My Ultimate French Breakfast: The Secret to a Really Good Madeleine

My ultimate French breakfast isn't complex or flashy; it's just simple, elegant, and delicious. And at the heart of this delightful breakfast is the secret to a really good Madeleine - its light, fluffy texture, and perfect pairing with coffee in the morning.

When I think back on living in Paris, there was always something exciting about it, and one of those experiences was visiting that little pastry shop where I used to live above. One thing that stood out about this little pastry shop was the experience of incorporating three eggs into the mixture - a task that was both thrilling and rewarding.

In order to incorporate these eggs into the mixture, I use a big, beautiful balloon whisk - the bigger the balloon whisk, the more aeration we get in the mixture. The best way to do this is to whisk from left to right and then change hands every 15 or 20 seconds to avoid getting tired, tilting the ball of the whisk to our advantage as well. It's amazing to see how quickly the mixture starts to aerate, almost doubling in size - a light whipped cream consistency that is both beautiful and delicious.

The next step is to sift in the self-raising flour sieve into the mixture, adding a twist by incorporating poppy seeds for a crunch and lemon for flavor. A generous zest of lemon is added to give it a wonderful orange flavor, one that I have tried with other citrus fruits before but find particularly delightful when paired with lemon.

In order to incorporate these flavors evenly, I pour the melted butter down the side of the bowl, allowing it to cool down even further and then combine it with the mixture. It's crucial at this stage to avoid beating the mixture, as we want to keep that nice aerated texture throughout. Instead, I use a spatula to gently mix in the butter, creating a beautifully light and fluffy consistency.

Before baking, the mixture is left to sit and firm up, making it easy to pour into the molds. These can be traditional Madeleine trays or even miniature Yorkshire pudding molds - as long as they are lightly buttered and lined with flour, which prevents sticking and ensures that the Madeleines will come out perfectly.

The beauty of this recipe lies in its ability to be made ahead of time and baked on demand. In fact, it's best to make it the night before, allowing the mixture to firm up and the flavors to meld together. When the time comes to bake, simply place the molds into the oven at 180 degrees - a temperature that will allow for the perfect rise without burning the outside.

The end result is nothing short of spectacular. The Madeleines emerge from the oven with a beautiful soft crust on the outside and a lovely fragrant fluffy center. And as we tap the side of the tray to release them, they smell like a little piece of heaven - a true confirmation that this is indeed the secret to a really good Madeleine.

For me, there's no better way to start the day than with a delicate Madeleine on top of some freshly made salt and fish. The combination may sound unusual, but trust me when I say it's a match made in heaven. And as we sit down to enjoy our breakfast, savoring the flavors and textures of this delightful pastry, I am transported back to my time living in Paris - a place where every moment was filled with joy and wonder.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enMy ultimate French breakfast isn't complex or flashy it's just simple elegant and delicious the secret to a really good Madeleine is it's light fluffy delicious and it's perfect with the coffee in the morning so melt the butter gently next three eggs that was one of the most exciting things about living in Paris there was always something there and that little pastry shop that I used to live above I'm gonna incorporate the sugar and then give that a really good whisk because it's important to incorporate some air now the secret to whisking is a big beautiful balloon whisk the bigger the balloon whisk the more aeration you'll get in the mixture so best thing to do is just go from left to right and then change hands every 15 or 20 seconds so your hands never get tired and tilt the ball to your advantage as well now you can see the mixture starting to Aeries it's almost double in size the more you whisk this the lighter it becomes so it starts to almost look like a light whipped cream gone as that dark Rich egg yolk color beautiful once the eggs and sugar become pale creamy and thick sift in the self-raising flour sieve in the flour now I'm giving my madeleines a Twist by adding poppy seeds for a crunch and lemon for flavor a zest of a lemon in there generous on the lemon lime is wonderful orange zest again beautiful I've even made pink grapefruit madeleines with poppy seeds delicious but lemon for me is the best pour the melted butter down the side of the bowl so it cools down even more and then combine start mixing that in it's really important at this stage that we don't beat the mixture I want to keep that nice aerated texture across the Madeleine mix so I'm going to use a spatula now and just gently mix my butter in now give that a good mix and they say that the longer you make them mix up in advance the higher they raise in the oven look at that it looks beautiful leave that to sit there and we'll butter and line our molds you can make these in little miniature Yorkshire pudding molds I've even seen Madeleine's been cooked in espresso cups so if you haven't got the traditional Madeleine tray Yorkshire pudding trays are just as good lightly butter the inside of the tray take a tablespoon flour and the secret now is to line the mold with the flour that stops any chance of the Madeleine is sticking tap the sieve into all the little grooves and this will ensure that they'll come out instantly then all you do then is just stand up the tray and tap it two or three times and you'll see the flower roll out so there you go the baking sheet lined beautifully no excess butter and no excess flour the beauty of this recipe is that you can make it the night before and then simply bake it in the morning when you're ready to go put the mixture into a jug to make it really easy to pour into the tin give it a little stir so you've got that nice even distribution of those poppy seeds and just gently lovely firm up to the top oh beautiful so much easier pouring this from a jug because you get the exact amount in in the oven 180 degrees do not open that door before 10 minutes and wait for that wonderful surprise they smell amazing now a little tap on the side of the tray this will just all pop out smell is unique that nice soft crisp outside with this lovely fragrant fluffy Center and the secret of a great Madeleine as the French would swear by it is his lovely little Mound on top they call it the nipple but that is the confirmation that is perfect my poppy and lemon madeleines are a sophisticated content will start to the day and take me straight back to Paris lay the fish on top of the salt get your salt and just start packing you can salt crust for my oven chips with a Twist simply peel sliceMy ultimate French breakfast isn't complex or flashy it's just simple elegant and delicious the secret to a really good Madeleine is it's light fluffy delicious and it's perfect with the coffee in the morning so melt the butter gently next three eggs that was one of the most exciting things about living in Paris there was always something there and that little pastry shop that I used to live above I'm gonna incorporate the sugar and then give that a really good whisk because it's important to incorporate some air now the secret to whisking is a big beautiful balloon whisk the bigger the balloon whisk the more aeration you'll get in the mixture so best thing to do is just go from left to right and then change hands every 15 or 20 seconds so your hands never get tired and tilt the ball to your advantage as well now you can see the mixture starting to Aeries it's almost double in size the more you whisk this the lighter it becomes so it starts to almost look like a light whipped cream gone as that dark Rich egg yolk color beautiful once the eggs and sugar become pale creamy and thick sift in the self-raising flour sieve in the flour now I'm giving my madeleines a Twist by adding poppy seeds for a crunch and lemon for flavor a zest of a lemon in there generous on the lemon lime is wonderful orange zest again beautiful I've even made pink grapefruit madeleines with poppy seeds delicious but lemon for me is the best pour the melted butter down the side of the bowl so it cools down even more and then combine start mixing that in it's really important at this stage that we don't beat the mixture I want to keep that nice aerated texture across the Madeleine mix so I'm going to use a spatula now and just gently mix my butter in now give that a good mix and they say that the longer you make them mix up in advance the higher they raise in the oven look at that it looks beautiful leave that to sit there and we'll butter and line our molds you can make these in little miniature Yorkshire pudding molds I've even seen Madeleine's been cooked in espresso cups so if you haven't got the traditional Madeleine tray Yorkshire pudding trays are just as good lightly butter the inside of the tray take a tablespoon flour and the secret now is to line the mold with the flour that stops any chance of the Madeleine is sticking tap the sieve into all the little grooves and this will ensure that they'll come out instantly then all you do then is just stand up the tray and tap it two or three times and you'll see the flower roll out so there you go the baking sheet lined beautifully no excess butter and no excess flour the beauty of this recipe is that you can make it the night before and then simply bake it in the morning when you're ready to go put the mixture into a jug to make it really easy to pour into the tin give it a little stir so you've got that nice even distribution of those poppy seeds and just gently lovely firm up to the top oh beautiful so much easier pouring this from a jug because you get the exact amount in in the oven 180 degrees do not open that door before 10 minutes and wait for that wonderful surprise they smell amazing now a little tap on the side of the tray this will just all pop out smell is unique that nice soft crisp outside with this lovely fragrant fluffy Center and the secret of a great Madeleine as the French would swear by it is his lovely little Mound on top they call it the nipple but that is the confirmation that is perfect my poppy and lemon madeleines are a sophisticated content will start to the day and take me straight back to Paris lay the fish on top of the salt get your salt and just start packing you can salt crust for my oven chips with a Twist simply peel slice\n"