Due to a little illness in my household, the coffee pot has been banished for the time being, and tea is being substituted. All things considered it is not bad. The nice thing about tea is that there is so much you can do with it. Like these Earl Grey infused Madeleines, for example.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 Cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 Tablespoons Earl Grey tea, best quality you can find

Make it:

1. Put the tea in the melted butter, off the heat and let it seep for at least three minutes before you strain the tea leaves out, reserving the infused butter.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Set aside
3. Beat the eggs and the sugar together, until they thicken. Add the honey and continue beating until the volume increases and the eggs lighten in color. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla.
4. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients. Fold in the infused, melted butter, and cover the batter with plastic wrap - it should touch the batter. Put in in the fridge for at least three hours, but preferably overnight. This helps ensure you get the characteristic “hump” on the backside.
5. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400°F. Generously butter your madeleine pan and dust it with flour, and tap out any extra. Put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes while the oven heats up. This step positively guarantees you get the hump on the backside.
6. Remove the pan from the freezer and quickly fill each shell mold with the batter to the top of the mold. Put the Madeleine mold on a baking sheet, and put it in the oven.
7. Large Madeleines take 11 - 13 minutes to bake, and small ones take 8 - 10 minutes. The cookies should be golden and spring back with touched. Pull the pan from the oven and remove the cookies by tapping the against the edge of your counter (they really do pop out). If any stick, you a butter knife to help them out. Let them cool on a rack, they can be eaten warm or cooled, or even stale.
8. Reading Proust is purely optional.

Kevin : DIY Projects
January 7th, 2007