Brown Butter Glazed Madeleines

These French tea cakes are the perfect addition to your daily cup of tea or coffee. I always loved having breakfast at Blê Sucrê in Paris or grabbing a bag of them before dropping down into the metro for a midday snack. 

They are dainty but satisfying. Lightly crisp on the crust then buttery, moist and airy on the inside. The brown butter glaze just takes it to the next level. I also recommend trying a citrus glaze if you are looking for something a little lighter and brighter. Or go with the classic and just enjoy them sans glaze.

Madeleines

yields 30 tea cakes

butter and flour your scalloped madeleine molds

preheat oven to 430 degrees F/220c with baking stone in the oven (if you don't have a baking stone - like me! - heat up a baking sheet in the oven and use it as a baking stone)

200g (1 cup) granulated sugar

150g (3) eggs

125g (1/2 cup) milk, warm

275 (2 cups plus 1 tbs) flour*, sifted

10g (1 tbsp) baking powder

125g (9.5 tbsps) butter, melted

1/2 lemon zest

2g (1 tsp) vanilla extract

sift flour and baking powder

cream butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy

add the tempered milk, mix to incorporate

add the sifted flour and baking powder, mix to incorporate

while mixing, slowing add in the melted butter, stirring constantly

add the lemon zest and vanilla, mix to combine

cover with plastic and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes

fill your buttered/floured pans 2/3 of the way

bake on your baking stone (or sheet tray) for 5 minutes at 430f/220c

then turned down your oven to 390f/200c and finish baking until lightly golden brown and springy (about ten minutes)

unmold immediately and let cool on a cooling rack

glaze

200g (1 cup) powdered sugar

70g (5 tbs) browned butter

pinch of salt

whisk to combine

dip your cooled madeleines hump side down and let cool

you can adjust the thickness of your glaze by addding more sugar to thicken it or more butter to thin it out

*I suggest using unbleached and unbromated (if you can find it) flour in all recipes

 Bon Apetit!

Pear. Walnut. Almond. Tart.

Tarts are such an easy and awesome dessert. They are definitely my go to when I just want to throw something together. I love the classic combination of baked fruits and almond cream and pears are a great choice. My other favorites are grapes, apricots and peaches!

This is a perfect snack for a hot summers day. Its light, fresh, easy to share and I'm pretty sure it wants to be friends with a nice cold glass of white wine. mmm.

Pâte Sucré

250g flour
100g butter (room temperature)
100g icing sugar
1 egg
20g water

sift the flour.
cream the butter and icing sugar together.
add the egg. mix until smooth and homogeneous.
add the sifted flour.
if using a mixer, beat until the dough comes together.
if using your hands, use your hands or a scrapper to "frasage" the dough. basically, take a handful of dough and press it into the table while sliding your hand or scrapper so the dough smears. once all the dough has been frasaged, gather it. wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Creme d'amande

250g butter (softened)
250g sugar
250g almond powder
200g eggs
50g flour
40g rum (optional)
5g vanilla extract

cream the sugar and butter together.
add the almond powder and cream together.
add the eggs, one by one.
beat the mixture to "blanch" it. (make it white in color)
add sifted flour, mix.
add rum and vanilla. mix to combine.
cover and fridge.
walnuts, chopped and lightly toastedpears, halved and sliced

roll out your pate sucree, poke the dough to make holes for steam while it bakes. line your tart ring or pan with the dough and  pread walnuts in the bottom of the shell. Pipe almond cream on top of walnuts and then press the sliced pears into the cream. Bake at 350 until golden brown and the almond cream is golden and springs back when touched.

Let cool and enjoy!