Recipe of the week: Manuka honey madeleines
“I’ve been experimenting with taking processed sugar out of some of my recipes and replacing it with more natural alternatives, such as honey and malt syrups,” says Tasmania-based chef, Analiese Gregory.
“This is one of the recipes that adapted exceptionally well to honey, and I love the flavour the madeleines get from intense ones, such as manuka and leatherwood. For me, these cakes are best served straight from the oven. They don’t benefit from being kept for too long!”
Manuka honey madeleines recipe
Ingredients:
(Makes 24 madeleines)
170g butter, plus some for brushing the metal mould
3 eggs
185g manuka or leatherwood honey, or other honey as preferred
160g plain flour
¼tsp salt
¼tsp baking powder
Soured cream, to serve
For the apricot jam:
250g apricots
2½tbsp water
50g honey
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Melt the butter and let cool to room temperature.
2. In a stand mixer, whisk the eggs and honey until light and fluffy, approximately 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients, then add them to the egg mix and fold by hand. Once the dry ingredients are incorporated, gently fold in the cooled melted butter. Chill in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes.
3. To make the jam, take the seeds out of the apricots, then roughly dice them. Combine with the water and honey in a saucepan and cook on a medium heat for approximately 10 minutes, or until a jammy consistency is reached.
4. Butter a madeleine mould with a pastry brush. I use a 12-cake non-stick metal one; the old copper madeleine moulds are amazing, but I would grease and flour them first. Fill each indentation half full and bake for 10 minutes. They should be set and golden, with minimal colour on top and light brown underneath.
5. Serve immediately with soured cream and jam.
- How Wild Things Are: Cooking, Fishing and Hunting at the Bottom of the World by Analiese Gregory, photography by Adam Gibson, is published by Hardie Grant on March 4, priced £22.
