Madelines are basically light airy teacakes originating from France. They are traditionally scallop shaped, and for this recipe I’d recommend investing in a madeline tray. The batter is made from the same ingredients as a traditional cupcake, but the quantities and process outlined below should be followed really carefully so you end up with fluffy and light madelines!

Ingredients:
Makes 20 madelines
Overall time required: 1 hour 30 minutes

• 115g unsalted butter (plus another 2 Tbsp for the pan)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 100g granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 15g sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• optional: icing sugar for sprinkling on top

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and set aside to slightly cool as you prepare the rest of the batter.
2. Using an electric whisk beat the eggs and sugar together on high speed for at least 8 minutes. The mixture will be thick, pale, and form ribbons when you lift the whisk. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla extract until combined.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold into egg mixture. The batter is quite delicate, so handle with care and don’t over fold!
4. Stir the batter into the melted butter in small batches.
5. Cover the batter and chill in the fridge for up to an hour (don’t chill for any longer than this as the butter in the batter will solidify!)
6. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
7. Melt the remaining 2 Tablespoons butter. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the pan with melted butter.
8. Spoon 1 generous Tablespoon of batter into the center of each scalloped well. You don’t need to spread it to the edges, just plonk in the centre of the shell.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes. The madeleines are done when the tops spring back after lightly pressed with your finger. Transfer the warm madeleines to a wire rack to cool.
10. Dust with icing sugar before serving. Madeleines are best enjoyed right after baking, warm and fresh out of the oven!

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Babka is a rich brioche dough filled with cinnamon and dark chocolate.  I first had this decadent treat in an Israeli cafe in London and swiftly fell in love. It’s not quite a bread nor a cake, and the rich chocolate filling with hints of cardamom taste amazing straight out the oven.

It took me a while to put together this recipe, as most of the recipes I found online recommended using an electric mixer with a dough hook. My recipe can be made completely by hand. I also found that cardamom wasn’t a common ingredient, but I feel it makes a massive difference to the finished product, hence why I added a homemade cardamom syrup to the babka after baking.

Prep time: 4-5 hours
Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 100 ml milk
• 350g strong white bread flour
• 50g caster sugar
• 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 100g unsalted butter, softened and chopped into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 75g unsalted butter
• 75g dark chocolate
• 150g caster sugar
• 25g cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the glaze and syrup:

• 1 large egg, beaten
• 50ml water
• 40g sugar
• 2 cardamom pods, lightly bashed

Method:

• Heat the milk in a saucepan until it’s just warm. In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, yeast, cardamom and a pinch of salt. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook you can mix it in there.
• Make a well in the centre of your flour mixture and add the milk, egg and butter in the middle. Mix together to create a dough using a spoon to swirl the flour mixture into the well. After a while you might need to start using your hands. Shape into a ball and then knead by hand on a well floured surface for 15 minutes until you have a soft dough that springs back when pressed.
• Oil the bowl by patting a small amount on a paper towel and wiping it inside the bowl, then return the dough to the bowl and cover with a piece of oiled clingfilm. Leave to prove in a warm place for 2 hours (I normally turn my oven on for 2 minutes – make sure you turn it off again – so it’s slightly warm and then place the bowl in it to prove). The dough should be doubled in size after proving.
• While the dough is proving, make the filling by melting the butter in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate, sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon.
• Once the dough has proved, place on a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle approximately 50 x 30cm. Spread the filling over the dough, covering it completely, but leave a small border. Roll the dough up tightly from one of the longer sides into a sausage shape (for a demo on how to roll and plait the babka, this video is really helpful from 4:45).
• Cut the dough in half lengthways so you have two long pieces with the inside exposed (I cut mine into 4 and made 2 babka loafs as I didn’t have a loaf tray which worked fine too). If you are finding it difficult to work with the dough at this stage, chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to handle.
• Twist the dough into a braid and push the ends together. You can either put this in a loaf tray, if you don’t have one like me, you can lay these on a baking tray covered in baking parchment. Loosely cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to prove in a warm place for 1.5 hours, or until doubled in size.

Plaited babka

• Preheat your oven to 180°C/ gas mark 4. Brush your dough with the beaten egg. Bake for 40 minutes until deep golden, loosely covering with foil towards the end of cooking time if it is getting too dark. If you have done one large braid rather than two seperate braids like I did, it may need an additional 10 minutes of baking.
• Whilst the babka is cooking, make the cardamom syrup. In a small pan, add the water and cardamom pods on a low heat. Once the water is lightly bubbling, stir in the sugar until it dissolves and then reduce to a low heat and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Leave to infuse for another 10-15 minutes.
• Remove the loaf from the oven, brush with the sugar syrup and leave to cool.