Friday 9 July 2010

Update on sponge cakes

I made the sponge cake recipe I posted the other day and was a little disappointed. In part the underwhelming size of the cake. I used an 8" size and should have used a sponge cake tin, which I think must be at least a 7".

Instead I will post the recipe for the first sponge I made. I was much more pleased with that one.

Wednesday 7 July 2010

Madeleines

I still haven't managed to make the sponge cake I said that I would in the last post but I did finally make madeleines. I went to Paris in 2005 and one of the items I brought back was a madeleine tin. In all those intervening years I have never used that tin! But I have now. Twice!

I used Rick Stein's recipe but checked another recipe after I made the first batch and they didn't come out quite as I expected. Rick Stein suggests that you put the batter in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking. In Paris Sweets, they suggest that you wait a minimum of 3 hours and that you can keep the batter for up to two days. My second batch worked much better than the first so I would suggest waiting.

I had to go to Paris for my tin because at the time they weren't sold in the UK. However, you can now get them at Lakeland for only £7.95. Certainly less expensive than a trip to Paris, though perhaps not as interesting!

Today I promise to make one of the sponges and report back tomorrow!