I think we’re a year (years?) past the trend of putting matcha into everything imaginable, but still, I had strong desire to make matcha madeleines this weekend. I hate trends, so maybe that’s part of it. I also hadn’t made madeleines for a while, and they’re a fun project, especially when the temperatures drop below zero and you’re stuck inside.

Also, I knew these would brighten my day. As I mentioned before, I hate winter with a fiery, burning passion. To make matters worse, there was a blizzard and ice storm in St. Louis, and the city decided not to clear any of the ice off the roads or sidewalks. I can’t count on two hands the number of times I have almost died trying to get to and from work, or even going on a short walk in my neighborhood. There are people literally ice skating down major thoroughfares and skiing to and from the grocery store. Is this normal? No. Do lawmakers care? Not at all.

Instead of going live on social media and describing why every city lawmaker should be impeached for gross negligence, I decided to make these madeleines. It was probably a good choice, given the fact that the city isn’t listening to anyone.

Madeleines are also a good project to let off some steam because they require you to be very present. You can’t just turn the mixer on high and beat butter and sugar. You have to go step by step and delicately incorporate ingredients. If you don’t, the batter will not be the right consistency, and chances are the madeleines won’t bake correctly in the oven. Ideally, you want them to have the little hump in the middle. This means they’ve baked up correctly.

A couple of tricks to making good madeleines:

• Prep the molds: I think one of the easiest mistakes to make with madeleines is not preparing the molds correctly. Make sure you brush the molds with softened butter (not melted) and dust them with a little flour before you fill them with batter.
• Do not overwork with the batter: This is probably the most overlooked step. Once you combine the sugar and egg and add the dry ingredients, use a spatula to mix in the melted butter and milk. You want the batter to have a soft, ribbon consistency. You want it to be pourable, not super thick.
• Stay with your madeleines: Oddly enough (or perhaps not so strangely), this step makes me think about Ludo Lefebvre, a French chef who said to always stay with your bird (chicken) when you’re roasting it in the oven. Similarly, stay with your madeleines when you’re baking them. They don’t need a lot of time in the oven. Watch them carefully. The second they get golden around the edges and puff up, take them out of the oven. You can remove the madeleines from the mold carefully with a spoon, or you can do what I do, which is much more fun: Invert the mold so the madeleines are facing the counter and bang one edge against the counter. They’ll all fall out at once (you might have one straggler).

I enjoyed these with a pot of maple walnut sencha tea this afternoon and they hit the spot. They almost made me forget my disillusionment…but not quite.

Here’s a song to get you started on your madeleine journey. It’s one of my favorite French ballads. It also reflects my feelings about the present moment.

Matcha Madeleines

Ingredients
45 grams all-purpose flour
1 tsp matcha green tea powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of Kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
43 g unsalted butter, melted
unsalted butter, softened, for brushing the pans
43 g white chocolate, melted and still liquid
1 Tbsp milk, at room temperature
powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

Prepare the madeleine pans by brushing them with softened butter, spreading it very thin, and dusting the pans with flour. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, green tea, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract on medium high for a couple minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, using a spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl if needed. Use the same spatula to incorporate the melted butter by hand. Then incorporate the melted white chocolate until combined. Add the milk and use the spatula to mix into the batter until combined, being careful not to overmix.

Put a teaspoon or two of batter into each madeleine shell, filling to almost full. Place the molds in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bake the madeleines for about eight minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the middles are puffed up. Remove them from the oven and tap an edge of the pan onto the counter so they fall out of the molds. Dust them with powdered sugar. Eat immediately. Leftovers will keep for about a day, but these taste better fresh out of the pan. Enjoy!