Scented Madeleines
Submitted by glory on August 06, 2002 at 11:42 am
These are one of those silver palate recipes.

NOTE: the directions say to cool these 5 minutes, but I warn you these things stick to the pans easily. I remove them as soon as I can get them free!

7 oz. almond paste, cut into small pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
5 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. almond extract
2 tsp. orange-flower water
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
10 TBSP. (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
confectioner’s sugar for dusting

*Wondra Flour (optional, see below)

1. Cream the almond paste and granulated sugar in a food processor fitted with a steel blade or with a heavy-duty mixer fitted with a paddle. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the almond extract and the orange-flower water and beat until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder together and gently fold into the almond mixture. Gently fold in the melted butter just until combined. Refrigerate the batter for one hour. (Don’t overdo this, as the butter will solidify in the batter).

3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush madeleine molds, with melted butter and dust lightly with flour. (Wondra is a good idea here, I have over floured these before with regular flour and not liked the look of the madeleine, it can be done without the flour, but you have to be quick in removing them and cannot allow them to cool).

4. Spoon the batter into the molds, filling them three-quarters full. Bake until lightly colored, 8-10 minutes.

5. Let cool for 5 minutes, and then gently remove to wire racks to cool completely. Wash and dry the pans between batches, repeating the process with the butter and flour. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.

6. 36 to 40 madeleines