Lavender & Lemon Madeleine Sandwiches


lavender&lemonmadeleines

I have a weakness for all things lemon flavored.  When I was contacted several weeks ago by a representative of Donsuemor to see if I was interested in creating a holiday recipe from one of their products, their Lemon Zest Madeleines immediately caught my attention and I jumped at the opportunity.

A box of individually wrapped Madeleines arrived on my doorstep, and the first thing I did was sample one.  It was moist, lemony, buttery and delicious.  These beautiful little cakes would make a fantastic gift on their own.  I am impressed with their quality and flavor.

madeleines2

My favorite flavor to pair with lemon is fresh lavender.  I grow my own and use it often so incorporating it into this recipe felt natural.

lemonandlavender

I wanted to preserve the beauty and shape of the Madeleines, making them the main focus instead of being simply another ingredient, which led to the idea of sandwiches.

gettingstarted

Begin by preparing a creamy lavender-lemon frosting to use as filling between the cakes (see recipe at end of post).  There’s a trick to fabulous lavender flavored frosting, and it’s making it a day early so the lavender flavor is fully absorbed and incorporated into the frosting.  It also begins to take on the slightest purple tinge if you do this.  So beautiful, and so delicous!

lavenderfrosting

Next come the cakes.  Being careful to preserve the beautiful shell shape of the tops of the Madeleines, carefully hold them as you slice the rounded portion off the back of the cake, leaving the back or bottom of the cake flat, as you see below.

cutmadeleines

Gently spread the lavender frosting over the flat side of half of the Madeleines.

frostmadeleines

Place the remaining half of Madeleines  on top of the frosted cakes to make sandwiches.

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Chill the sandwiches for 30 minutes.  When they are cold, melt 1 cup of lemon flavored wafers.

lemonwafers

Holding the top of each sandwich, gently dip them in the melted lemon coating and place on parchment paper to harden.  I chose to dip the bottom, or hinge part of the cake and left the top half uncoated.

dipped

When the lemon coating has hardened, place sandwiches on a serving platter and enjoy!

madeleinesliced


Lavender & Lemon Madeleine Sandwiches
Ingredients:
1 box Donsuemor Lemon Zest Madeleines 2 Tb. butter 1-1/2 tsp. culinary lavender buds, dried or fresh 1 Tb. heavy cream 1 Tb. fresh lemon juice 1 cup – 1 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar 1 pound Lemon A’peels (lemon flavored candy coating) To make the frosting:

Whip 2 Tb. butter with hand mixer.  Add 1 to 1-1/2 tsp. fresh or dried lavender buds.  Whip until butter is white in color.
Add 1 Tb. heavy whipping cream and 1 Tb. fresh lemon juice.  Mix until incorporated.
Add 1 cup plus 2 Tb. confectioner’s sugar and mix until frosting is firm but easily spreadable.  You may add sugar by the spoonful or lemon juice a few drops at a time to adjust the consistency of the frosting to your liking.

*Note:  For best flavor, prepare the frosting a day early!

To assemble sandwiches:

1.  Being careful to preserve the beautiful shell shape of the tops of the Madeleines, carefully hold them as you slice the rounded portion off the back of the cake, leaving the back or bottom of the cake flat.

2.  Gently spread the lavender frosting over the flat side of half of the Madeleines.  Place the remaining half of Madeleines  on top of the frosted cakes to make sandwiches.  Chill for 30 minutes.

3.  Melt 1 cup lemon wafers.  Carefully dip half of each Madeleine sandwich and place on parchment or waxed paper to cool and set.

4.  Serve and enjoy!  Makes 13 sandwiches.

dippedmadeleines

Many thanks to Donsuemor for providing the Madeleines, and for the pleasure of creating this recipe.  Thank you for visiting, and Happy Holidays!

Jennifer

Chocolate Pecan Tart


chocolatepecantart1

Years ago I tried a new recipe on a whim for Thanksgiving.  It has been requested every year since then, and this Chocolate Pecan Tart has become as much a part of our holiday traditions as pumpkin or apple pie.  Rich in flavor, it is an elegant addition to any holiday dessert as well as being an excellent combination of pecan and chocolate pies.  It’s also a dessert offering that appeals to those who don’t care for pie crust or traditional pies.  The tart has a chocolate crust, a thin layer of pecan pie filling and a top layer of chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Pecan Tart
Crust:
7 Tb. butter 1 cup flour 1/4 cup sugar 1/8 tsp. salt 2 Tb. heavy cream 2 heaping Tb. semi-sweet chocolate chips In a food processor, cream the butter.  Beat in flour, sugar and salt.  Place chocolate chips in small bowl.  Heat cream and pour over chocolate; whisk to melt chocolate.  Add chocolate cream to dough and beat to combine.  Turn out onto lightly floured surface, then shape into a disk and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.

Pat dough over the bottom and up sides of a 10-11 inch tart mold with a removable bottom such as this one.
Set aside.  Preheat oven to 325.

Pecan Filling:

1/2 cup light corn syrup 1 1/2 eggs (one egg plus one half of a beaten egg) 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 Tb. melted butter 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1 1/4 cup pecans, chopped into bite size pieces In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together corn syrup, eggs, butter, sugar vanilla and salt.  When combined, add pecan pieces and stir to coat.  Gently pour over uncooked tart shell.  Bake until a knife inserted into the pie filling comes out clean, about 25-35 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely.

Ganache:

1 cup plus 2 Tb. heavy whipping cream 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips In a small saucepan, heat cream to a simmer.  Place chocolate chips in small bowl.  Pour cream over chocolate and whisk to combine.  Pour ganache over cooled pie and let set.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note:  I always make this tart a day in advance so it can be refrigerated overnight.  It is best served cold.  During the holidays I serve this Chocolate Pecan Tart along with these favorites:

Dutch Apple Pie
Coconut Cream Pie chocolatepecantart2 Click here to see my list of tools I love and always use when making pies.  I hope you enjoy this tart as much as we do!  Happy baking!
Jennifer

Coconut Cream Pie


coconutcreampie2

There’s nothing better than a from-scratch cream pie!  My husband is a big fan of coconut, which motivated me to perfect this recipe.  This coconut cream pie is often on the dessert menu at holiday gatherings and I always look forward to making it.

Coconut Cream Pie
1- 9 inch pie crust, baked in pan and cooled completely 1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup flour 2-1/2 cups milk 2/3 cup heavy cream 6 egg yolks, beaten 2-1/4 cups flaked coconut coconutcreampie3 Preparation:

Combine sugar, flour, milk and cream in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly.  Continue to boil for one more minute, then remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks.  Using a 1/4 cup measure, gradually stir small amounts of hot cream mixture into the egg yolks, beating as you pour the cream mixture in.   I slowly pour 1/4 cup at a time while I mix.  Continue this until you have mixed 1/4 of the total amount of cream mixture into the egg yolks.  Pour the yolk mixture back into the remaining hot mixture and return to heat, stirring constantly.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in coconut.  Pour into baked pie shell.

Chill until ready to serve.  Before serving, cover pie with whipped cream and toasted coconut.  Slice and enjoy!

I often serve this coconut cream pie at holiday gatherings with these other favorites:

Chocolate Pecan Tart
Dutch Apple Pie coconutcreampie1 I put together a list of my favorite tools for making pies.  You can find it here .  I hope you love this recipe!

Happy baking!
Jennifer

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