Whether you take tea for pleasure as a visiting tourist to the UK this year, or as a rising business star entertaining clients, understanding the English tea ritual and names of all the dishes, as well as proper manners, are important.
A little knowledge goes a long way. Some higher-end establishments may serve the tea meal in courses, but the tradition of the stacked tray still remains.
The stacked tea tray is a trilogy of savouries, scones and sweets, and is generally organized in this manner:
- Top Level: The smaller top level holds the scones.
- Middle level should hold the sweets and fruits.
- Bottom level holds the savouries and finger sandwiches.
The order in which you eat from the tray is the order in which you normally eat your meal: savouries first, scones next and sweets last…UNLESS there are hot scones, and then the order changes to scones, savouries, then sweets.
Check out and bookmark Online Guide to Afternoon Tea to keep up to date.
Madeleines
The British may do Afternoon Tea well, but have had help from their neighbours across the pond in bringing the very best cuisine to their tables. It is not surprising, then that French influences creep onto the tea tray. Madeleines (Pronounced: mahd lehn) are little cake-like cookies that are baked in special molds that give them a delicate shell shape. They date back to 1755 in the court of Louis XV, reportedly prepared in honour of his father-in-law’s cook Madeleine Paulmier. They are more famously linked to author Marcel Proust, who described them as “…little shell of cake, so generously sensual beneath the piety of its stern pleating.” He gave them quite a build-up in his writing, sparking the imagination of gastronomes (foodies).
Healthy Madeleines de Proust
Ingredients
Makes 24 cookies
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup ground blanched almonds (optional)
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
- 1 tsp. grated orange zest
- confectioners’ (icing sugar) for dusting
For Chocolate Madeleines
- 3 tbsp. dutch processed cocoa powder Replace almonds, lemon and orange zests with
- 1 ounce (1 square) bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate, melted, cooled
Makes 24 cookies-Earl Grey Imperial Madeleines
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 4 Earl Grey tea bags
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup superfine sugar (sugar substitute)
- 1 cup unlbeached all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
Healthy Madeleines de Proust with Chocolate Madeleines
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Stir in the flour, almonds (if using), baking powder, and salt and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until well blended.
- Stir in the honey, applesauce, and lemon and orange zests. If you are making chocolate version, omit the zests, stir in the cocoa powder and melted chocolate.
- Cover the batter with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or up to 1 day.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C, Gas Mark 3. Spray two 12-well madeleine pans with cooking oil. Dust with flour.
- Spoon 1 rounded tablespoon of the batter into each well. I have a handy little ice cream scoop which does the job quick nicely. They will be 2/3rds full.
- Bake the two trays in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, switching the positions of the pans halfway through baking, for 20 to 25 minutes total, or until golden around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Invert the pans to remove the cookies and dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Earl Grey Imperial Madeleines
- Heat the applesauce on low heat in a small saucepan. Add the loose tea or tea bags and let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Press on the tea bags to extract maximum flavour. Discard the tea bags and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir the applesauce/tea mixture into the batter. Stir in the honey.
- Cover with piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate the batter for 3 to 4 hours or up to one day.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C, Gas Mark 6.
- Spray two 12-well madeleine pans with cooking oil. Dust with flour.
- Spoon 1 rounded tablespoon of the batter into each well. I have a handy little ice cream scoop which does the job quick nicely. They will be 2/3rds full.
- Bake the two trays in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, switching the positions of the pans halfway through baking, for 10 to 12 minutes total, or until golden around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Invert the pans to remove the cookies and dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Notes
I do try to provide you with easy recipes which don’t require special equipment. You can make these without the special madeleine pans, spooning directly onto cookie sheets, but you really couldn’t call them madeleines.
Or you can skip the whole baking process and just pick up a small package at Starbucks and happily dunk the cookies into your coffee of choice. But today you will learn how to make them yourselves and today’s treat is dedicated to Lady Ellen who enjoyed warm madeleines in London just last week on her whirlwind adventure.
Healthy Madeleines de Proust
Makes 24 cookies
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup ground blanched almonds (optional)
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
- 1 tsp. grated orange zest
- confectioners’ (icing sugar) for dusting
- 3 tbsp. dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 ounce (1 square) bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate, melted, cooled
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Stir in the flour, almonds (if using), baking powder, and salt and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until well blended.
- Stir in the honey, applesauce, and lemon and orange zests. If you are making chocolate version, omit the zests, stir in the cocoa powder and melted chocolate.
- Cover the batter with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or up to 1 day.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C, Gas Mark 3. Spray two 12-well madeleine pans with cooking oil. Dust with flour.
- Spoon 1 rounded tablespoon of the batter into each well. I have a handy little ice cream scoop which does the job quick nicely. They will be 2/3rds full.
- Bake the two trays in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, switching the positions of the pans halfway through baking, for 20 to 25 minutes total, or until golden around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Invert the pans to remove the cookies and dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Earl Grey Imperial Madeleines
If you are in Paris, The Mariage Freres tearoom (30 Rue du Bourg-Tibourg) in the Marais district serves a lovely Earl Grey Madedleine. I have lightened it up a bit with applesauce and sugar substitute.
Makes 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 4 Earl Grey tea bags
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup superfine sugar (sugar substitute)
- 1 cup unlbeached all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup honey
Method
- Heat the applesauce on low heat in a small saucepan. Add the loose tea or tea bags and let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Press on the tea bags to extract maximum flavour. Discard the tea bags and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir the applesauce/tea mixture into the batter. Stir in the honey.
- Cover with piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate the batter for 3 to 4 hours or up to one day.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C, Gas Mark 6.
- Spray two 12-well madeleine pans with cooking oil. Dust with flour.
- Spoon 1 rounded tablespoon of the batter into each well. I have a handy little ice cream scoop which does the job quick nicely. They will be 2/3rds full.
- Bake the two trays in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, switching the positions of the pans halfway through baking, for 10 to 12 minutes total, or until golden around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Invert the pans to remove the cookies and dust with confectioners’ sugar.