This post didn’t get off to the greatest of starts. I wanted to feature a recipe for my October Styling the Seasons, to symbolise the change in seasons, the slightly colder weather and the desire to stay cosy and warm inside and bake. However my cookery skills had other plans… I had great plans for a beautiful fig loaf cake, with a jammy compote in the centre. It was all going so well until I got it out of the oven and it, well, sort of collapsed, with a burnt top and a wet middle. Suffice to say it was a DISASTER and no one wants to see that… I will not be getting star baker anytime soon.
Running out of inspiration, and eggs, I decided to resort to my fail-safe recipe that I just love to cook over and over again – French Madeleines! You can always rely on your favourites right? That’s why they’re classics. Madeleines are surprisingly easy to make, super quick in to cook and taste buttery and delicious straight out the oven. When I’m not making my own, my absolute favourite indulgence is a paper bag of piping hot, freshly baked madeleines bought from St John in Farringdon or Spitalfields shared with someone special. They cook them to order and there’s really nothing better.
Figs are just ending their season, I’ve been having them in everything from porridge and granola to accompanying parma ham and salads. I can’t get enough of them so incorporated some slowly roasted fig slices that were going to decorate my fig loaf. I recently bought the black Japanese teapot from TK Maxx (can you believe it?) and this month I’m really looking forward to hunkering down, cosying up indoors with a blanket, a good book and a cup of tea, all the better after a long walk outside (preferably with my cocker spaniel Percy in tow). I can’t wait to get cooking too, let’s bypass the fig loaf disaster(!): warming soups, root vegetable stews and roasts. I love the weather when it’s like this, a crisp, fresh air, rustling leaves underfoot but bright blue skies and sunshine – perfect. So, without further ado, here’s my autumnal October Styling the Seasons:
I use Rachel Khoo’s recipe for Madeleines from her book The Little Paris Kitchen (the most used book in my kitchen). She adds raspberries and lemon curd which is lovely and fresh in the summer, for autumn or winter, figs, cherries or blackberry jam could be a great substitute. For the best results use a madeleine tin to get the little disc shape and scalloped lines. The recipe is as follows:
3 eggs – 130g sugar – 200g plain flour – 10g baking powder – finely grated zest of 1 lemon – 20g honey – 60ml milk – 200g butter, melted and cooled
– Beat the eggs with the sugar until pale and frothy.
– Measure the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl and add the lemon zest
– Mix the honey and the milk with the cool butter and add to the eggs
– Slowly fold in the flour
– Cover and leave to rest in the fridge for a few hours (if you have time)
– Preheat the oven to 190C and grease a 12-shell madeleine tin
– Put a heaped tablespoon of batter into each madeleine shell
– Bake for 5 minutes, turn the over off for 1 minute (so the madeleines get their signature peaks) then turn the oven back on to 160C and bake for a further 5 minutes
You can join in with Styling the Seasons with Apartment Apothecary and Lotts and Lots by styling any surface in your home, from the dining table or sideboard to mantelpiece or kitchen worktop, to represent the change of month. Then share using the hashtag #StylingTheSeasons on your blog, twitter or instagram!
You can also see my previous Styling the Seasons post for September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April, June, July and August.
Styling and images: Cate St Hill
