While we still remember with emotion his best French toast in the world and his waffles, François Perret, who offers his gourmet delights at the Ritz Paris and Ritz Paris Le Comptoir, touches our hearts with his madeleine recipe, its signature sweetness. And the chef generously gives us all his methods. From his mold found in a flea market that you have to butter + flour well, to his tip for collecting the flour, pouring his dough into a piping bag without any dripping, to the use of ascorbic acid for the icing, we have all the cards in hand to reproduce these iconic pastries at home.
The recipe for madeleines by François Perret
Preparation: 30 minutes
Rest: ideally 2 days, otherwise 24 hours
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
The madeleine maker
160 g of type 45 flour
10 g of baking powder
160g butter
3 eggs at room temperature
100g caster sugar
40 g of acacia honey
30 g of chestnut honey
The icing
300 g of icing sugar
7 cl of water
5 g of ascorbic acid
40g olive oil
The madeleine maker
Sift the flour with the baking powder. Melt the butter. In a salad bowl, mix the eggs, sugar and the two honeys. Gradually pour in the flour-baking powder mixture. Finally add the hot melted butter. Keep cool for 24 hours before use.
The next day, butter and flour a madeleine mold. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Divide the dough between the cells of the mold and bake. Reduce the temperature to 180°C, then cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the madeleines are golden brown.
You can eat them the day they are cooked, but it is best to cook them the day before. Once cooled on a rack, wrap them in cling film and let them rest to glaze them the next day.
The icing
Preheat the oven to 200-220°C. Mix the frosting ingredients. Dip the madeleines one by one in the icing, place on a rack. Place the madeleines in the oven for about 2 minutes so that they are dry to the touch. Serve warm or at room temperature.
