In anticipation of afternoon visitors yesterday I decided it was time to whip out the madeleine tin once more. Regular readers will remember I've dabbled with these little cakes previously, using Nigella's recipe.
Well, this time I thought I'd give Jane Brocket's version a spin, remembering the trials NL put me through. Namely being forced to eat shed loads of experimental efforts. I even followed the whole recipe, method and all. All the cooling in the fridge bits as well. You should be proud of me.
And the verdict? Not bad at all, a bit chewier than NL's and the mixture went a long way. 19 madeleines from a recipe that promised 10-12. These were in a 12 hole tin with the bigger size holes, rather than the eyeful style preferred by the average Frenchman with more self restraint.
If I had to make a complaint it would be the index in the book. The madeleines are listed as French Madeleines, under f; as opposed to English madeleines, under e. Now call me a pedant if you must but to me and my highly regimented cerebral filing system a better listing would read thus:
Madeleines, English p.155,157
French p.154,156
Obviously, if you're just paging through they're next to each other. But, and it's a big but, if you're looking in the index you expect them under m. Or is that just me?
In conclusion, they're both very nice.