Cupcake Madeleines

 

Back in 2010 when I first started this food blog I baked some traditional English Madeleines, the cupcake version.  I have always wanted to re-do the photos for them as I have a much better camera now. I've always been slightly embarrassed by the poor quality of my original photos. 

These are excellent cakes and I don't think my original photography portrayed them very well, or as well as they could have been.

 

One mustn't confuse English Madeleines with regular madeleines. They are two completely different things.  Traditional French Madeleines (or Petite Madeleine) are a small shell shaped buttery cake which comes from the Lorraine region in the North East of France.  

You can tell a good French Madeleine by the size of the bump which develops on the top whilst baking. A good one will have a really tall bump.

English Madeleines are also small buttery cakes, but they are baked in dariole tins. Once baked they are then rolled in sieved red jam and desiccated coconut. Topped with a glace cherry, they are delightful little cakes, both to the eye and to the palate!

  

Traditionally the jam is pressed through a fine sieve and then slightly warmed before brushing. When I was looking for a sieve to use yesterday I came across this in the kitchen drawer.  It was the right size and shape and so I used it, only to discover later on that it was actually a sieve to put in a sink drain.

Never mind, it worked perfectly.  I might actually buy one of those to use when I get my new kitchen! They are probably cheaper than traditional sieves!

 

The basic batter for these is a traditional vanilla sponge. Nothing outrageous.  Simple.

The fiddly part however, is the sieving of the jam, brushing of it onto the cakes and then the rolling of the cakes in coconut. 

Not hard to do but a bit time consuming, that's all. Well worth any effort however!

 

 

The original recipe for this was adapted from one I found in the cookery book entitled, Women's Institute Cakes, by Liz Herbert.  I will now have to replace that book when I can find one. (Fingers crossed)

WI books are the best. If a cake is good enough for the WI you know it is an excellent cake!  The Women's Institute is a community based organization for women in the United Kingdom, South African, Canada and Australia.

  

If you are familiar with the film "Calendar Girls," then you should have a pretty good idea about the WI.  They are well known for their preserving, conserving, and baking! 

And obviously calendars, lol.

One thing which I really love about this recipe is that you don't need any type of dedicated madeleine pan or the dariole molds. You can just use an ordinary medium cupcake/muffin tin. 

Baked in ordinary paper muffin cases, these are simple, and uncomplicated. No buttering or flouring of molds or tins needed. Works for me!

  

They are also very similar to the Feather Squares my mother used to make for us every Christmas.  They consisted of a butter cake, baked, topped with jam, meringue and coconut, then lightly toasted in the oven until the coconut was golden brown.  

What a treat those were for us every year.  The only drawback is that they pretty much need to be eaten on the day, because of the meringue. Sadly, we never actually got around to baking them this year.

 

There is no meringue in these. Just sieved jam and coconut. Incredibly edibly delicious I have to add.

My family has always been crazy about jam and cakes. Mom did not bake a lot of cakes from scratch. She was deathly afraid of her children overeating treats and sweets. When she did bake a cake it would be her Hot Milk Cake.

 

Oh how very much we loved that cake. She always split it and then filled it with strawberry or raspberry jam.

My father loved jam in the middle of cakes. I think, if I recall correctly, my mom filled all of her cakes with jam. We never minded one tiny bit!

 

These are baked simply in paper cases. They peel off very easily once baked and cooled.  The original recipe says it makes 14, but I only got 12 yesterday. Not sure why. 

I did make one change to the recipe. I used all butter instead of half butter and margarine. I wasn't sure if it would work alright. I was a bit worried it would be extra greasy, but not to worry. They turned out perfectly.

 

My sister has a phobia about using margarine and  I have to say I don't really blame her.  I do wonder about it myself at times.  My kids were brought up on Parkay though.

Five kids, tight budget. Parkay. I felt that out of all the margarines it was the best, and tasted the best, but that could just be because of their clever marketing!

 

I have always fallen for clever marketing. I am a typical consumer I guess. I believe what I am being told I suppose.  I trust.

Lately we have been seeing commercials on the telly for Buble water, with Michael Buble in them.  I love the water, but I would never have noticed it but for their clever marketing ploy in using one of my favourite Canadian singers!

Anyways back to the cupcakes. You need to bake these.  Cupcake Madeleines.  As Martha would say, "They're a good thing!"

Mmmm, seriously tasty.  Dangerous even.  Not a traditional madeleine, but I think even better than that. But then again, I never could resist jam and cake!

 

Cupcake Madeleines

Yield: 14

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 10 M

A variation of the traditional English Madeleines, except using paper cases instead of the tin molds normally used. Quite, quite delicious! Cook time reflects the time needed to brush the baked cakes with the jam and roll them in coconut.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (230g) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup (95g) fine granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 2 large free range eggs, beaten
• 1 cup (140g) self raising flour (see notes)
• 1 TBS milk

You will also need:

• 4 - 5 TBS red fruit conserve/jam, sieved
• 7 glace cherries, halved (can use maraschino)
• 1/2 cup (40g) desiccated coconut

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Place 14 paper muffin cases on a baking tray. Set aside.
2. Cream together the margarine, butter and sugar until soft and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. 
3. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, making sure each addition is thoroughly incorporated before proceeding. If the mixture begins to curdle, add a spoonful of the flour and continue. 
4. Once the eggs are completely beaten in, fold in the flour and just enough of the milk to make a soft batter.
5. Divide the mixture equally amongst the baking cases. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. 
6. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Once the cakes are completely cooled, remove the paper cases. 
8. Sieve the jam and place into a small bowl. Warm it slightly in the microwave for about 20 seconds. 
9. Place the coconut into another bowl. 
10. Using a pastry brush, brush a thin coating of jam over the base and sides of each cake. Roll them into the coconut to coat the jammed surfaces. The top of the cakes is now the bottom. 
11. Place on a wire rack to set. Brush the bottom of each of the cherry halves and use to garnish the middle of each cake. Enjoy!!

Notes:

Make Your Own Self Raising Flour:

You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour.

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Lush Lemon Pound Cake

   

Lush Lemon Pound Cake. I wanted to share my favourite recipe for this fabulously delicious old fashioned lemon pound cake with you today. If you are a fan of lemon and of cake, prepare yourself to fall in love! 

This easy pound cake recipe uses simple ingredients that most of us always  have in our kitchens and packs a triple lemon wallop!  With plenty of lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract, it scores a hat-trick of lush lemon flavours every single time you bake it!

 

This is a delicious lemon pound cake which is wonderfully moist and flavourful.  The texture in this is pound cake beautiful!

 

It boasts a sweet lemon drizzle icing that you spoon over the finished cake, making it the perfect pound cake for anyone who loves lemon. (Like me!)

 

I always like to use unwaxed lemons in my baking if I can get them. Don't worry if you can't however. Regular lemons work just fine.  I always scrub my lemons, unwaxed or not.

You want to get rid of any nasty chemicals or pesticides they may have been sprayed with. Just scrub them really well with  warm water and then dry them off.  

Do you keep your lemons on the countertop? I do. Room temperature lemons give you the most juice. Another handy tip!

  

I think of all the cakes you can bake, pound cake has always been my absolute favourite. Mom used to buy it by the slab from the bread man every now and then.  We would enjoy it in thick slices with canned peaches as an extra special dessert.

It was dense and oh so very delicious. I much prefer it over any other kind of cake.  But just what is it that makes a pound cake a pound cake?

 

Pound cakes are what are known as "high ratio" cakes. This simply means that the ratio of sugar in the recipe exceeds the weight/measure of any flour used.  Traditionally these cakes were made with equal measures of eggs, sugar, butter and flour.

That was great in the days when most people had their own cows and chickens, but really nowadays it is not all that viable costwise, although a cake in those proportions would certainly be rich and decadent. Today we tend to work with what is  a close and acceptable alternative.

 

In the UK, they have a cake called a Madeira Cake. It is very similar to pound cake in flavour and texture.  I love, LOVE Madeira Cake. You can find my recipe for Madeira Cake here.  I warn you now, it is absolutely delicious! 

But so is this Lemon Pound Cake! This is the perfect pound cake in my opinion.  And it is very easy to make.

  

One thing which I always do to maximise the lemon flavour in any lemon bake/make is a little trick i learned from Dorie Greenspan.  That is to rub any lemon zest used in the recipe completely into the sugar. 

Simply drop the lemon zest into a bowl with the sugar and star rubbing the two together with your fingertips. This simple step forces the lemon zest to release all of its lemony oils enabling the sugar to perfectly capture them.  

 

 

If you make it a habit to always do this, you will always have beautiful, perfectly flavoured lemon bakes! Its just a simple thing, but it does make a huge difference.

Another thing I do when baking a cake is I try to have all of my ingredients at room temperature, especially if you are going to be separating and beating egg whites. It is common knowledge that room temperature egg whites give you the most volume.

 

It just makes sense that if you are going to make sure your eggs are at room temperature, you will want to make sure everything else is also at like temperature. Its a simple thing. 

I always use a bundt pan for this. It makes for such a pretty cake.  If you don't have a bundt tin however you can bake it in two large loaf tins (9 X 5 inches).  I am not entirely sure of the timings on this however, so do start checking it at about the 55 minute mark.

This is a wonderful cake that is not only moist and delicious, but it will keep for days.  It also freezes very well, so if you are a smaller family, you can just cut it into quarters, wrap each quarter well (airtight) and you can keep it in the freezer for up to six months. (I would not glaze in that case.)

This cake is beautiful cut into slices and enjoyed with a hot cuppa, or with scoops of ice cream, or with berries or other fruits spooned over top.  This is a cake that is just plain meant to be enjoyed any which way you choose to indulge.  I highly recommend!

Lush Lemon Poundcake

Yield: Makes 12

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 20 Mincook time: 1 H & 10 Mtotal time: 1 H & 30 M

This is an old fashioned, made from scratch. lush and delicious Lemon Poundcake. Cake doesn't get much better than this!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened (345g)
• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar (430g)
• 7 large free range eggs, room temperature (separated)
• 3/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (60ml)
• 1/2 cup sour cream (60g)
• 2 tsp pure lemon extract
• the zest of one large unwaxed lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 1/2 cups plain, all purpose flour (490g)

For the glaze:

• 2 cups icing sugar, sifted (260g)
• 2 TBS fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325*F/165*C/ gas mark 3. Butter a (12 cup) bundt tin really well with some shortening.  Dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Set aside.
2. Rub the lemon zest with the sugar for the cake until the sugar smells really lemony. Set aside.
3. Sift the flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl. Set aside.
4. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar in a clean glass bowl until they form stiff peaks. Set aside.
5. Cream the butter in another bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon sugar, adding it gradually. Scrape the bowl occasionally as needed.  Beat in the egg yolks one at a time until thoroughly combined.  Stir in the lemon juice, sour cream and lemon extract.
6. Stir the flour mixture into the cake batter until smooth and thoroughly combined.  Gently fold in the egg whites, folding just until no streaks remain and taking care not to overmix. Spoon into the prepared cake tin.
7. Bake in th centre of the preheated oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake tin comes out clean.
8. Let cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes before tipping cake out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
9. To make the icing, whisk the icing sugar together with the lemon juice until smooth. You want a thin icing that you can easily spoon over the cake.
10. Spoon the icing over the cake and allow to set before serving.

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This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again! 

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Oatmeal Batter Bread

 

Oatmeal Batter Bread.  There is nothing I love more than a recipe for an old fashioned batter bread. The recipe I am sharing with you today is for an Oatmeal Batter Bread.

It is one I adapted from a cookbook entitled, "Better Homes and Gardens: 365 Comfort Foods", and I will tell you up front, this is a real winner of a recipe! I really trust BH & G recipes and recipe books.

 

I have always quite simply adored oatmeal bread. It is wholesome and old fashioned and toasts really well. 

I have also  always had a fondness for batter breads.  They are so much easier to make than regular breads. You can make them simply with a mixer and a bowl.  They also tend to be a lot quicker to make than regular bread.

 

With an old fashioned batter bread, the mixer does all of the hard work of kneading. This helps to create a bread that is both light in weight and in texture. Perfect for eating out of hand or toasted.

Because these breads are not kneaded by hand, however,  it is important to beat the initial batter with a mixer until it comes away from the sides of the bowl and appears stringy. You really want to do your best job in helping the gluten to develop!

 

I have never been really great at kneading bread by hand. I lack the upper body strength to do a proper job of it.  That's where these heavy duty stand mixers really work well.  They pack plenty of oomph!

The remainder of the dry ingredients for this recipe are mixed in by hand with a wooden spoon. It can be a real workout making sure that it all gets incorporated, but do persevere!  

Trust me when I say, it is well worth the effort!

 

Since batter breads use less flour than regular breads, they form a batter rather than a dough, It is more times than not a rather sticky batter! That's okay however. It is all a part of their charm.

And part of what makes them super quick and super easy to make.

 

One thing I really  missed when I was living in the UK was the Oatmeal Bread from back home.  I adore Oatmeal Bread.  Slightly sweet, and tasting of molasses and oats, it is one of my favorite yeast breads.

When I saw this recipe for Oatmeal Batter Bread I just had to try it!  Batter breads are the one kind of bread that I can make that have always turned out for me!

 

I have always been a lot better at baking doorstops rather than bread, lol.  Truly, hard and not that edible.  My ex husband was a bread baking expert.  He used to crank out about a dozen loaves for our hungry family every week.

Great big beautiful fluffy loaves of white bread.  Double loaves, and by that I mean loaves that were two big balls joined in the center. I love the center bits. The fluff. Those were my favorite pieces.  I think one whole loaf always got inhaled as soon as it came out of the oven.

 

Everyone had to have a slice or two.  Warm, with butter melting into it.  It was heavenly bliss. I will give my ex credit for being able to make great bread! Always have done.

One reason I really love batter breads is that making them doesn't take me a lot of faffing about to have success with them! I do a Brown Batter Bread that is pretty amazing. We like to eat it with baked beans.

 

I also make some White Batter Rolls that are pretty darned good. I truly love them. 

I have to tell you, however,  this Oatmeal Batter Bread bats a homerun right out of the ball park!  It is amazing! Just look at the beautiful texture of it.

 

It only requires one rising.  You simply mix it up and then pop it into the baking tin. It rises right in the loaf tin, so it is also very quick to make.  

I had this stirred together and rising in the loaf tin before anyone even got up this morning. I can't think of anything better than waking up to the smell of bread baking, can you?

Of course the child in me cannot help but enjoy a slice of fresh homemade bread with just butter and jam on it. 

It truly is pure bliss to me and I know I will suffer the rest of the day for this small indulgence. I am incorrigible I know!

 

Diabetics and jam don't go together very well. 

I will confess . . . I do not care much for the taste of artificial sweeteners in diabetic jams. Plus they are overpriced for what they are and have no lasting power.

 

I would rather have a little bit of the real thing, once in a while.

This is worth every minute of discomfort it might cause me later on, and is a rare, rare treat.

  

Oh boy  . . . but you just cannot beat a slice of good homemade bread, buttered and spread with a smattering of lovely sweet jam.

Today it was raspberry. Double indemnity, what with me having diverticulitis as well. Strawberry would have been a wiser choice, but oh well. The heart wants what it wants and all we had was raspberry! 

Oatmeal Batter Bread

Yield: Makes one medium loaf

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 1 H & 15 MCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 1 H & 55 M

This amazingly tasty bread needs only one rising and bakes up beautifully light. Its also incredibly low in fat

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240ml) warm milk (whole or 2 %) 
• 1/4 cup (60ml) honey or molasses 
• 1 packet of active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 1 3/4 cup (245g) bread flour 
• 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
• 1 TBS vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup (105g) whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup (50g) old fashioned oats, plus more to sprinkle

Instructions

1. Combine the warm milk, molasses and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to dissolve the yeast. Let the mixture rest for five minutes.
2. Spray an 8 by 4 by 2 inch loaf tin with cooking oil spray.
3. Add the bread flour, egg, oil and salt to the yeast mixture. Beat on low for a minute to combine, scraping down the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to high and beat for 3 minutes. The dough will be very sticky.
4. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the oats and whole wheat flour and work it in until well incorporated. Spoon into the loaf tin and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle more oats on top. Cover lightly with a sheet of buttered cling film and leave to rise for an hour until double in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 180*D/350*F/ gas mark 4. Bake the loaf for 15 minutes. Loosely tent with aluminum foil and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes until done. The loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
6. This bread will keep for up to three days at room temperature, or you can freeze it for up to a month.

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This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com 

Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again! 

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