Earl Grey Madeleines (Dorie Greenspan)

"Mum, do you know that these are fire ants?" exclaimed my son while pointing at the large red brown ants trailing along a bus stop near Changi beach.

"Oh!" I always know these ants are the stinging kind but never knew that they are known as fire ants.

"Mum, do you know that there are trillion dollar notes in Zimbabwe?" my son and husband was excited when they bought one of these trillion dollar notes with AUD$6 at eBay.

"Wow!"I was surprised as I never knew that.

"Mum, do you know that the man in our Australian $10 note is Andrew "Banjo" Patterson? One of his famous works is Waltzing Matilda and I love this song!" said my patriotic Australian born son when I picked him up from school yesterday. Being a Singaporean... Obviously, I don't know. Hmmm...

I'm learning new things everyday... from my son, family, friends, work and even baking. Today, I have learned from here, here and here that I can incorporate tea into bakes by infusing tea into either 1) the water 2) the milk or 3) the butter or any fat that we are using to bake. Among all these infusion methods, I have read from here that infusing tea in unsalted butter is the best and the most ideal amount to use is 2 grams (about 1 1/2 tsp) of tea leaves to infuse every tablespoon (15g) of butter.

Perhaps intentionally, this is the same method and amount that Dorie Greenspan has used to infuse the butter in these Earl Grey madeleines and they are fabulously delicious!

Earl Grey Madeleines

For this bake, I have used two of these tea bags to infuse 40g butter.

When the butter has been well infused, make sure that you give the bags a big squeeze to salvage every single drop of butter that has been soaked in the tea bags.

While the butter is infusing, I did this.

Then, I beat in the honey and vanilla.

I did these steps gently with a spatula.

The batter has to rest in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight in wrapped in this manner.
This will help the batter to form the characteristic humps.

I'm baking the madeleines using a miniature silicon madeleine mould.

They are so tiny that I can pop more than one of them at one time into my mouth.
See their perfect browned and crispy rim...

... every one of these is so delightfully addictive
... being crispy, butter and spongy all at the same time!

Here's the recipe from the book, Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
(with my modification and notes in blue)

Makes 12 standard size madeleines or 56 miniature madeleines about 3 cm each
5 tbsp unsalted butter - I have added 40g for half of the recipe.
2 tbsp Earl Grey tea leaves - I have used 2 Earl Grey T2 tea bags.
3/4 cup all-purpose flour - I have added 55g.
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/3 cup sugar - I have added a reduce amount of 50g for half of the recipe.
grated zest of 1/2 lemon - I have added grated zest of 1 small lemon for half of the recipe and we are loving this amount of lemon zest that I have added.
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp pure vanilla extract - I have added 1/2 tsp vanilla paste for half of the recipe.

To flavor the butter with the tea, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat or in a microwave oven - I did this step using a sauce pan. Stir in the tea and allow it to infuse for 15 mins.

Line a small sieve with a double layer of damp cheesecloth, then strain the butter into a small bowl; discard the tea leaves. - I didn't have to do this step because I was using the tea packed in tea bags. In order to get the maximal amount of tea out from the tea bags into the butter, I held each tea bag with my thumb and index finger and gave it a big squeeze to salvage every single drop of butter that has been soaked inside the tea bags.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or in another large bowl and, using your fingertips, work the zest into the sugar until the mixture is fragrant.

Working with a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and zest together until pale and thick, 2 to 3 mins. Add the honey and vanilla and beat for 1 minute more. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients. When they are incorporated, fold in the butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate for at least 3 hrs or for up to 2 days. This long chill will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines.

Getting ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C or 180°C fan forced  Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick madeleine pan, give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, there is no prep needed - I'm using the silicone miniature madeleine pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet.

Spoon or pipe the batter into the molds - Don't worry about leveling the batter, the oven's heat will take care of that.

Bake for 12-14 mins or 8 mins for the miniature ones or until the madeleines are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan from the oven and release the madeleines from the mold by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any recalcitrant madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife.

Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

Note: Using half of the recipe, I have baked 28 miniature madeleines about 3 cm each.

Serving: While they have an entire tea service baked right into them, there's still nothing better than having these madeleines alongside a cup of fragrant Earl Grey tea.

Storing: Although the batter can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, the madeleines should be eaten soon after they are made. You can keep them overnight in a sealed container, but they are really better on the same day when they are baked. If you must store them, wrap them airtight and freeze them; they'll keep for up to 2 months.

Happy Baking
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