Time for tea

I might have mentioned just a few times all the weddings I’m going to this summer? Just once or twice maybe? The resultant hen/bachelorette/bridal showers are a wonderful excuse to flex my culinary muscles on some afternoon tea sweet treats. So the next couple of weeks feature just that.

There’s one here already if you’re looking to get started, and this little post contains madeleines, a tiny French delight perfect for scoffing with tea. I decided to add some extra flavours to the classic lemon and vanilla, I’m not convinced the French would be too impressed, but you can thank me later.

Lime-and-raspberry-madeleines

You will need:

75g/2.5 oz Caster sugar

75g/2.5 oz Plain flour

60g/2 oz Butter

2 eggs

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 tsp Baking powder

60g/2 oz Raspberries

Zest of a lime

200g/7 oz White chocolate

Madeleine mould

Makes 10000000 (I’m sorry I forgot to count, but about 50 mini ones – maybe 25 normal size? Sufficient anyway)

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Step one

Melt all of the butter slowly in the microwave. Do this gradually until it’s just melted, none of this burning it until your house smells like popcorn nonsense please.

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Step two

Use a splash of the butter and a pastry brush (or your (clean) fingers) to grease the mould, then dust with flour. To tell the truth if your mould is silicone I’m not entirely convinced this is necessary.

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Step three

Grate a lime using the finest side of your grater and crush the raspberries with a fork. I was a little over zealous with the crushing, which made my mixture a bit greyish in the end, so don’t overdo it.

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Step four

Finally time to make some cake!

Whisk the eggs until they are light, fluffy and start to thicken. If you don’t know what that means, then whisk them until they look like the bottom right hand picture.

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Step five

Carry on whisking gradually adding the sugar. The mixture will thicken and will look less bubbly. Keep going until lifting your whisk leaves ribbons of mixture in the bowl.

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Step six, seven and eight

Gently fold in the flour and baking powder with a metal spoon until fully combined.

Add the melted butter. This is weird right? Thanks France…

Whilst folding in the butter add the crushed raspberries, lime zest and vanilla extract. Keep stirring until it’s completely combined. Remember though, softly softly…think about stirring a bowl of baby bunnies.

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Step nine

Spoon into mould and cook for 15 minutes on Gas mark 5/190 C/375 F. Leave to cool.

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Step ten

Once your madeleines have cooled melt some white chocolate in the microwave and give them a little dunk. I also used a piping bag and the remaining chocolate to drizzle over them when I was done dipping.

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Step eleven

Legitimately use the word voila.