Orange Cardamom Madeleines

Light and delicate madeleines. A cross between a cookie and cake, these classic French butter cakes would be a perfect sweet treat for a mothers day tea. Notes of orange and cardamon add a unique depth of flavor that pair perfectly with the sweet, vanilla flavor of these petite butter cakes!

Ingredients
For the pan:
1 tbsp butter – melted
2 tsp all purpose flour
For the madeleines:
10 tbsp butter – melted
2 large eggs – room temperature
3 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp orange zest
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Powdered sugar for sifting on top (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°
In a small bowl whisk together 1 tbsp of melted butter and 2 tsp flour and coat the Madeline pan with the mixture. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, sugars, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk with a stand mixer or by hand until thoroughly combined.

Sift in the flour a little at a time, gently mixing after each addition. Slowly pour in the melted and cooled butter, folding in until combined. Be careful not to over-mix!

Place a healthy tablespoons of the batter onto each section on the prepared Madeleine pan. Bake for about 9 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. Immediately remove the madeleines from the pan onto a cooling rack.

Optional: sift madeleines with powdered sugar before serving

Note: my madeleine pan did not fit all of the batter. I baked the first batch and then allowed the pan to cool before baking the rest.