Kitchen kit: Silicone baking moulds

SCALLOP-SHAPED MADELEINE 

Although I like the charm and durability of metal bakeware, silicon moulds have their plus points.

They often catch the eye with their bright colours ­­– like the lime green ones I got on my last visit to the baking supply shop ­­– but it's the unusual shapes that are probably the biggest attraction. We are getting more choices now in Malaysia, but the thicker, better-quality branded moulds (if you can find them) are rather expensive.

I've wanted to make madeleines for a while now, not least to dedicate to my god-daughter Madelyn. Not quite the same spelling, but these little cakes are certainly made for a sweetie like Mady. So I was happy to find the madeleine mould at the baking supply store. The lime green colour inspired a cake flavoured with lime and speckled with lovely bright zest.

There's quite a bit of discussion about madeleines at various blogs: Should the plain side be flat or have a hump? Should the batter contain baking powder or not? Should the eggs be beaten to incorporate a lot of air? Is it all right to simply mix everything together? Is it necessary to leave the batter in the refrigerator overnight? Can the batter be used immediately?

Well, so far, I've only made one attempt at this cake so that is all I can base my judgement on. I followed a recipe for lemon madeleines from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook but used lime instead. It does not contain baking powder and the batter is mixed together easily. The cakes had a strong aroma of lime but I would have liked a stronger flavour so for my second batch, I added more lime juice. The recipe is given at the bottom of the post.

Back to silicone baking moulds. Below are a few that I have used.

Marble cake in a rose shape

Jelly in the shape of a rose

Pyramid-shaped coconut macaroons

LIME MADELEINES

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Makes 18

125g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup cashew nuts, toasted and finely ground

½ cup caster sugar

2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest

1 tablespoon lime juice

3 medium eggs

½ teaspoon salt

• Whisk together the flour, ground cashew nuts and sugar; set aside.
• Add the lime zest and juice to the cooled butter; stir to combine.
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs with the salt and whisk until frothy. Whisk in flour mixture to combine. With the whisk, fold in the butter mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease two 9-mould madeleine pans*. Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 12mm (½-inch) plain round tip. Pipe the batter into the prepared pans, filling each mould about three-quarter full. bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the edges of the cakes are golden brown, 12-14 minutes. Immediately invert the madeleines onto a wire rack to cool. Madeleines should be served the same day they are baked.

* Silicone moulds just need to be greased; if using metal moulds, dust with flour after greasing and tap out excess. Flouring the tins prevents the cakes from sticking. If you have only one madeleine pan, store the remaining batter in the fridge while you bake the first batch. Wait for the pan to cool slightly (silicone pans don't take very long to cool) when you take it out of the oven and after you remove the cakes, grease again and make the second batch.

PRINTABLE RECIPE