The elderflower season is almost over. The familiar white flowers have nearly all but vanished from the countryside, turning into little green elderberries before ripening into the dark purple fruit. If you’ve been organised and made your own elderflower cordial, you can use it to make these delicious madeleines.
If you have some elderflowers left near you, try making elderflower cordial, I love drinking it with sparkling water or added to a gin and tonic to make it a bit more special. Of course if there aren’t any elderflowers left, you can easily use a shop bought cordial and these will be just as tasty.
When you make madeleines, you really have to make a beurre noisette, the same is true for financiers. It’s the signature flavour and it helps to give the madeleines their gorgeous golden colour.
If you’re wondering what a beurre noisette is, it’s essentially butter which is cooked until the fat and milk solids separate. This is done over a gentle heat and the milk solids begin to brown and give off a nutty aroma. This is a beurre noisette or nut butter, it can be used in liquid form and served with fish and vegetables. Or the beurre noisette can be cooled and used in a solid state for baking, like in these madeleines.
You don’t have to make the glaze for these madeleines, they are perfectly delicious on their own, but the glaze gives them a real elderflower kick and makes them almost doughnut-like.
Elderflower Madeleines
Ingredients
- ***Madeleines***
- 125 g Unsalted Butter
- 100 g Icing Sugar
- 40 g Ground Almonds
- 40 g Plain Flour
- Pinch of Salt
- 3 Egg Whites approx 90g
- 2 Tbsp Elderflower Cordial
- ***Elderflower Glaze***
- 100 g Icing
- 1-2 Tbsp Elderflower Cordial
Instructions
- Place the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and let it melt. Get a bowl ready and stand it on a heatproof service (a trivet or towel), you will pour the butter into this bowl to stop it cooking further.
- Cook the butter until it turns golden. It will bubble up, so you need a spatula or spoon to scrape the bubbles back so you can see the colour. The butter will also start to smell nutty.
- As soon as the butter starts to colour pour it straight into the bowl to stop it cooking.
- Allow to cool completely.
- Sift the sugar, almonds, flour and salt into a bowl.
- Whisk in the egg whites and elderflower cordial until combined.
- Finally add the cooled beurre noisette and whisk until it is fully mixed in.
- The mixture can then be placed in the fridge overnight or for at least 8-10 hours. This helps the mixture thicken to the right consistency for baking.
- Just before baking pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees (325 degrees F), Gas 3.
- Take the madeleine pan and rub butter into the scalloped moulds, then dust the tray with flour. Tap off the excess flour and then fill each mould with a heaped teaspoon of batter.
- You will have batter left over, do not over fill the moulds, you can use this batter to make more madeleines after your first batch.
- Bake the madeleines in the pre-heated oven for 12-15mins, you may need to rotate the pan half-way through baking to ensure they cook evenly.
- Whilst the madeleines are baking, make the glaze, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add a tablespoon of the elderflower cordial, mix until it forms a thin pouring consistency, you may need to add the rest of the cordial to get the desired consistency.
- Allow to cool slightly and then remove the madeleines from the pan, place them on a cooling rack with a tray or some greaseproof paper underneath to catch the glaze, glaze them while they are still warm.
Notes
Thanks for reading.
Angela
choclette
Your photos are just gorgeous and the madeleines sound delicious. I haven’t made elderflower cordial for at least a couple of years, so I ought to make an effort this year.
patisseriemakesperfect
I love elderflower cordial – I was a beginner when I made this batch though. I must try to make it again.
Thanks for the lovely comment.
Jodie Dodd
I love the idea of the glaze on the madeleines and I love these recipes where you can pick ingredients from the countryside. But my favorite tip is using the beurre noisette for fish and vegetables! 🙂 xx
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thanks Jodie – these taste really great – I absolutely love them and the foraging is so fun.
Beurre noisette is amazing! x
Isabella
I adore madeleines, yours look like utter perfection! I love the idea of the glaze, so perfumed with elderflower – delicious!!
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thank you Isabella – the glaze keeps them really moist too, which can be a problem with madeleines as they have such a short shelf-life.
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thanks Louise – your cordial recipe is fab, I am rationing it! It’s so very tasty. x
Pang
I love madeleines, and I love your detailed recipe, Angela. When I made madeleines, they didn’t come out so well as yours, and now I know why. Thank you so much 🙂 P.S. The elderflower glazed is genius!!!
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Hi Pang, so pleased I’ve helped you with your madeleines, everyone should have a good madeleine recipe, they are the ultimate treat with coffee for breakfast and they cook so quickly if you have the batter in the fridge the night before.
Hannah Hossack-Lodge
I love elderflower cordial, but I’m never organised enough to go out and pick my own and they are pretty much all gone now 🙁 The madeleines sound lovely, elderflower is delicious in cakes.
PatisserieMakesPerfect
This was the first year I made my own Hannah and it was more luck than careful planning which meant I had some cordial. I will definitely make it again and again now though.
Elderflower really works in cakes, I think it must be the citrus hit as well.
Deborah Thompson
Love these Angela! Elderflower is one of my favourite flavours this time of year!
PatisserieMakesPerfect
It’s so summery and refreshing isn’t it? I love it and really want to try it in some layer cakes too.