
While I’m visiting my family in Japan, I’ve asked several blogger friends to blog-sit for me and today’s sitter is Biren from Roti n Rice.
Biren currently lives in Twin Cities, Minnesota, but she grew up in Malaysia where home cooking was an eclectic mix of Chinese, Malay, and Indian cuisines. After moving to the US and having her own family, she started baking and cooking more diverse recipes. On her blog, she shares Western, Japanese, and other East Asian cuisines like these delicious Chicken Curry with Kaffir Lime Leaves and Tau Sar Bao and Matcha Anpan.
When you visit her blog, you will realize that her recipes are very nicely sorted and organized in different categories. Her attention to detail has made it very easy to find recipes you are looking for. She has a wide range of recipe collection spanning over 300 tasty recipes. Check out her blog for tonight’s dinner ideas after this post. 😉
Now please welcome Biren with these easy and delicious Lavender Madeleines.
*****

On behalf of Nami, I wish all fans of Just One Cookbook Irasshaimase or Welcome to the “store”! My name is Biren and I blog at Roti n Rice. Today, I am honored to be “blog sitting” for Nami while she visits family in Japan. Like you, I am usually the visitor coming here to get a glimpse into the Japanese home kitchen afforded by this blog to the English speaking world. I am sure you will agree with me that Nami does a fantastic job of sharing her food and culture with us.
Although Nami and I have only met virtually for about a year and never in person, it is as if we have known each other for a while. Our passion for food and family brings us together. I have two teenage boys myself and Nami enjoys reading about their antics when they were her children’s age. On the food front, I enjoy an eclectic mix of cuisines in my home cooking and easy Japanese food is in that mix. Onigiri, miso soup, grilled fish, and tsukemono are some of my go-to dishes when pressed for time to lay a meal on the table. Ocha-zuke is comfort food for me.
However, I also do enjoy a little baking and since Nami has always said that she does not have too many baked desserts here, I have decided to share one with you today. Madeleines immediately came to mind when I was planning for this guest post. These little cakes are in keeping with the Japanese’s love for all things dainty and the philosophy of Hara Hachi Bu (腹八分) – eating until you are 80% full.

Madeleines are mini sponge cakes with a distinctive shell shape. They are made famous by Marcel Proust in his novel Remembrance of Things Past where the madeleine episode has been well quoted. A pan with shell-like indentations is needed to make these cakes. These pans can be purchased at specialty kitchen stores.
If you have never eaten madeleines, I urge you to give these a try. They are pretty easy to make and relatively fuss free. I mixed in some culinary lavender for added flavor and fragrance. Lavender also reminds me of summer days ahead…
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Lavender Madeleines
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp culinary lavender (crushed to release its fragrance)
- 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (at room temperature)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsalted butter (8 Tbsp; melted)
- ½ Tbsp unsalted butter (for greasing and dusting pan)
- all-purpose flour (plain flour) (for greasing and dusting pan)
- confectioners’ sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Grease a standard size Madeleine pan well. Dust with flour. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC).
- Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in lavender. Set aside.
- Beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add flour mixture and melted butter.
- Gently fold in flour and butter until well incorporated. Tip: For a more pronounced “hump” appearance, cover batter and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Then spoon batter into prepared mold, leaving batter mounded in the center.
- Spoon batter into each mold cavity until almost full.
- Bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the centers spring back when lightly touched. Do not over bake.
- Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes in pan. Turn the pan over and give it a light tap to unmold.
- Cool on rack, shell side up. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with tea or coffee.
Wow! beautiful and delicious madeleine! I hope you have a wonderful visit with your family, Nami:D.
Love how elegant madelines look. Lavender is a nice twist!
Biren, nice to meet you! These madelines look fabulous! Love that you are using lavender in them.
Hi Biren,
Wow these madeleines are gorgeous! And I love the use of lavender here, just beautiful!
Hope you are having a lovely vacation Nami 🙂
Just came back form Biren’s site…awesome guest post Nami.
Enjoy your trip and look forward for your posts 🙂
These madeleines look perfect! Not made them yet but after seeing this post I am really inspired to.
Have a great trip Nami.
Those are really lovely–I’m not sure what makes lavendar culinary, but I definitely need to shake up my basic madeleine recipe. Thanks for the guest post!
How gorgeous Biren! I am so glad Nami asked you to blog sit for her! My family and I just got back from a great weekend trip to the Texas Hill Country, one of our favorite stop is at Becker’s winery, they have a nice lavender field there, and sell plenty of products made from the lavender they harvest. I stumble across a lavender seasoning packet and was surprised people eat the flowers, though seeing them in your baking post it makes a lot of sense!
Hello Biren! Very nice to see you here at Nami’s and thank you for bringing in these delicious madeleines. And Nami — thank you for bringing in Biren. You ladies are wonderful and I love following your blogs.
~ ray ~
Uffff…madeleines…lovely cookie cakes, I mean, it’s not to crunchy to be a cooky and to soft to be a cake, just the perfect texture to be loved.
I love madeleines.! I have never tried them but these ones look delicious!
What a wonderful idea for Madeleines! I love how you put a special flavor to it. I can just imagine the aroma. Thanks, Biren. I love your recipes when I follow you on Twitter! And thanks for featuring her, Nami. I must make this. Hope you’re enjoying yourself in Japan !
Hi Biren! So nice seeing you here.
You really doubled the amount of French in your madeleines with adding lavender; bet your kitchen must have smelled comme un soir chaleureux dans la provence à fin de l’été! 😉
Cheers,
Tobias
These little cakes reminds me of kuih bahulu which is a very popular here…your Madeleines are so pretty and well made.
Hi Nami, I hope you have a wonderful visit with your family:)
Hi Biren, Your Madeleines look deliciously perfect.