Baking

I had a lovely Sunday morning baking last week. I made Sponge Drops and Rosebud Madeleines from Nigella's How to Be a Domestic Goddess and a batch of madeleines au miel (honey madeleines) from The Roux Brothers on Patisserie.

I didn't really like the Rosebud Madeleines, which were flavoured with rosewater. I felt that the rosewater taste was just too overpowering and I felt like I was eating some kind of pot pourri. Or something that had been sitting in pot pourri. If I was going to make them again I would definately halve the rosewater, if not quarter it, but I really love the honey madeleines so I think that if I get the urge for madeleines it will be to them that I will go.

I have made the honey madeleines before, but this time I have a madeleine tray, so they look much more authentic. Although, I only have one tray and the two batches of madeleines which each made two trays worth, I was washing and rinsing and drying and refilling that tray over and over and over again!

The sponge drops were lovely. They are a light sponge batter dropped onto a baking sheet (or in my case, some greased baking paper) which is then sandwiched together with whipped cream and jam and some berry compote leftover from my semolina cake.


These went down a treat with the boys. DD discovered them on the cooling rack and then ate half the batch before I could stop him. I hadn't even whipped the cream yet, he just took a drop, put some jam on it and then drizzled the not-even-thickened cream over it.


I had to make another batch after that, because having just 3 finished drops seemed too anticlimactic. Luckily, they are really easy to make.

They were lovely, nice and light and sweet and wonderful. Nigella says that "the lightness of the sponge together with the cool fatness of the cream and juicy sweetness of the berries [...] make these completely seductive". Who am I to argue with Nigella?