In my attempt to be fancy, once again, here is my second recipe for French Madeleines. These soft French desserts are pretty and sweet and can be made with many different flavors. This time I made orange glazed French Madeleines. With orange juice in the batter and in the glaze it was full of awesome flavor.

These sweet little cakes turned out great. But I may experiment with adding sour cream or crème fraiche to make them more moist. I am a sucker for orange flavored anything. I will later put up a recipe for my favorite cinnamon roll made with carrot cake and orange juice stay tuned. Enjoy!

Orange Glazed French Madeleines

INGREDIENTS

• For the orange Madeleines
• 1 orange, rinsed, dried, microplane for the zest and then juiced
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 ounces salted butter, melted and still warm

For the orange glaze

• 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
• Enough orange juice to make spreadable glaze (about 3 tablespoons)

DIRECTIONS

• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, and sugar to combine. (Make the batter by hand rather than with an electric mixer to ensure tender madeleines.) Whisk in half the orange zest, 1 teaspoon orange juice, and the vanilla. Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir just until combined. Pour in the butter and whisk just until thoroughly incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (This ensures a good rise and gives that dome appearance that is the signature of the French Madeleine.)
• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter and flour madeleine tins or mini muffin pans and place them in the freezer until ready to use.
• Pour the batter into the madeleine tins or mini muffin pans until each indentation is just barely completely filled, trying to make a mound in the center. Bake until puffed and golden brown on top, 8 to 10 minutes if you’re using small madeleine tins and 14 to 16 minutes if using large madeleine tins or mini muffin pans.

• Let the madeleines cool in the tins for 2 minutes before turning them onto wire racks to cool for at least 20 minutes before glazing. (If you do not wait for them to cook the glaze soaks through into the cake)
• Make the orange glaze
• Mix the confectioner’s sugar with just enough orange juice to make an opaque, thick, yet spreadable glaze.
• Assemble the madeleines
• Spread some glaze over each madeleine with a pastry brush, immediately sprinkle the remaining orange zest over the tops, and let rest for about 30 minutes before serving. (I just dunked the tops) 🙂

(adapted from leitesculinaria.com)