchen to home kitchen. They’re so used to making these in vast quantities, that when you cut down a recipe, it just doesn’t turn out sometimes. Too bad about the madelines. I hope you find a recipe that approximate those DB ones.
It’s too bad they weren’t as delicious as you expected. I have yet to make Madeleines. I guess I won’t start with this recipe then. They are quite pretty though!
Hello there daahling, you lovely lady of leisure you!,
This madeliane recipe is amazing; dare I try my hand at making them?!
Allow me to re-introduce my world of tea parties and lieisure to you once again daahling; from ‘one lady of leisure to another’, so to speak:
As you well may perhaps recall daahling, some 37 teatime posts ago a wonderful thing happened for me that I just love to share.., I began my little, ‘Tuesday Tea For Two’ blog party teatime in my little corner of the blogging world..,
I am delighted to invite you once more to experience more ‘tea tastings’, so to speak, as well as to celebrate what I lovingly refer to as;’Tuesday And Wednesday Teatime In Blogland’!
You see, I love ‘teatime in blogland’ so much that is why I have three teatime memes; one is a shared one..,
This week marks my,(as mentioned), 37th,’Tuesday Tea For Two’, my 28th, ‘Wednesday Tea For Me And Thee’. Also there is now a shared meme,our 9th,’Teapot And Tea Things Tuesday’ that is shared with my dear friend Pam @ http://breathoffreshair-paperbutterfly.blogspot.com
Whew! ~That’s a lot of teapartying fun!
I also regularly list the links and partake with as many teatimes in blogland that I can find, (and they also kindly join in the fun with me by partcipating with my Mr. Linky, links)..,
Won’t you please except my warm invitation to also join in the fun? ~ It would be a pleasure to also have you join in with the ever broadening teatime in blogland experience, and come, ‘follow the tea trolley laden with goodies’, as we all share yet another ‘tea-lightful’ cuppa and some more tea party treats galore!
I look forward to when we shall perhaps share a lovely cup of tea and a madelaine or two perchance once again daahling!
Cheers and hugs and well wishes from Wanda Lee
@ The Plumed Pen and also @ Silken Purse
I’m with you on madelines tasting rather boring. Although I’ve never made them, the ones I’ve had I’ve slathered with loads of jam and custard or dipped them in melted chocolate to get some flavor. However..they are beautiful..and yours are no exception!
Hello there once again Daahling,
Ooops,~ I almost forgot!.., Here are my links as well: @ http://theplumedpen.blogspot.com and also @ http://silkenpurse.blogspot.com
See you soon for afternoon tea!
Cheers from Wanda Lee
my kids love madelines! i have made several attempts, but haven’t loved the recipes. i am going to try yours, they look beautiful!
Have you ever tried making shortbread cookies?
oh I hate when this happens, no blame on you at all, wooing with horrible madelines, she got stiffed….”crap” hey sometime you have to call it, ha ha
sweetlife
I could go for a whole mess of those little pretties right now!
I’m sorry they didn’t come out the way you had expected. I’ve had that happen to me before. They do look pretty good though. If you followed it directly then you got nothing to worry about. It’s their fault.
Oh well, at least they look pretty. Thanks for the heads up – I won’t be making these.
I’m not a housewife, or even a wife, but I always put blame elsewhere
Yes, yes and yes! Although it’s hard for me to follow a recipe exactly as written…I suppose I am to blame for a lot of my flops. Sorry you weren’t happy with these, they sure look lovely!
Oh I love madelines! My mom makes a really good version too. And I always, always put the blame elsewhere. Having a child is great for that reason alone.
We must track down Daniel Boulud’s recipe!! Bar B’s recipe sounds perfect so I will pass on Blumenthal’s and patiently wait for the best.
Hope your weekend is delightful fun
xoxo
I made Martha Stewarts years ago when I was in my 20’s and I can’t remember if it was anything special or not?!!
Rats! All that work and no tasty treat at the end. I can completely relate to your experience. It seems to happen more than I would like to admit. Sometimes I feel like my skill set of choosing a quality recipe is slipping . . . . Thanks for your honesty. And for the record the way to my heart is through my stomach as well
I love madeleines…. there is nothing like the light little feathers of sweetness. I agree with you. Now, I must read your next post before I burst from laughing so hard reading this one!
Oh that is funny! So sorry that they didn’t come out the way our dahling housewife was expecting them to. I’ve been looking for the perfect recipe, too. xo
I love madeleines,but I’ve never made them myself…will have to try it one of these days
If it come to being disappointed with some “big name” recipes….well, it happens…especially in baking, where everything has to be very precise: measuring ingredients, oven temperature, the mixing…I usually try it twice before crossing the recipe off