Christmas is the perfect time for baking with the kids and I love to find new ingredients and recipes. We were sent a bundle of Bonne Maman Madeleines to try and some delicious recipes from chef Eric Lanlard to try. The Bonne Maman Madeleines are a soft, buttery cakes which come wrapped in individual bags so you can enjoy them at any time of day. They are perfect for a little treat but also work well as part of a recipe. I loved the idea of a rich chocolate pound cake for Christmas and knew we had to give it a try. We made it with reindeer instead of an Easter theme and it worked perfectly. This would be a lovely cake to have on Christmas day instead of a traditional Christmas cake as it is so decadent.
Bonne Maman Easter Pound Cake with Madeleine Surprise Recipe
by Eric Lanlard
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Decoration time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 200g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 100g dark chocolate, chopped
- 150g Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 3 large eggs
- 250g self-raising flour
- 175g dark muscovado sugar
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 4 Bonne Maman Madeleines
- Pinch of salt
- For the topping
- 100ml double cream
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 70g dark chocolate, chopped
- Sugar mini eggs and sugar sprinkles for decoration
- 3 Bonne Maman Madeleines
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170C. Butter a large loaf tin (about 20cm long) and line with baking paper
- Put the butter and dark chocolate in a large saucepan and heat very gently until melted, stirring often
- Cool for 5 minutes. Then, using a whisk, mix in the yogurt and vanilla, then the eggs and a pinch of salt
- Mix the flour, sugar and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl, then add the chocolate mix and stir until smooth
- Spoon a small amount into the tin, then using a spatula spread it to cover the entire base of the prepared tin (around 2cm deep)
- Take the Bonne Maman Madeleines and push them into the mixture vertically and very tight to each other. Cover with the rest of the cake mixture, then bake for 45 mins until risen
- To test if it’s ready, poke a skewer or sharp knife into the middle of the cake, and if it’s ready it will come out clean
- Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack
For the Topping
- Put the cream into a small saucepan, bring to the boil, then add the butter and half the
- chopped chocolate
- Take off the heat and leave to melt, then stir until smooth and shiny
- Spoon the topping over the cake, then take 3 Madeleines, slice them horizontally, and add to the topping of the cake
- Scatter the rest of the cake with the sugar eggs and sprinkles
We followed the recipe for Easter Pound cake but simply changed the decoration on the top to make it more suitable for Christmas. I thought the Bonne Maman Madeleines looked the right size and shape for reindeer. We had a practice making reindeer using these ingredients.
- Bonne Maman Madeleines
- melted chocolate
- candy eyes
- red and brown smarties
- pretzels
We made three reindeer with brown smarties for noses and one Rudolph with a red smartie. We stuck on the candy eyes and noses with a bit of melted chocolate. Put the pretzels into the madeleine with a bit of melted chocolate so it sticks. When they are made attach the reindeer to the top of the cake.
The cake looks really sweet. We thought a light dusting of icing sugar ould make it look really festive.
The cake was really delicious and the girls loved finding the madeleine surprise inside. I did think the dark chocolate would not be sweet enough for the children but they loved it and said it was the best cake ever. It was perfect with a cup of coffee.
