Pumpkin Spice Madeleines

Whenever pumpkin spice season rolls around, I always find myself making these pumpkin spice madeleines. They are not only beautiful but the perfect autumn snack to go alongside a warm cup of tea.

They are light and moist, everything you would want in a cake. The pumpkin spice flavours go so well with the caramel brown buttery flavours of the madeleine batter. Enjoy them with a light dusting of powdered sugar or a delicious white chocolate shell!

Yield: About 24 Madeleines

INGREDIENTS:

MADELEINE BATTER-

• 100g Unsalted Butter
• 1tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
• 2tbsp Honey
• 100g Plain/AP Flour
• 120g Caster Sugar
• 1tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2tsp Salt
• 1tsp Ground Cinnamon*
• 1/2tsp Ground Ginger*
• 1/3tsp Ground Cloves*
• 1/4tsp Ground Nutmeg*
• 2 Large Eggs, room temp
• 60g Pumpkin Puree

**** You can replace the spices with 2tsp of premade Pumpkin Spice Mix

OTHER-

• 1tbsp Powdered Sugar
• 150g White Chocolate
• Red/orange/pink food colouring (optional)

STEPS:

BATTER-

1. In a saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and honey. Transfer it to a stove and melt everything over medium heat. Stir with a spatula and let it bubble until you can smell the brown butter and caramel fragrance. Pop it into the fridge to quickly bring it down to room temperature
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and all of the spices. Whisk to combine
3. Add eggs and pumpkin puree to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. You should end up with a thick lumpy mixture without any visible dry flour clumps
4. Pour the cooled butter mixture from step 1 into the batter. Whisk until it’s fully combined
5. Cover the bowl with a piece of clingfilm pressed directly onto the surface of the batter. Place it into the fridge to rest for at least 2hrs or overnight

BAKING-

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Cover the madeleine tin with a thin layer of butter or non-stick spray
2. Transfer the cold batter into a piping bag. Distribute the batter evenly within each shell mould by piping the batter in a zig-zag pattern 3/4 of the way full
3. When all of the shells are full, tap the tray against the work surface to even out the batter and remove large air bubbles
4. Pop it into the oven at 170°C and bake for a total of 7-8min. At the 4min mark, rotate the tray so it rises evenly
5. Once baked, let it cool for a few minutes then tip the tray over and let the cakes fall out. Some may get stuck, give it a little tap or shake and it should come right out while it’s still warm

ICING SUGAR-

1. Dust the madeleines with powdered sugar and enjoy!
2. These have a strong pumpkin spice flavour and won’t be as sweet as the white chocolate version

WHITE CHOCOLATE SHELL-

1. Melt white chocolate
2. Add some colouring if you would like (completely optional)
3. Pipe it into a clean madeleine mould (I recommend using a silicone one)
4. Press the cakes over the piped chocolate and into the mould, then place it into the fridge for 1hr to let the chocolate fully solidify.
5. Remove it from the shell and enjoy! If you are using a silicone mould, it should pop out easily. If you are using a metal mould, and they don’t fall out, you might need to torch the bottom of the mould to melt the chocolate slightly. Then slide it against the shell pattern to remove them. Let it chill once more to harden
6. These are a bit sweeter but the white chocolate will add a nice texture to the cakes!