Madeleines and macarons

Well, here I am again. It's not that I bake every other day, just that it's coming to the end of the year, and I would really really like to clear my backlog so I won't keep having a long list of backlogs that get posted like months later...and I'm proud to say I've clear like pretty much of my backlogs with the frantic postings I do lately. ;) I'm already posting stuff that I've baked in December! *gasp*

Two weeks ago, I baked some macarons and madeleines for the colleagues and packaged them up in small party favour bags. I made - Brown butter cinnamon praline madeleines, chai chocolate macarons and coconut macarons with a mango passion fruit filling. I've decided to split the pictures up in two posts cos I'll be including recipes for some items...

Chai macaron shells with cinnamon chocolate ganache

Chai powder

Thanks to one of my lovely girlfriends, I got myself a spanking new can of unused chai powder! I was over at her place one day, when she asked if I wanted the can of chai cos she doesn't really drink them nowadays. I was more than delighted, cos chai macarons had been on my mind for the longest time ever...and I was reluctant to get a bottle of chai powder, just to make macarons. But now, equipped with a huge can of chai powder, I can make lotsa chai flavoured goodies! Yums yums...

Oh, and of course she had her share of macarons too...I met up with her over lunch and passed her some macarons to try. She's not into sweet things, but surprisingly, she liked the macarons! But she preferred the coconut macarons over the chai ones though...:)

Brown butter cinnamon praline madeleines 

I couldn't resist changing the recipe I found. I mean, it was almond praline madeleines, which sounded really awesome already. But then, a little voice murmured the words "brown butter", and my mind just got fixated on those two little innocuous words...and I just went with the flow. Or course.

I had leftover hazelnut praline powder that I had stored in the freezer. Yes, you can store leftover praline powder in the freezer. I did so with mine and they are still usable...I wasn't sure how much praline powder was required, so I just poured all of the leftovers onto the scale, which seemed just about the right amount, and weighed and noted down the proportions.

Look at those humps!!!

I finally had the chance to use the $2 madeleines molds I got from Daiso some time ago. I was a bit skeptical whether they would work since, you know, it's from Daiso. Haha. But hey, the madeleines' ridges were quite obvious, so hooray for cheap molds that work, rather than spending $40 something for the proper madeleines molds I saw at the baking supplies store...

Brown butter cinnamon praline madeleines (adapted from Patricia at Technicolour Kitchen)
(makes approximately 30 madeleines)

105g unsalted butter, browned
157g all purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
100g sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons honey
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
140g crushed hazelnut praliné powder

Brown the butter and set aside to cool.
Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a small bowl and set aside.
Working with a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until pale and thick, 2-3 minutes.
Add honey and vanilla and beat well. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients and the praliné powder. When they are incorporated, fold in the browned butter.
Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the batter and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or for up to 2 days.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Butter madeleines molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Spoon the batter into the molds ¾ full – don’t worry about leavening the batter, the oven’s heat will take care of that.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until madeleines are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan form the oven and release the madeleines from the mold.
Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.