MIMI'S MADELINES WITH ORANGE & EARL GREY

I recently purchased Mimi Thorisson's A KITCHEN IN FRANCE -- it's an amazing cookbook full of seasonal family cooking and lovely photographs of Mimi and her brood in their Medoc, France home. It will transport you . . . . and the recipes will inspire.

is there anything more fun and satisfying than sifting away? flour and powdered sugar are my therapy.

my favorite tea, Mariage Frere, available at Alder & Co.

these little morsels will make your kitchen smell just heavenly

the perfect pair for an earl grey scented madeline, more earl grey and garden roses 

I have long admired Mimi's blog and was very happy to have a few moments this past week to read through the book's recipes and saturate the pages with sticky notes for future meals. The book is organized by season, showcasing the best produce, wine and ideas that nature has to offer in the Western region of Medoc, France where the Thorisson family lives in a splendid farm house. Mimi teaches cooking classes here and one day, I'd love to attend. For now, I will turn to the most definitive of all little French desserts -- the madeline. 

Somewhere between a cookie and a little cake, the madeline straddles my two favorite desserts. The crisp edges give way to a lightly sweetened puffy interior -- combining to be the most perfect vessel for plunging into tea and whiling away an afternoon of daydreaming or reading some soap-operatic tale. 

Mimi's recipe recommends resting the batter overnight to create an even puffier madeline, and I've never encountered any lighter or fluffier than these. The stuff of angel bellies! I added a bit of orange zest and earl grey tea, as they were both lingering on my counter, the original recipe calls for lemon -- I'm sure this original iteration would also be divine. 

Orange & Earl Grey Madelines
adapted from My Life in France by Mimi Thorisson
makes 12

3 eggs
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter (plus a little more for greasing the pan)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons earl grey tea

Melt the butter over medium heat, when melted add the earl grey tea, cover and allow to steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and set aside to cool. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, honey and orange zest until light and fluffy. In a large bowl, sift the flour, salt an baking powder. Gently whisk the the egg mixture into the dry. Stir in the butter, cover the batter and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour the madeline pan. Evenly scoop a heaping tablespoon of batter into each mold and bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown. Gingerly remove each madeline from the mold with an offset spatula. Serve warm.