Recipe — Lemon Curd Madeleines

The scent of freshly baked madeleines is what we want to wake up to any morning. In our restaurant, we bake these to order and fill with fresh lemon curd. Make these on Christmas morning to have with an espresso or a cup of tea. Makes 24.

Ingredients

Lemon curd

270g caster sugar

4 eggs

1 egg yolk

Finely grated zest of 5 lemons

Juice of 4 lemons

170g softened butter

Madeleines

400g unsalted butter

480g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

360g caster sugar

Pinch of salt

Finely grated zest of 4 lemons

8 large eggs

Method

i) To make the lemon curd, thoroughly whisk together the sugar, eggs, egg yolk, lemon zest and juice. Transfer to a double boiler or a heatproof bowl that fits snugly over a pan of gently simmering water and whisk until thick and pale. If the curd does not thicken after a few minutes. increase the heat slightly. Once thickened, remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature. Whisk in the softened butter. a little at a time (if you add it all at once, the curd will split). Transfer the lemon curd to a piping bag with a small nozzle or a squeezable plastic bottle.

ii) For the madeleines, preheat the oven to 200°C and grease two 12-cup madeleine trays. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over a very low heat then set aside to cool. Sift the flour with the baking powder.

iii) In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar and salt, then add the lemon zest and rub together with your fingertips until well incorporated. Fix the bowl in place and fit the whisk attachment, then whisk in the eggs until pale and fluffy. Gently fold in the sifted flour and baking powder, then the cooled melted butter.

iv) Spoon the batter into the trays. filling each cup to the brim, and bake for 8-10 minutes. When cooked, the madeleines should be soft, and fluffy and offer a little resistance to the touch. Remove from the oven, then pierce the base of each warm madeleine with a skewer and carefully pipe or squeeze some lemon curd into the centre (each one should hold about 11⁄2 teaspoons of curd before it threatens to burst). Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Note The lemon curd can be made in advance. It will keep for 4 days in the fridge, and any excess is lovely spread on fresh bread or toast.