The sweet, spongy cakes make for sophisticated snacking, especially when delicately dipped (pinky fingers up!) into a bowl of delicious burnt honey cream.

French desserts are synonymous with elegance: They're developed with the finest ingredients and crafted with the utmost care. And, although they won't be prepared in a Parisian patisserie, these mini madeleines are no exception.

 

Ingredients 

Madeleines

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flower
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated orange zest
• 1/2 spoon baking powder
• 2 tbsp icing sugar

Burnt honey cream 

• 1/2 cup liquid honey
• 1-1/2 cups 35% cream

Makes 24 madeleines.
 

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Directions

1 In a small pan, melt and simmer the butter over medium heat until golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool until just warm.

2 Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and thick. With a spatula, fold in the flour, vanilla, lemon and orange zest and baking powder; fold in the melted butter until fully combined.

3 Scrape the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain tip. Cover the tip with plastic wrap and refrigerate the bag for at least 1 hour or over night.

4 Meanwhile, heat the honey in a medium pan over high heat until caramelized to a golden brown; stir in the cream until fully combined. Simmer the mixture until it's reduced by one-third and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl; set aside.

5 Preheat the oven to 375°F. Generously butter and flour a madeleine pan. Pipe 1 tablespoon of the batter into the centre of each cavity -- the batter will spread while baking. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are golden and the tops spring back when pressed. Butter and flour the pan again before filing it with the remaining batter. Dust the warm madeleines with the icing sugar and serve immediately with the burnt honey cream for dipping.

Tip: To keep your madeleines fresh, store them for up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature.