Tea and Honey Madeleines
Madeleines are often dipped in tea, but Dorie Greenspan always liked the idea of baking tea into the little cookies or cakes themselves. For these, her most recent riff on the classic (for the classic, see Playing Around), she keeps the recipe’s melted butter—a must for madeleines—but adds Earl Grey tea to it, cooks the butter to a light caramel brown and then lets it steep. She also adds honey and some orange zest. If you’d like, you can add a bit more tea to the batter—just rub it into the sugar along with the zest. The combination is more subtle than it sounds and more intriguing than you might imagine. As with all madeleines, these change texture over time—they’re lightest soon after they’re baked and become more substantial hours later. In the case of madeleines, a little more substance equals better dunkability.
Ingredients:
- 7 1/2 Tbs. (3 3/4 oz./106 g) unsalted butter
- 2 tsp. loose Earl Grey tea (the equivalent of 2 tea bags), plus 1 tsp. (optional)
- 2/3 cup (3 oz./91 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup (2 1/4 oz./67 g) sugar
- Finely grated zest of 1 clementine or Meyer lemon
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tbs. honey
- 1 Tbs. milk, at room temperature
Directions:
Put the butter and the 2 tsp. tea in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the butter melts and comes to a boil. Lower the heat and let the butter boil gently for about 4 minutes, until you catch the aroma of caramel tea; the butter will be lightly browned and there may be darker bits on the bottom and sides of the pan. Strain the butter into a bowl (discard the tea); cover to keep warm.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Working in a medium bowl, rub the sugar and zest, and the extra 1 tsp. tea, if you’re using it, together until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Whisk in the eggs and beat for about 2 minutes—you want the mixture to lighten in color and to thicken a bit. Whisk in the honey, followed by the milk.
Switch to a flexible spatula and gently stir in the flour mixture. When it is fully incorporated, use a light touch to blend in 6 Tbs. of the tea-flavored butter. (This will probably be exactly the amount you’ve got; measure it just to be sure.) The batter will have a lovely sheen. Press a piece of plastic against the surface and refrigerate for at least 5 hours. (The batter can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Or, if you’d like, you can fill the madeleine molds now, cover with a sheet of parchment or plastic and keep the setup in the fridge for up to 6 hours.)
When you’re ready to bake: Center a rack in an oven and preheat to 400°F (200°C). Generously butter a madeleine pan (you’ll get the best crust with a metal pan), dust with flour and tap out the excess. Alternatively, use baker’s spray.
Divide the batter among the molds. Don’t worry if the batter isn’t level—everything will work out just right in the oven.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and, most important, humped in the center; they’ll feel springy to the touch. As soon as you take the pan out of the oven, rap it against the counter to loosen the madeleines. If any stick, gently pry them out with a table knife. Serve now, when they’re still warm, or let cool on a rack and serve at room temperature. Makes 12 madeleines.
Storing: The madeleines can be kept covered for a day at room temperature, but while their taste will hold, their texture will get denser. No matter, they’ll still be delicious.
A Word on Shape: No matter the flavor or the texture, an authentic madeleine is baked in a shell-shaped mold and known by its looks: ridged and deeply golden on one side, slightly paler and noticeably humped on the other. The shape echoes the scallop shells that French religious pilgrims wore around their necks. While the look will be different, you can get all the flavor and texture by baking these in mini muffin tins; see Playing Around.
Plan Ahead: The batter must be chilled for at least 5 hours.
Playing Around
Mini Muffin Madeleines: If you don’t have madeleine pans, bake these in mini muffin tins; the recipe makes 24 mini muffins. Butter and flour the tins or use baker’s spray. Bake the minis for 10 to 12 minutes, until they’re golden and springy.
Classic Madeleines: Use 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) (3 oz./85 g) butter; melt it and let it cool. Omit the tea and use lemon zest in place of the clementine or Meyer lemon zest. Add 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract to the batter after you’ve beaten in the eggs. Everything else is the same. This recipe makes 12 full-size or 24 mini madeleines.
Adapted from Baking with Dorie by Dorie Greenspan (Mariner Books, 2021)
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