Plum Lime Madeleines

The madeleine pan strikes again! This time with hidden treasure inside. # 81: Plum Lime Madeleines.

Do you collect shells? Well you should start now. Specifically these golden sponge cake shells. I’m taking baby steps with these, but I have grand plans. There is cocoa, sprinkles of sugar, icing drizzles, herbs and chocolate coatings in the near future. However, the first step I wanted to take was just to add fresh fruit. Spoiler alert: it worked out pretty well!

I wasn’t sure if the plum slices would mess with the texture. They are super juicy, so the extra liquid was a concern. Never fear – they just became rich little pillows.

Doesn’t it look like an adorable pot-bellied whale?

Summer is truly about getting organic preferably-from-your-own-backyard fruit. Every year my parents’ yard explodes with plums (and this year, blueberries!!) and it makes me wish I had a backyard where I could plant fruit trees. Even though I love wandering through farmers markets, there’s something quite awesome about stumbling out into the yard in your jammies and picking a bowl of plums.

Ready, set, go! Side note: don’t be afraid of the citrus zest (whichever type of citrus you choose.) I could barely taste the lime and would’ve added more in hindsight.

Oh hello, butter! Whenever I need to melt butter for a recipe, I only heat it enough to melt it halfway, then stir like crazy until it’s fully liquid. If it saves me from cleaning splattered butter off the inside of the microwave then it’s worth it.

Eggs pre- and post- whip.

It never looks like it’s going to poof up to fill the mold . . . It’s surprising how little batter is needed per shell – just a tablespoon! Otherwise you’ll get overflow that gets crispy along the edges. Pretty delicious, but it ruins the shape of the cake.

*Always make sure to chill the batter for at least an hour before using it!*

All prepped and ready for the sauna. I chose to not sugar or flour the pan and was slightly scared about it. Time for this non-stick pan to prove it’s worth.