Lavender & Lemon Madeleine Sandwiches
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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 the sandwiches for 30 minutes. When they are cold, melt 1 cup of lemon flavored wafers.
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.
When the lemon coating has hardened, place sandwiches on a serving platter and enjoy!
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.
Many thanks to Donsuemor for providing the Madeleines, and for the pleasure of creating this recipe. Thank you for visiting, and Happy Holidays!
Jennifer
