Bake these delightful Lemon, Thyme and Honey Madeleines for your mum for Mother’s Day

Cook, photographer and stylist Tilly Pamment shared this recipes just in time for Mother’s Day on Sunrise:

There is something about little cakes that never ceases to delight. And madeleines would have to be one of the most delightful small cakes around.

The simplicity and ease of making them (hello, melt and mix) only endears them to me even more.

These little beauties combine the classic duo of lemon and honey with the lovely herbaceous flavour of lemon thyme.

I love the process of rubbing the lemon zest and thyme into the caster sugar for this recipe, a technique I often employ in sweet baking, and one that not only ensures a deliciously fragrant cake but is also wildly therapeutic. Win-win!

YOU WILL NEED

• two 12-hole madeleine tins, pastry brush
• 125 g (4½ oz) unsalted butter, plus extra, softened, for greasing
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 165 g (5¾ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
• finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon lemon thyme leaves, plus extra (optional) to serve
• 2 large eggs
• 125g plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt

METHOD

1. Combine the butter, milk and honey in a small saucepan over low heat.
2. Stir gently until the butter has melted and the honey has dissolved.
3. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Combine the caster sugar, lemon zest and lemon thyme leaves in a small bowl and use your clean fingertips to rub the zest and thyme through the sugar until fragrant.
4. Set aside 3 heaped tablespoons of the sugar mixture to sprinkle over the cooked madeleines.
5. Cover and refrigerate this until you are ready to bake your madeleines.
6. Transfer the remaining sugar mixture to a medium bowl, then add the eggs and whisk to combine. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until smooth.
7. Finally, whisk in the cooled melted butter mixture, taking care not to over mix.
8. Cover and refrigerate the batter for at least 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan-forced (190°C conventional) and brush two 12-hole madeleine tins well with the softened extra butter using a pastry brush.
9. Dust with a little plain flour, tapping out any excess. Spoon a scant tablespoon of batter into each madeleine hole, filling them about two-thirds full.
10. Bake for 8–10 minutes or until the madeleines have risen and are deep golden around the edges.
11. To finish, while the cakes are cooking, melt another 40g of butter.
12. Remove the reserved sugar mixture from the fridge and scatter through some extra lemon thyme leaves, if you like. When the madeleines are cooked, allow them to cool for a minute or two in the tins before removing them one by one and brushing the tops with the melted butter using a pastry brush.
13. Sprinkle the reserved sugar mixture over them, gently pressing it onto the surface of the cakes. Leave the madeleines on a wire rack to cool slightly before serving warm or at room temperature with a big pot of tea. The madeleines are best eaten on the day they are made, but the uncooked batter will keep happily in the fridge for up to two days, so you can just bake as many at a time as you wish to eat.

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