Wow! What a time of transition it has been! Sorry that I have been away for a while, but there have been many changes going on at Beyond The Kitchen Wall. The biggest change was moving from the Estate in Glencoe, Illinois to a temporary house in Wilmette, Illinois. It was hard to leave my Kitchen and Garden behind, but that's life... I also managed to squeeze a fantastic honeymoon to Paris in there as well. It was great to return to the City of Lights after many years. Paris is magical and renewed my passions for French Cuisine and the French People.
That being said, it is time to get back to business. And my business is FOOD! I have been working on many recipes in my absence and hope to share them with you in the coming weeks.
We are at the threshold of the Holiday Season, Thanksgiving is this Thursday in the U.S. I wanted to share a recipe that features an ingredient that figures very prominently in the Thanksgiving celebration and during the Holiday Season as a whole, namely Pumpkin. I love pumpkin and am a die hard pumpkin pie fan, but there are other things that you can do with this ingredient. One of my favorite new recipes is for Spiced Pumpkin Madeleines. It is a very French way to use an all-American ingredient.
These "cookies" are incredibly easy to prepare because I use good old canned pumpkin puree. Their texture is pure madeleine, crispy on the outside and cakey-soft on the inside. Also, like true madeleines, this texture is fleeting. They are at their zenith of perfection while still warm from the oven. They begin to decline quickly, and should be consumed the same day that they are prepared. After a day, they become soft and "wet"/sticky. They still taste great, but they lack the hallmark madeleine texture. This really should not be a problem though, because they are so good that they won't be around that long!
Spiced Pumpkin Madeleines
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon Madagascar vanilla extract
- 3/4 cups cake flour
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, browned
Place the egg yolks in the bowl of a mixer along with half of the sugar. Beat on high speed until sugar melts and yolks become a pale yellow. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla and beat on low until just mixed together.
Place egg whites in a separate mixer bowl and beat on high speed until they reach soft peaks. Add remaining sugar and continue beating until egg whites are stiff and glossy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, and spices.
Whisk 1/3 of the egg whites into the pumpkin mixture to lighten the batter. Then in 2 batches, gently fold in remaining egg whites using a large rubber spatula. Sprinkle flour mixture gently over the top of the batter and fold until combined. Be sure that there are no pockets of flour at the bottom of the bowl. Finally, add 6 tablespoons of the reserved brown butter, reserving 2 tablespoons to grease the madeleine pan. Cover batter and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
To bake:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place oven rack in middle position. Lightly butter a madeleine pan with the reserved brown butter. Be sure that no butter pools in the bottom of the shells as this will distort the final appearance. Place 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons of batter in each shell mold. I find that a small portion scooper works best for this. Place in hot oven and bake for 14 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and invert madeleines onto a cooling rack. If they stick, just bang a corner of the pan on the rack and they will come right out. Allow to cool to warm and serve immediately. They may be kept for 1 day, uncovered.
