Thandai Madeleine ‘Malai
Thandai meets Madeleines meets Rasmalai meets a fun Holi/Spring vibe. Colorful madeleines are dunked in spicy, nutty thandai to create this holi-inspired colorful dessert. I adapted the madeleine recipe from David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen. - so it is foolproof and produces nice soft, humpy madeleines.
Makes 36 small cookies
YOU WILL NEED
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup (130g) granulated sugar
rounded 1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup (175g) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
9 tablespoons (120g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature, plus additional to butter the molds
food colors of your choice
2 tbsp dried rose petals (optional)
1 edible gold foil sheet (optional)
Food colors swirled in the madeleine batter
METHOD
Brush the madeleine mold with melted butter and place the mold in the fridge or freezer.
In a large bowl, whip the eggs, granulated sugar, and salt for 5 minutes until frothy and thickened.
Fold in the flour and baking powder. Add butter into the batter, and fold until just incorporated.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the batter for a minimum of 1 hour. (Batter can be chilled for up to 12 hours.)
Add few drops of your favorite assorted edible food colors to the batter. Swirl them in large random motions using a skewer to create swirls of different colors.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Place a few rose petals in each mold. Fill three-quarters of the mold indentation with the batter. Do not spread.
Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the cakes just feel set.
Remove from the oven and tilt the madeleines out onto a cooling rack.
Plop the colored batter on the madeleine molds
(optional) Transfer to the edible gold foil to the madeleines by pressing a small area of the sheet face-down on the madeleines. If using gold flakes, tap the flakes on the madeleines using a clean, small baking brush or paintbrush.
Madeleines are best eaten the day of, so I find it very convenient to make the batter 10-12 hours in advance, and bake them fresh. They are baked in under 10mins! Store leftover madeleines, in an airtight container in a cool place (do not refrigerate).
ASSEMBLY
In a small dessert plate or an ice-cream bowl, pour a large spoonful of thandai, place the colorful madeleines and pour over a little more of the thandai. Let them soak in the liquid for a few minutes and dig in!
