Chocolate Rye Madeleines

It's kind of crazy that this is the very first post on my new blog today. I'm not even sure if anyone reads blogs anymore or if this will be a consistent thing for me (writing is so exhausting) but I'm lowkey proud of myself for starting it. I've certainly talked about doing this for a while so it's nice to see that I'm capable of following through for once.

Anyway, we are here to talk about chocolate rye madeleines. These aren't the dense and pound-cake-y kind you get at Starbucks or the international food section at World Market/TJ Maxx (yes, I shop for food there). They are nice and light. Buttery, yes, but nice and light. They give you the illusion that they aren't too bad for you (the illusion is true because no food is bad for you if it makes you happy and is consumed in moderation; although it's up to you to decide what "moderation" is). You can certainly eat 10 of these in one sitting. I have.

They are best enjoyed warm. Fresh out of the oven, these madeleines have a slightly crunchy crust (or very if you over-bake them). They will lose that crust after a few hours but still be good.

My recipe is adapted from Betty Hung's French Pastry 101. Please support the author by purchasing their book everywhere book is sold (preferably indie bookstores if you can).

Ingredients (24-30 small cakes):

• 130g all purpose flour

• 40g rye flour

• 20g cocoa flour

• 8g/2.25 tsp baking powder

• 3g/0.5 tsp salt

• 175g sugar

• 1tsp vanilla

• 3 large eggs (room temp)

• 113g/1 stick butter (melted and cooled)

• 85g milk (room temp)

• Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Instruction:

1. Whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt.

2. Beat eggs and sugar with a whisk till frothy.

3. Fold dry into wet, until everything is just mixed. Over-mixing will result in tougher cakes.

4. Mix in the melted, cooled butter and milk until it forms a cohesive mass. Again, don't over mix here!

5. Now to the tough part, we need to rest these for at least 2 hours or overnight.

6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 500F.

7. While the oven is preheating, we need to prepare the madeleine pan. Generously butter the pan and coat it with flour. Tap out excess to leave behind a light coating. You can use butter spray here too (I usually do) but one time I buttered the pan with leftover butter wrappers (the wrappers that your butter sticks come in) and the madeleines came out burnt. So, just a thought.

8. Spoon or pipe the refrigerated batter into each mold. I usually fill this 3/4 of the way. If you fill it up more or less, that will change how many madeleines you get and how long you should bake them for. Use thy own judgement. I trust in you.

9. Bake at 500F for 3 mins.

10. Lower temp to 400F for 6-7 mins.

11. Unmold onto a wire rack to cool slightly.

12. Dust with powdered sugar or temper some chocolate for drizzling/dipping. Totally optional.

13. You should have enough batter to make at least one more batch so wash and dry the pan thoroughly before repeating step 6-12.

14. Eat while warm.

Find my short 30-second step by step video on Instagram or Tiktok!