Orange & Hibiscus Madeleines
Enjoy the fragrant flavour combination of orange and hibiscus in this delightful recipe from Great British Bake Off winner, Candice Brown's, new cookbook, Comfort.
Introduction
I love France, everything and anything French, and j’adore Paris! I first tried madeleines on a school trip to France and loved the simplicity of them along with a bowl of hot chocolate. Now when I make them, they are barely out of the oven before I’m shovelling one into my mouth! Orange adds a lovely citrus taste and the hibiscus almost a berry/rose-like touch. Hibiscus is great in tea too!
Ingredients
| 1 tbsp | dried hibiscus petals |
| 100ml | boiling water |
| 90g | unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus extra to grease the moulds |
| 50g | soft light brown sugar |
| 100g | golden caster sugar |
| 2 | large eggs |
| 1 | orange, grated zest and juice, plus extra zest to decorate |
| 100g | plain flour, plus extra for the moulds |
| just under 1 tsp | baking powder |
| pinch | of salt |
| 1 tbsp | orange blossom honey |
Essential kit
You will need madeleine moulds
Method
Put the dried hibiscus petals in a small bowl and pour over the boiling water. Leave to soften for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, brush your madeleine moulds with melted butter, then dust them lightly with flour.
Combine the brown sugar, 50g of the caster sugar and the eggs in a large bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk until light and fluffy. Add the orange zest, 90g cooled melted butter, plain flour, baking powder, salt, honey and 1 tablespoon of the hibiscus water, and mix together to make a batter. Leave for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170°C fan (190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5).
Spoon the batter into the prepared madeleine moulds (you will need to bake in batches). Take care not to overfill the moulds. Bake for 10–12 minutes until risen and golden.
Remove the madeleines from the moulds and place on a wire rack. Cool the moulds, then brush with melted butter and dust with flour again before baking another batch of madeleines.
Once all the madeleines have been baked and cooled, mix together the orange juice, the remaining 50g caster sugar and 3 tablespoons of the hibiscus water in a small saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and you have a thick syrup.
Poke a hole in the underside of each madeleine and brush over the syrup. Wait for this to soak in, then brush on a second coat of the syrup. Finish with a grating of orange zest. These are best eaten fresh on the day of baking.
