Chiffon again! Espresso.

Espresso Chiffon Cake
recipe adapted from Fresh from the Oven

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup unflavored vegetable oil (canola or safflower)
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar, separated (I suggest reducing this to 1 1/4 cups)
6 extra large eggs, at room temperature, separated
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

- Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 325F.
- In a large measuring cup or medium bowl, dissolve the espresso powder in the water, Add the oil,vanilla and egg yolks. Whisk until well combined.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder. Add 1 cup of sugar and salt and stir together.
- Make a well in the center of the dry flour mixture. Add the espresso mixture. Using a rubber spatula, stir together until thoroughly combined. (Make sure there are no lumps!)
- Place the egg whites in the grease free bowl of an electric mixer or in a large grease free bowl. Using the wire whip attachment or a hand held mixer, whip the egg whites on medium speed until they are frothy. Add the cream of tartar. Slowly sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and continue whipping until the egg whites hold glossy and firm but not stiff, peaks, about 5 minutes.
- Fold the egg whites into the cake batter in 3 to 4 stages, blending thoroughly after each addition. Transfer the batter to the tube pan. Use the rubber spatula to smooth and even the top.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the pan from the oven and invert it over a cooling rack onto its feet or over a funnel or a thin necked bottle. Let the cake hang to cook completely. Don't set the pan on a cooling rack on its base. This will cause the cake to collapse onto itself.
- Don't shake the cake out of the pan before it is cool. Once the cake is cool. use a thin blade knife or flexible blade spatula to run across the outer edge and the inside tube to help release the cake from the pan.
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My tube pan is so mini! It's only 4 inches in diameter.. I don't have any bigger tube pan and I am too lazy to convert the recipe to fit my mini tube pan (&also I didn't just want to have a tiny 4 inches round cake!) so I just poured the extra in a 8" springform pan.


^Look at this!

The cake rose tremendously! And I am surprised.. it didn't shrink a bit after I took it out. It's so tall and so awesome to look at! Hehe(: I really should cover and decorate it with some cream to make it fancier. But I just love the rustic feel chiffon cake has! I can definitely use this as a base to any type of birthday cakes I need to make in the future(:



Taste: I made a huge mistake of substituting instant espresso powder with a instant 3 in 1 coffee mix, the kind with milk, sugar, coffee powder all in one! The cake didn't have a prominent espresso flavor and it turned out somewhat sweeter than my liking. (I just bought instant espresso powder so I will be making this cake again soon!)

Texture: Excellent! It did not turn out moist at some parts like the matcha chiffon cake I made the other day. The texture is consistent within every layers of the cake. Airy. Light. Fluffy.

Light and Fluffy Matcha Chiffon Cake

Amongst the many different cakes out there, chiffon cake is no doubt my all time favorite! It tastes like clouds! So light and fluffy yet flavorful!!



Chiffon cake is definitely a summer must! So refreshing and nothing calorific tasting. I can snack on it all day.. if only they can last that long :p
I HEART CHIFFON CAKES!





Matcha Chiffon Cake
recipe from my buttery fingers
-makes ~one 17 cm cake

3 Egg yolks
80g Sugar
50ml Vegetable oil
60ml Water
80g Cake (low-protein) flour
10g Matcha (green tea powder)
4 Egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Whisk egg yolks, 1/3 of the sugar, oil and water together.
2. Pour in sifted flour and matcha, whisk until totally incorporated and no lumps remain.
3. Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until foamy. Pour in half the remaining sugar, beat for 2 more minutes, add in the rest of the sugar and beat until soft peaks form.
4.Place 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the flour mixture. Use a whisk to quickly mix everything together.
5. Add in the rest of the egg whites, incorporate gently but quickly. When some white streaks remain, swap to a rubber spatula and fold gently until the mixture is homogeneous.
6. Pour the mixture into the chiffon cake tin (you may need to slightly grease it beforehand to prevent sticking, but I skip this step). Rap the tin against the table a few times to get rid of large air bubbles.
7. Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. The cake must be cooled upside down; stick the tin on a tall heavy bottle, leave until cake is completely cool before removing it from the tin.
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^great in every shape(:

Chiffon cakes are divine both eaten on their own or with a bit of sweetened whipped cream. In my opinion, this matcha/ green tea one is best eaten alone. The fragrance of the green tea is so prominent. And as you savor each bite, the aroma just gets more and more intense ♥♥ Matcha may just be the most ideal flavor a chiffon cake can have! New on my 2010 resolution: Lemon Chiffon, Orange Chiffon, Lavender Chiffon, Earl Grey Chiffon, Cappuccino Chiffon, Espresso Chiffon... I am going to experiment and perfect the liquid/egg ratio in my chiffon cakes and try it out with all the flavors out there! All I need is a good base to play with the flavor, right?! I am excited. (:



*One slight teeny tiny failure this time happened during the cooling process. My cake slipped out of the inverted tin!! *Gasp* Good thing it wasn't too close to the edge of the counter top or it could've smashed onto the floor. The top of the cake was only a tad ripped off. ***Also, the inverted cooling resulted in a slightly moist-er texture on the top 1/3 of the cake, which tasted under- baked. Next time, I will try leaving the cake in the oven for a longer time before taking them out so maybe I can avoid the excess moisture from cooling the cake too quickly.

Sour Cream Pound Cake (failed)

Sour Cream Pound Cake
recipe from vondelicious
- makes a 8x4x2 inch or 9x5x3 inch loaf pan
(I wanted to try out my new mini loaf pan from Daiso. That's why I separated the batter into two pans and resulted in ultra thin pound cakes)

1/2 cup (113g) butter (I reduced it to 90g)
1 cup sugar (I decreased it by a bit)
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream/yoghurt
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Allow butter, eggs and sour cream (or yoghurt) to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and lightly flour a 8x4x2 inch or 9x5x3 inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside
2. In a mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric miser on medium to high speed for 30 secs. Gradually add sugar, beating about 10 minutes or until very light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition and scraping bowl frequently. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream (or yoghurt) to butter mixture, beating on low to medium speed after each addition until well combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in a 325oF (160oC) oven for 60 to 75 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool.

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Failed? A mere comparison with Sara Lee's infamous rich- buttery- goodness pound cake led to my conclusion that my chewy sour cream pound cake was an utter failure.


^THEY ARE LIKE BRICKS!

Who doesn't love Sara Lee's pound cake! Buttery. Smooth. Silky. Refined. Velvety. HEAVENLY! And how was my pound cake? Chewy. Firm. Rough. Sad. The inside of the cake looked and sort of tasted under- baked. ):

The.. one two things I am okay with about this pound cake is the strong egg-y taste, which reminded me of those paper wrapped sponge cake in Asian bakeries, and the crust. The crust has got to be the best part of this cake. It got a slight toasty taste to it. I simply love crusts of every sort. Maybe I should cut the crust off. Eat that. Re- bake it and get a "new" crust.. and so on. Haha?


^Looks like mochi cake or something.

I am strongly suspecting that the sour cream has something to do with this mishap since my blueberry crumb cake, which also used sour cream, turned out on the chewy side. Maybe a Sara Lee- like pound cake can only be made with pure "pound" of butter? I don't know. I will find out when I get my hand on one of those recipe. Sara Lee's has the best pound cake in my opinion.

**EDIT: Over- beating the batter! That's my final verdict on the chewy end result. The directions asked for one minute of beating after each egg addition and extra beating after the flour and sour cream addition as well. At the time, I thought that was really excessive but I carried it out nonetheless because I have no better idea. DO NOT OVERBEAT A CAKE BATTER! WHY?

Overbeating the butter can soften it too much, which will diminish its ability to trap air.
Overbeating the eggs whips in too much air and creates tunnels in the cake.
Overbeating once the flour has been added, promotes gluten formation and toughens the cake.

(according to baking911.com)

Sorry, sour cream. I don't think it's your fault after all. I shall try this recipe out again with less and more careful beating.

Blueberry Crumb Cake/Pie

Blueberry Crumb Cake
recipe from FoodNetwork.com
-make one 9" round pan or one 6" and one 7" tart pan plus some extra

For the streusel:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh blueberries
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.
For the streusel:
- Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.
For the cake:
- Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers,
- Crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.



NomNomNom. First time baking fruits. Dried fruits to be exact. I hated disliked baking fresh fruits. I just think it's gross to have fresh fruits warm. Is that too weird? But anyways, I stepped out of my bubble this time and picked this recipe that incorporates blueberries. I used dried blueberries instead since I had them at hand. And to my BIGGG SURPRISE, it turned out great. The blueberries added a slight sourness that balances the sweet moist cake! Love.



I baked this out of tart tins instead just because I wanted to use my new tart tins. Hehe. They were great. Minus the fact that I was frugal with every last bit of batter and streusel. I overflowed the tins.. The cake rose a little and the streusel was falling everywhere in the oven. Mess. ):



Nonetheless, the taste of this cake/pie is excellent. I thought it was a tab bit sweet at first but nah. It was so perfect with the blueberries. I love the streusel the most. The crunchiness of the streusel and the moistness of the cake.. Mhmm<3 The cake part was slightly chewy (maybe due to sour cream?).

Overall, I am pretty satisfy with my first attempt at baking with dried fruits. Btw, this is also my first time using nutmeg! I like the little extra spicy aroma it adds to the streusel!

**Side note:My cousins loved this cake as well! They ended up taking one whole pie home after trying a few slices.(:
&& Note to self: crumble the streusel finer for easy cutting next time!

Soft Pretzel

Dear recipe, I apologized for doubting you. I kneaded the dough for 3 hours (or at least that's how long it felt like) before it looked something close to "smooth and elastic."

The dough was pretty tough and dry before I added maybe 1-2 tablespoons more water toward the last part of that 3 hours. It was the absolute right move at the moment! Them pretzels were 199% delicious in the end.



Soft Pretzels
recipe from cdkitchen via AJ's Cooking Secrets
- makes 12

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups regular flour
2 cups Warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
to taste coarse salt
4 tablespoons butter (melted)

Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic. (Cover with warm towel&)Let rise at least 1/2 hour.

While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda. Be certain to stir often. After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope* (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet. Allow pretzels to rise again. Bake in 450 oven for about 10 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter and enjoy!

Toppings: after you brush with butter try sprinkling with coarse salt. Or for Auntie Anne's famous Cinnamon Sugar, try melting a stick of butter in a shallow bowl (big enough to fit the entire pretzel) and in another shallow bowl make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Dip the pretzel into the butter, coating both sides generously. Then dip again into the cinnamon mixture. Enjoy!
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Reheat these goodies in the oven if you are eating them the next day!



Mine were topped with cinnamon and sugar, some with almonds, and some with dried onion flakes! Some sort of dip/ sour cream mix would complement these pretzels really well too.



Some improvements I would make next time is add 3-4 tablespoons more water than the recipe calls for and rolling the dough longer.. to about arm length. My pretzels definitely turned out on the chubby side :p Also, my dough was still pretty tough after the extra 1-2 tbsp water.. 3-4 tbsp should be most ideal. Either that.. or I will pack lighter on the flour. (:

Zebra Cheesecake

Zebra Cheesecake
recipe from Not Quite Nigella
- makes one 12 inch cake (I did a 9 inch and increased the baking time)

50g/2 ozs butter
250g/9 ozs cream cheese
100 ml/3 fl ozs milk
60g/2 ozs plain flour
20g/1 oz cornflour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
150g/5 ozs fine granulated sugar
6 eggs separated
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tablespoons Dutch process Cocoa

1. Prepare cake tin. Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of a round 9 inch springform tin with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper). Wrap two layers of foil around the tin to prevent water seeping in. Find a large baking dish that will fit the springform tin. Fill the empty baking dish 1/4 of the way full with water and place the baking dish with water (don’t put the lined springform tin in just yet) in the center rack of an oven and switch it on to 160C/325F.

2. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler-use whisk to get out any lumps. Cool the mixture over an ice bath. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, 6 egg yolks, lemon juice and mix well. Whisk 6 egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form and there is no liquid egg white at the bottom.

3. Add one third of the egg white mixture to the cheese mixture to loosen. Then add the rest in third batches and mix well and ensure that the egg whites are thoroughly combined gently by folding-there should be no streaks at all. Divide the batter evenly in two and in one bowl, sift the cocoa in it and combine well using a folding action.The most important thing is that the two batters must be of the same consistency for this cake to work.

4. Take your lined springform tin and place tablespoons of cream colored batter in a circle in the center of the tin. Then take 3 tablespoons of the chocolate batter and place in the center. Keep adding circles and the batter will spread of its own accord. (Definitely check out the pictures @Not Quite Nigella if you have any problems!!)

5. Carefully transfer the cheesecake into the water bath in the oven making sure not to tilt the cheesecake. Bake cheesecake in the water bath for 1 hours or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown at 160 degrees C (325 degrees F). Chill thoroughly.

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This zebra cheesecake is theoretically a Japanese (lighter version of American) cheesecake with pretty patterns! This was way easier than it looks and can you believeee it?!?! This is the first time that my cheesecake did not collapse or crack! It was more or less perfect ignoring the slight leaks on the side of the springform pan. Definitely avoidable if I greased the parchment paper and pan together tighter.



The cake did slightly shrink a little while it was cooling.. but it did so uniformly across. The key to a "not collapsed" cake is to make absolute sure that the cake is thoroughly cooked before taking it out of the oven. Since I made a thicker 9 inch cake instead of 12 inch, I already added 10 more minutes to my baking time. And furthermore, after that 10 minutes was over, I turned off the oven and kept the cake in there to cool SLOWLY!! (be sure to keep checking to avoid over-browning/ burning!) After around 30 minutes, I opened the oven door slightly and let it cool further for 5 more minutes in the oven. I finally took it out after the 5 minutes and let it cool in room temperature for 30 minutes more and chilled in the fridge after that. Yes, the cooling is rather time-consuming but these steps are crucial! No matter how good a collapsed cake taste, it's just not as satisfying.. agree? Hehe.



Taste-wise, it was pleasant. It doesn't have a prominent cheese taste (if you love that, this recipe would be great). I personally would like it just a tiny bit more cheesy. Texture-wise, it was moist and not a bit soggy! I wonder how it would be like if I added a graham crust to it. I just thought it needed a bit crunch to it.

Give this a try if you have not made a zebra cake before. It's oh-so-much fun(:

UPDATE------------♥♥♥
THIS CAKE IS FABULOUS AFTER 24 HOURS CHILLED IN THE FRIDGE. I LOVE IT SO MUCH MORE NOW. I AM ADDING THIS TO MY LIST OF GOODIES IN MY FUTURE BAKERY. IT'S LIGHT YET FILLED WITH FLAVOR! I BET YOU WON'T STOP EATING AFTER ONE SLICE(: I DIDN'T! HAHA

Felt Food 3: Vanilla Whipped Cream with Strawberry Tart

Yep! Another tart. I like the design of this one very mucho. I can't wait to see lots of them line up like an army! At the moment, I am just sewing tons of toppings ( strawberries, whipped cream and wafers) with the limited color felts I have. I am thinking that later on I would make the edible version of each felt tart I made and take photos with them side by side! Hehe(:

Ladyfingers

Ladyfingers
recipe from Joy of Baking who got it from Cordon Bleu at Home
-makes 24 big ladyfingers or 45 small (2 1/2″ to 3″ long) ladyfingers

3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons /75gms granulated sugar
3/4 cup/95gms cake flour, sifted (or 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
6 tablespoons /50gms confectioner’s sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees, then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper.

Beat the egg whites using a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulate sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth.

In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy.

Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip (or just snip the end off; you could also use a Ziploc bag) and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 5″ long and 3/4″ wide strips leaving about 1″ space in between the strips. Sprinkle half the confectioner’s sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness.
Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar.

Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft. Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack. Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.
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Today, I decided to tackle the ladyfingers component of my all time favorite dessert- tiramisu! One baby step at a time toward my goal of making a whole tiramisu(:

I won't say the ladyfinger was a complete success but they surely were not a failure. They came out tasting pretty good.. a nostalgic taste indeed. They reminded me so much of this puff crackers I used to love and eat all the time when I was little.


image from Google

The outside is crunchy which I love and the inside is moderately soft and dry. Exactly like the puff crackers.(: From what I've been reading, I feel like ladyfingers shouldn't be like this. Maybe more airy and sponge-like. I suspect that I might just have over-folded the yolk/ dry ingredients and kill the volume in the meringue. My plastic bag pipping also failed on me. It was all over the place. And I think this resulted in the dense texture as well. Tiramisu is so daunting with its bajilion components (= bajilion ingredients) needed but I believe.. I can overcome this by taking it sloooooowly. Who doesn't love a challenge?

Felt Food 2: Peach Whipped Cream Tart

This one is technically felt and SHAMWOW food. :o
The "peach whipped cream" comes from a Shamwow towel. Hehe.

I need to go buy felt.
I need to go buy felt.
I need to go buy felt.
So I don't need to cut my Shamwow.

I was so disappointed with my trip to Wal- mart. I know they won't have the specific wool- felt I am looking for so I was just going to get some craft- felt anyways. Yes, they had craft- felt. But geee! Their color variety is like no variety. I ended up getting all the individually sold color they had which was only.. 4! They were the basic colors.

For this peach cream tart, I learned to make WHIPPED CREAM(: I found two ways to make whipped cream and this was the easier one with less stitching. It looks pretty cute I think. The pearl makes it shine a little, no? :p The crust was desired to be two layers of different shades brown. But sigh! No choice. I subbed it with the shamwow for the lighter shade and it looks acceptable? One critique I got was the white filling looks too fake.

Until I make a trip to Joanns or Michael's, you will be seeing a lot of the same color interchangeably used.

Madeleines!

fried chicken? noo.. they are MADELEINES! : D

Traditional Madeleines
recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours
-makes 12 full size madeleines or up to 36 mini madeleines

2/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon (I subbed this with zest of grapefruit!)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Whisk together flour, baking power and salt.
2. Working in a mixer/large bowl, rub sugar and zest together with fingertips until sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs in. With a mixer (whisk attachment), beat the eggs and sugar together on medium- high speed until pale, thick and light (2-3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla.
3. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg and sugar mixture, followed by the melted butter.
4. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the batter and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. (This chill period will help form the hump of the madeleines.)
5. Preheat oven to 400F.
6. Butter the madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or just coat lightly with vegetable cooking spray. Spoon batter into molds, filling each one almost to the top.
7. Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, and minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched.
8. Remove pans from oven and gently pry madeleins from the pan to cool.
9. Dust the madeleines with confectioners' sugar and serve. (I skipped this part)
*If you have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool the pan(s) before baking.



I never had an authentic madeleines before (only tried costco ones) so I am not sure if mine were actually "traditional." The taste was alright. It was a little citrus-y.. most likely coming from the excessive grapefruit zest I used. (I love the smell of grapefruit! ♥) Sweetness was right on the spot. And the texture was crumbly/ fine and tight(?).

Taste: 3 stars out of 5
Texture: 3.5 stars out of 5

I cut the recipe in half and made 8 large madeleines out of it. The first batch I refrigerated it in the mold. I highly NOT recommend doing this because the madeleines will end up sticking to the pan!! I sprayed the mold with Pam for the second batch after the mold cooled completely (Btw, I am using my new madeleines mold from Daiso!). This time, they were still sticking a little but not as bad. (will try the butter and flour way next time) The shell pattern turned out a bit more distinct. And I also noticed that they browned faster with the same baking time. Mm anyhow, I am not sure if the refrigerating is necessary. I will most likely skip out on this (= save three hours). I find the resulting hump on the madeleines sort of unnecessary. :p I will experiment with no refrigeration and see if it affects the madeleine taste- wise.

Without the citrus-y, grapefruit-y taste, I think it would be a whole lot better. Next time, I would omit the grapefruit or lemon zest. And maybe try the earl grey version instead. I always expected madeleines to be butter-y tasting.. sort of like pound cake. But I guess not.