Madeleine Medley - Ispahan Madeleine

" 'Ispahan', also known as 'Pompon des Princes', is a clear pink, half-open kind of Damask rose (an early type, introduced from the Middle east in European breeding during the crusading XIIIth century)." - Wikipedia
I have always associated Ispahan with Pierre Hermes - I am full of admiration for the Picasso of Pastry for dreaming up such wonderful flavour pairing. The merger of Rose, Raspberry and Lychee flavours is so impeccable that I would not hesitate to call it sublime. I feel a little audacious and ambitious trying to implement the Master's flavour pairing in my final instalment of my Madeleine Medley (it has to end... I can't write anymore about Madeleines) . However, the beauty of blogging is such - you are allowed to experiment with anything that strikes your fancy and subsequently choose to either brag, gripe or go on and on with the the most mundane account of it.

It is my constant fear that I should sit in front of my computer one day and have nothing interesting to write. The feeling is not unlike my sense of apprehension for the marriage institution. I have always told L that I fear the prospect of waking up one day in the morning after marriage and have nothing much to talk to each other anymore. I see married couples around me falling into the same rut and as such I have pretty much abhored the institution. L had chided me in a rather stern tone that I am being ridiculous -  that it is almost as if I am refusing to take a bath because I am afraid that I would drown in water.... Well, perhaps I am just not a bath person - I could never stay put in a warm bath tub for more than 5 mins - I would very much prefer the refreshing invigoration of a cool shower!

Back to the Ispahan Madeleine - indeed an overly ambitious attempt. The hump on the Madeleine, for some reason did not turn out as prominent as the previous 2 attempts. I had set out  wanting to create a Red Coloured morsel by brushing the baked Madeleine with a heat reduced portion of Raspberry Puree. However, this just merely turned the madeleine rather soft and soggy.  In the end, I had to settle for just the pink tinge in the cookie. Nobody ought to doubt the beautiful lingering fragrance of Rose/Raspberry/Lychee but the texture could have been a little more 'crusty' on the outside.

To wrap up, among the 3 experiments in this Madeleine series, I am most proud of my Kumquat Madeleines. These had the almost perfect texture and flavour. Well, until my next Proust moment, I will probably give madeleines a rest for now...



Recipe

100g      Unsalted butter
2            Large Eggs
75g        Castor sugar
78g        All purpose flour
37g        Ground almond
3g          Baking powder
25g        Raspberry puree
1g          Rose Extract
10g        Lychee Puree
10g        Frozen Raspberry, broken  into bits and floured

Method
1. Sift flour, ground almond and baking powder together. Add sugar to the sifted powder and mix well.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs till foamy, add (1) to eggs to blend well. Add Raspberry Puree, Rose extract and Lychee Puree.
3. In the mean time, heat butter until butter boils and brown.
4. Add hot butter slowly into (2) and mix well until mixture is homogenous.
5. Mix in Frozen Raspberry.
6. Spoon batter in a greased and floured madeleine mold. Bake for 7mins at 220C.