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Lemon Madeleines by Kim-Joy

A French classic, these fabulous little sponge cakes are a must bake! Full of zesty goodness, these lemon Madeleines won't disappoint! Bon appetit!

Image credit: EDITORIAL USE ONLY The Great British Bake Off finalist Kim-Joy gives a guest baking demonstration hosted by AO.com PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday October 16, 2019. Photo credit should read: David Parry/PA Wire

Brought to you by AO Life

Enjoy these tasty lemon madeleines by AO Life in collaboration with Kim-Joy!

A French classic, these fabulous little sponge cakes are a must bake! Full of zesty goodness, these lemon madeleines won't disappoint! Bon appetit! David Parry/PA Wire

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Ingredients

2 free-range eggs
100 g caster sugar
135 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
70 g salted butter, plus extra for greasing
33 g whole milk
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
zest of 2 unwaxed lemons

For the Madeleine dip

200 g icing sugar, plus extra
40-45 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed and sieved
green food dye

Instructions

Make the madeleine batter. Add the caster sugar and eggs to a large bowl (ideally a stand mixer) and whisk on high speed for about 7 minutes, until it's thick and holds a trail. Meanwhile, melt the butter in very short 20-second bursts in the microwave so that it is of liquid consistency, but not too hot. Weigh the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Zest the lemons.

When the sugar and egg mixture is thick and holds a trail, pour in the milk, then sift in the flour and baking powder. Add the lemon zest and vanilla bean paste, then whisk until just incorporated. Pour in the cooled melted butter and whisk again until just combined. Do not overmix.

Cover with clingfilm and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Melt a little extra butter and use this to grease a madeleine tin, then place the madeleine tin in the freezer. At this point, preheat the oven to 220ºC/Gas Mark 7.

Meanwhile, make the lemon dip. Whisk together the lemon juice and the icing sugar, until the consistency is smooth and runny, but is still opaque when coating the back of a spoon. Add a little more lemon juice and icing sugar until you have the correct consistency.

Set aside a small amount and add more icing sugar to this until it is of piping consistency, then transfer to a piping bag ready for later. Add green food dye to the remaining larger amount. Pour the green icing into a wide-brimmed cup (choose one suitable for dipping the madeleines into), then cover with clingfilm.

Pipe a small amount of batter to each section of the madeleine tray. The batter shouldn’t fill the tray, there should be small gaps around the edges to allow the madeleines to rise in the oven. Bake the madeleines in the oven for 8-12 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely.

When the madeleines are cool, dip one by one (scalloped end first) into the green lemon icing. Aim to have just under half of each madeleine’s surface area covered. Leave the madeleines to set on a wire rack.

When the green icing has set, use the white icing in the piping bag (set aside earlier) to decorate with white lines.