This is a gorgeous dessert that can largely be prepped in advance, has a pretty nice wow factor and is a slightly different take on the much loved sticky toffee / sticky date pudding.
The idea of serving up a plate of steaming madeleines fresh out of the oven for dessert is the brainchild of Fergus Henderson's team at St John Bread and Wine in London (at least that's where I have seen it done). A brilliant restaurant, if you are ever fortunate enough to find yourself there. You order your madeleines made to order with your mains so they have time to prep them and plonk them down on your table, hot and steaming, right at the perfect time. Talk about a memorable dining moment. Anyway, here's my version with a hearty, warming twist that is perfect for this rainy Autumn transition we are having.
This recipe serves 4 people but you can scale up or down as needed. The miso caramel sauce makes more than you need, but there is no such thing as too much caramel sauce in my opinion. You can also freeze any you have left for up to 3 months.
The idea of this recipe is that you can do the bulk of the preparation in advance. If you're serving at a dinner party, all you need to do is pop the madeleines in the oven 10 mins before you want to serve dessert and then plate up.
These look gorgeous in individual stainless steel ice cream coupes, or little dessert bowls. You could also pile them up onto a platter, smother the sauce all over the top and then have guests serve themselves.
Serves 4 (3 madeleines each)
Ingredients
Madeleines:
This recipe I have adapted from a Serious Eats Madeleine recipe, adding in the date flavour.
50g pitted dates
75g plain flour
75g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs (100g), well beaten
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
75g melted butter, slightly cooled plus extra for greasing
Toffee Sauce:
200g light brown sugar
100mls heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white miso paste
125g unsalted butter
To serve:
Vanilla ice cream
Method
1. Make the Madeleine batter
Note this can be done up to 2 days in advance, and kept in the fridge). For a dinner party, I would suggest making It about 4 hours before and refrigerating until you're ready to bake.
Put the dates in heatproof bowl and pour over 50mls of boiling water (about 2 and a half tablespoons, or just to cover). Leave for 15 mins, then drain any excess water off and put into a blender/food processor and blitz to a smooth paste. Set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, about 30 seconds.
Add eggs, vanilla extract, and blitzed dates and whisk until a thick batter forms, about 30 seconds.
Add butter and whisk until fully incorporated and batter is smooth and slightly shiny, about 1 minute.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap (or transfer to an airtight container) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.
2. Grease your Madeleine tin
Note this can also be done in advance, however early you want. You can also skip this step if you're running low on time, but it really does help to make sure they don't stick.
Melt a little butter and grease your Madeleine tin. Put into the freezer and freeze until using. This helps them not to stick when you bake them!
3. Make your toffee sauce
In a small saucepan, add brown sugar, cream, vanilla and butter and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir through the miso paste until dissolved.
Take off the heat, let cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To reheat, either put on a saucepan over low heat for about 10 mins or microwave in 20 second blasts until thinned and warm.
4. Bake your madeleines
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
When ready to bake, take your Madeleine tin out of the freezer and your batter out of the fridge. Spoon a tablespoon of batter into each Madeleine mould (or maybe a smidge more but be careful not to overfill as they do expand when cooking).
Put on the middle rack of the oven, bake for 3 minutes then reduce the heat to 200 degrees and bake until the madeleines are golden, have a little dome on top and spring back when touched (about 8 minutes).
While they are in the oven, warm up the toffee sauce.
Take out of the oven when ready and immediately serve up.
5. Serve!
Plate up 3 madeleines per person, drizzle with warmed toffee sauce and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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