Mad-Mac Morning

We had a rather animated thunderstorm early this morning. Since I was unable to get back to sleep, I thought why not bake! I have been craving madeleines lately and also wanted to try out a new espresso powder I got at Williams-Sonoma yesterday. I decided to make some mocha macarons and orange madeleines

cake flour is required for a tender madeleine

mise en place for madeleines

After all the ingredients are gathered, the next step is to get the molds ready. A simple brushing of melted butter and dusting with flour is all there is to it. I prefer not to use a spray-on product as most of them give the madeleines an "off" flavor and the drift from the spray tends to land on everything nearby, yuck!

eggs & sugar are beaten till pale, then orange zest is added

the dry ingredients are folded in followed by the butter

batter is transferred into a piping bag to make filling the molds easier

molds are filled 3/4ths full and baked in a 350F oven for about 12 minutes

madeleines are done when edges start to brown

they are turned out immediately to release the steam

final step, dust with some confectioners sugar

YUM!!!

Please feel free to contact me if you need the recipe for these madeleines.

The inspiration for this round of macarons was a newly discovered brand of espresso powder. Espresso powder is different form instant coffee. It has a less bitter flavor and a good brand adds a good flavor to baked goods instead of a "burnt" taste. I can say that this new powder is the best I've used.

I added the espresso powder to the standard macaron shell recipe in the first step:

The shells are already a lovely color while drying

chocolate filling made with butter, ganache and malt

mini mocha macarons!

Another successful batch!! For detailed recipes and instructions for macarons, see older post about macarons.

bio pack from Nashville wraps are really handy for "to go" treats