Sometimes the oddest things inspire me to innovate in the kitchen. These madelines were inspired by a moldy, water-logged ceiling, a beloved but long-forgotten item from my kitchen, some fruit on the verge of rotting, and a genius pastry chef.
A few weeks back, during the week between the end of bread class and our trip out West, our household of two (plus the cat) went into crisis mode because, we learned, we were to be displaced from our apartment so that our bedroom could be gut-renovated due to water damage from leaks we’ve suffered since we moved in.
Since we’d been wanting to redo the floors in the entire place as well, we figured that while the workers were in there swinging axes at the walls, we may as well have them take up all of the floors while they’re at it. This idea was practical in the sense that we might as well kill two birds with one stone while we were already being displaced, but was a huge inconvenience in that it essentially meant we’d be moving out anything that couldn’t be crammed into the bathroom or onto the porch.
I started the chore in the kitchen, carrying everything that could survive outdoors onto the porch. During this process, I discovered a ton of kitchen items that I’d forgotten all about, including my gorgeous madeline pan. Madelines…or packing? Hmmm… tough choice.
My favorite recipe for making madelines comes from Dorie Greenspan, and in her book, she provides several variations on the classic cookie, including a chocolate madeline filled with marshmallow fluff. I loved the idea of filling a madeline, a delicate, refined French cookie, with something utterly unrefined and American: marshmallow fluff, of fluffernutter fame.
But I didn’t have any fluff, which, frankly, is one of those non-food foods that have a viscosity and endless shelf life that confounds and frightens me. I did have a forgotten half pint of fresh raspberries sitting in the fridge, just on the verge of going bad. Inspired by Dorie’s filling idea, I added superfine sugar, and this jelly donut version of a french classic was born. Just think of it as Proust meets Homer Simpson.
And indeed, the finished product has virtues of both sweets; the delicate, spongy crumb of a madeline, with a surprise hit of fresh fruit inside, and a sugary outside that will leave you licking the grit from your fingers and wishing you had another.
Jelly Donut Madelines
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours
Be very careful when you bore out the hole for the filling, and be very gentle piping it into the cookie. I made the filling from scratch, but you may use jam from a jar, just be sure to buy a kind that does not have chunks or seeds so it can fit through the decorating tip when you are piping. If you don’t have a madeline pan, you should be able to use a muffin tin with the cups filled with the same amount, just watch the baking carefully so as not to burn them.
Makes 12 cookies
For the madelines:
2/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs. at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 stick (6 tbsp)unsalted butter, melted and cooled
superfine sugar, for dusting
For the filling:
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
3 tablespoons granulated sugar (or more to taste)
1/4 cup water
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
working in a mixer bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl. Working with the whisk attachment, beat the sugar and eggs together on medium high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. (You can also spoon the batter into the greased and floured madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the madeleines directly from the fridge.)
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400F. Butter and flour the madeleine mold and place the pan on a baking sheet.
Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don’t worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven’s heat will take care of that. Bake the madeleines for 11-13 mins, or until they 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 using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the madeleines to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.
Place the raspberries in the saucepan with the water and the sugar. Heat at a medium heat, and mash the raspberries with a fork until they are all crushed. Bring the mixture to a low boil, and cook off some of the water, approximately 15 minutes. Remove from heat and push the raspberries through a strainer, catching the seeds (I elected to mix a few seeds into the mixture, but it is completely up to you). Allow the raspberries to cool and then cover them and place in the fridge for at least one hour. You should have a jam-like consistency.
Using a skewer, carefully make a small hole in the foot of the madeline and carefully bore deeper into the cookie. Gently tap out the crumbs. Fill a ziplock or piping bag fitted with a small tip with the raspberry filling, and carefully pipe the filling into the madelines. Finish by tossing them gently in the superfine sugar, coating them completely.
note: 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 better on day 1. If you must store them, wrap them airtight and freeze them; they will keep for 2 months.
