AEG MADELEINE CUPCAKES WITH RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
Makes 6 cupcakes

Madeleines are the pretty French word for little cakes traditionally baked in shell-shaped tins. They taste very good on their own, but for something special try these very grown-up party cakes which have a light textured crumb and little shell shaped decorations made from the same cake mixture and pressed over a glamarous pink swirl of raspberry buttercream .
The sight of the madeleine mixture rising majestically in the baking tins through the Pro Combi glass oven door is pure alchemy.
This recipe is taken from on my seventh baking book, Cupcakes and Muffins is published by Lorenz, Books 2011

• 100g / 3 1/2oz caster sugar
• 115g / 4oz self raising flour
• pinch of salt
• 115g / 4oz butter
• 3 fresh free range eggs
• 55g/2oz ground almonds
• 1 tsp rosewater

RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM

• 175g / 6oz softened butter
• 350g / 12oz icing sugar, double sifted
• 1 1/2 tbls lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tbls of raspberry jam
• a few drops of red food colouring ( optional )

Prepare the AEG Pro-Combi Steam Oven for baking. Following the booklet instructions, fill the water drawer in the control panel and select the Moist Fan Baking function. Preheat the oven to 190C.

( 1 ) Line 6 holes of a muffin tin (pan) with paper muffin cases and brush a mini madeleine mould with a little melted butter.

( 2 ) Mix the sugar, sifted flour and salt together in a bowl. Melt but do not brown the butter.
Lightly beat the eggs and mix them into the sugar and flour mixture then gradually add the cooled melted butter, ground almonds and rosewater. Mix well but not too vigorously. Cover and leave the madeleine mixture to stand in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.Then leave at room tempreature for 30 minutes.

( 3 ) Reserve 6 tsps of the batter. Half fill 6 of the mini madeleine moulds and bake them for 4 minutes. Fill the muffin paper cases with the remaining batter and bake the cakes for 14 minutes until they look well risen and golden. Carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack.

( 4 ) To make the buttercream. Add the softened butter to a mixing bowl and beat with the icing sugar until smooth and fluffy. Stir in the lemon juice and raspberry jam and continue to beat until the buttercream is smooth. Add a few drops of food colouring if you wish and continue e to beat until the mixture is evenly coloured to a soft raspberry pink.

( 5 ) When the cakes are cool, fill a large ( pastry ) bag fitted with a 6-star nozzle with the freshly made raspberry buttercream. Pipe a whirl over the centre of each cake and press a single madeleine lightly to one side.