Jasmine Madeleines
I love cooking Thai food at home, so one of my favorite stores in New York City is Bangkok Mart, a small Thai food store in Chinatown. It has just about every Thai product you could ever need, and the staff is super friendly and always willing to answer questions. My most recent discovery there: jasmine syrup and jasmine essence. Jasmine syrup is perfect for cocktails (jasmine sidecar anyone??) and I’m looking forward to using it in sorbets and to brush onto sponge cakes. Jasmine essence is much more intense than the syrup; if you don’t have a Southeast Asian store near you, it can be found online (also called mali essence). (Note: Do not use jasmine oil! It’s not the same thing.) Not exactly a Thai dish, madeleines are quintessentially French, and in my opinion, the most perfect hybrid of cookie and cake. Plus, they’re beautiful – and if you’re the creative type, they take well to additions like flavorings and chocolate (for all you non-traditional peeps out there!). They are perfect dipped in a hot cup of tea (jasmine?) or coffee.
If you can’t find jasmine essence, these madeleines would be delicious with rosewater or orange flower water, or barring any other flowery additions, you can simply increase the amount of vanilla extract to 1 1/2 teaspoons. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature and that you don’t skimp on the time it takes to mix the eggs and the sugar together. Also – standard madeleine pans have molds that are 3 1/4 inches long. (This recipe, as I baked it, made 24 madeleines, filling the molds up 3/4 full, although the original recipe says that it makes 36.) If you only have one madeleine pan, make sure that you allow the pan to cool completely before re-buttering/flouring (or spraying) it.
This recipe is adapted from one in my favorite Thai cookbook – True Thai.
Jasmine madeleines cooling
Ingredients:
4 eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar (use slightly less if you’re using jasmine syrup)
2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch kosher salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Thai jasmine extract (mali) or 2 teaspoons Thai jasmine syrup or 1 teaspoon rosewater or orange flower water
Additional butter and flour for the madeleine pans, or cooking spray
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)
Special Equipment: madeleines pans, a rubber spatula
Procedure:
- Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Using a stand or a hand mixer, beat the eggs and the sugar together on medium speed for 12-15 minutes, or until the mixture turns a light lemony yellow color and has thickened considerably.
- Add the orange peel and mix for 30 seconds more.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour-baking powder mixture.
- Fold in the butter, vanilla, and the flowery essence of your choice. Don’t over mix or your madeleines will be rubbery.
- Let the batter rest in a cool spot for at least an hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375ºF. Brush the madeleine pans with melted butter, dust with flour, and knock out the excess. Or be lazy like me and spray them generously with cooking spray.
- Spoon the madeleine batter into the prepared pans, filling them 3/4 full.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the madeleines are lightly golden.
- Cool in pans for 1 minute, then unmold onto wire racks (scalloped pattern-side up) to cool.
- Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
16 comments
anna Feb 20, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Those are beautiful! I haven’t tried madelines (the only ones to be found here are from the grocery store…yuck) but I do love jasmine! I didn’t know you could get jasmine essence, but it makes sense. Now I’m going to have to find some.
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie Feb 20, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Those look beautiful and sound delicious with the Jasmine flavor!
Daily Spud Feb 20, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I think that my only experience foodwise with jasmine has been jasmine rice! I’m intrigued by the idea of jasmine syrup and essence though…
Sara Feb 21, 2009 at 10:45 am
Beautiful cookies. They sound delicious.
katiek Feb 21, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Thanks for spreading the word about the jasmine water! In SF we have the asian supermarkets so my hands will be thumbing for this down to sniff this out. My niece is also at the stage where we feed her madeleines in cafes while we drink coffee.
Sounds like a good gateway taste into thai food.
I hope my oven doesnt burn them…
megan Feb 21, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Dang I totally spelled madeleines wrong! Note to self: bust out French dictionary b/f posting. I updated. (Thanks Katie – I saw your comment and I was like – doh!)
Kevin Feb 21, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Those madeleines look nice and golden brown and good!
pepsakoy Feb 22, 2009 at 4:07 am
As a Thai, I’m thirlled to know that you like cooking Thai food..and even more to see you apply some thing involved with Thai into your baked good !
It looks so good indeed!!
nithya at hungrydesi Feb 22, 2009 at 11:00 am
Mmmm I bet the smell of jasmine from these is amazing. They look yummy yoo.
megan Feb 22, 2009 at 12:25 pm
The jasmine syrup is amazing – my husband is the mixologist in the family and he made jasmine daiquiris (classic daiquiris just have lime juice, sugar, and rum) using the Thai jasmine syrup – they are dangerous!
I love cooking Thai food because we went to Thailand a couple of years ago for our honeymoon – we got back to the States and realized that a 99% of the Thai food we had been eating here wasn’t very good at all! So I decided to teach myself some basic Thai cooking so we could recreate some of the dishes we had in Thailand.
pepsakoy Feb 22, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I guess you are right about Thai food served in the US. ( or probably around the rest of the world except Thailand !) ..
Thanks anyway for your comments on my blog..
Courtney Feb 22, 2009 at 11:30 pm
these look amazing. i have made jasmine rice krispie treats before, because i love the play on words. i’ll have to get another bottle so i can make these! yum!
finsmom Feb 23, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Ive always wanted to make madelines… I think I am going to have to hit the store asap and pick up a pan. They are so dainty and cute! I am a huge jasmine fan, so the addition of that flavor really appeals to me
Vivian Perez Mar 9, 2009 at 5:42 pm
I am a freelance writer and I am writing an article about madeleines. Would you be interested in being included in my article. I can send you questions. Thanks, Vivian Perez
megan Mar 9, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Hi Vivian –
Thanks for thinking of Brooklyn Farmhouse! I’d love to be included – you can email me at the email listed below (click on “email us”). I just tried emailing you at the address you used when you commented, but it bounced back. Thanks!
Megan
chrissy Mar 4, 2010 at 11:11 am
Ohhh, these madeleines sound heavenly! You’ve inspired me to hunt for the jasmine essence! Speaking of jasmine, have you heard of a company called Woodland Fairy Acres (www.WoodlandFairyAcres.com)? They sell a variety of jasmine flavored scone mixes and a jasmine marshmallow mix too…
Leave a Comment