Today’s recipe is dedicated to Maryam at www.thepersianfusion.com for her amazing recipes that she produces on a regular basis. If you’ve not seen her blog then I strongly recommend you go and have a look at the amazing food she has to offer. After seeing her post a test recipe for rhubarb and rosewater cake served with chantilly cream and rosewater on Twitter I just had to go and get my rosewater out of the cupboard and have a play around, resulting in these spelt madeleines.
I’m living in a box.
I’m trying to find somewhere to live in London. Somewhere to live that doesn’t cost multiple millions of pounds, yet is larger than a 21cm springform baking tin. It seems the two things aren’t mutually exclusive, either I live in a springform baking tin which is affordable and accessible, alternatively, I pay millions upon millions (huh, I wish) to live in something that resembles a habitable property in an area where people don’t get shot on a regular basis. The lack of the millions upon millions thus far in my life means that for the time being, until they arrive, I might have to compromise a tad.
Of course I’m exaggerating to make it sound incredibly difficult and awful, when in fact it’s ridiculously simple. I just put my requirements into one of the many property search websites and it plants lots of little markers on a map which allow me to understand where I can afford to live. I then look at the important, life changing facts about the area, such as what range of fruit and veg the local corner shop sells and how big the local park is for walking my dog. After that I consider the more minor features of the locale, such as transport links, the area’s potential and how dangerous it is.
When all said and done I am pretty much limited to a few areas of East and South East London, or I venture out into the areas that call themselves London, yet no-one who lives in London would refer to them as such. It’s all a matter of perspective, depending on what zone you live in, and there’s plenty of zone snobbery abounding, just talk to anyone who lives one zone closer to London than you do to find out. Plus, the demarcation of London is incredibly vague, anything passes for London these days. Essex? That’s London. Kent? That’s London. Surrey? Yep, London.
Beautifully perfumed.
With this backdrop of domestic confusion ruling my personal life currently, I have to admit to the blog being put to one side temporarily. However, I’ve had a resurgence of interest, and first up on my must-make list are spelt madeleines, beautifully perfumed with rosewater and made with no added sugar.
Madeleines are one of those delightful little things that are utterly whimsical, they’re little spongey shell-like creations that can only be made in a tin that is specifically designed for making madeleines. They’re like the Apple computer of the baking world, they only work on their own system, yet they’re also awesome creations that you want to behold.
Spelt flour and no refined sugar.
As part of my ongoing crusade in the name of spelt flour (check out my other spelt recipes here), I’ve developed this recipe using, yep, you guessed it, spelt flour. Once you’ve slid the warm madeleines out of their little trays, you’ll find they are lovely delicate little things, and I’ve also sweetened them using just honey, so none of that nasty, bogeyman that is refined sugar which is so reviled these days. The resultant little shell like spelt madeleines are a delight and with no added sugar they are bordering on healthy, if you were to ignore the butter content.
The rosewater make these spelt madeleines also delightfully aromatic, a perfect afternoon tea accompaniment to nibble on in the garden whilst sipping your finest darjeeling. I think they would also go beautifully with vanilla ice cream or even a cinnamon whipped cream, or just served up on a plate and race to the bottom of the pile, like I very nearly did after the photoshoot, either way, you’re sure to enjoy these little delicacies!
Spelt Madeleines with Rosewater
By Gavin Wren
Makes 12
Uses and electric whisk and a madeleine tin.
PDF recipe card to download or print
Ingredients
100g butter
3 tablespoons honey
130g white spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoon rosewater
2 tablespoons edible rose petals (plus extra for serving)
Directions
Grease your madeleine tin with butter and dust it with spelt flour.
Put the butter and honey into a saucepan and melt together over a very low heat and remove the moment they are completely fluid.
Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl and leave to one side.
Using an electric whisk, beat the eggs, vanilla and rosewater together until they have roughly doubled in size and become aerated.
Fold in the flour and baking powder then stir through the edible petals.
Pour into your madeleine moulds until they are full, then place in the oven and turn the temperature down to gas mark 4, 350ºF, 177ºC, 157ºC fan. Bake for 12-15 minutes until gently browned on top.
Cool for five minutes in the tin, then remove and place on a platter for serving and scatter with edible rose petals.
