lady grey & honey madeleines

Trying to think of another soft, delicate recipe to take advantage of my current honey obsession, madeleines sprung to mind instantly, and of course they did-- Dainty and light as a feather, madeleines and honey are a perfect match. To make me even happier, I stumbled across a recipe that throws my absolute favourite black tea blend - lady grey - into the mix. I was in heaven.

This recipe is quick and easy, even taking into consideration the recipe's insistence that the mixture needs  time to rest in the fridge for a few hours. It's still so simple to quickly whip up the batter, leave it in the fridge and slide then into the oven for mere minutes as your guests are arriving (or your stomach is rumbling). Your house will also smell absolutely beautiful. 

Ingredients (makes 12 - 16)

Recipe adapted from telegraph.co.uk

70 gms unsalted butter
2 tbsps loose Lady Grey tea, or contents of 2 tea bags
100 gms plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
pinch of sea salt
2 eggs
70 gms caster sugar
2 tbsps honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp grated orange zest

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat, then mix in the tea leaves, swirling to disperse them. Leave for ten minutes to infuse, then pour through a tea strainer. Squish the tea leaves right into the strainer to get as much butter (and flavour!) out of them as possible.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer (with whisk attachment if possible), beat the eggs and sugar together until thick, light and fluffy. Add the honey, vanilla and orange zest and beat for a further minute. Gently fold in the dry ingredients by hand, followed by the tea-flavoured butter. Cover the surface with plastic wrap refrigerate for at least two hours or up to a day. This is essential to allow the flavours to develop.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Thoroughly grease a 12 capacity madeleine tin with either melted butter or cooking spray. Drop about one tablespoon of batter into each mould, not worrying about smoothing the tops as it will spread out during baking. The mixture made 16 madeleines for me, and is fine to be left at room temperature while your first batch bakes if you don't have two tins. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake until the madeleines are golden. This will take about ten minutes, but keep a close eye on them, as they brown quickly! Test them with a skewer if necessary to ensure they're ready.

Quickly tap the madeleine tin on the work surface to loosen the cakes before turning them on to a wire rack to cool slightly. Dust with icing sugar to serve, if you can wait that long. 

You can really - not surprisingly by the smell of my house - taste the lady grey tea, albeit a beautiful subtle flavour. I've made some pretty fine madeleines in my time (including a spicy chocolate variety with accompanying dipping sauce) but this is surely the finest. This flavour could not possibly be any more perfect for Spring. 

Recommended baking soundtrack: Best Coast - Crazy For You.