Cardamom & Blue Corn Madeleines

This week I discovered sprouted rice flour at my coop. The same day I also bought some cardamom infused pasture ghee. I have been putting it everything and asking politely if my friends and family would make dishes that include it this week too. Thank you friends for obliging! I have also noticed that ghee is pretty expensive. So, I decided to make my own infused butter that is a step shorter than making ghee, with pasture butter that has just come into season. Organic Valley sells a wonderful version available May-October.  I walked around for a day thinking about the perfect companion to cardamom infused butter. Blue corn meal came to mind. I know that madeleines are a high art, and there is a quite specific method to their madness. I adhered somewhat to the method. I used butter, flour, baking powder and eggs. I wanted to try a buttery, flavor laden fat that would sing along with the blue corn meal flavor and vanilla that would cool down the cardamom bite. I also wanted to make a gluten free cake that included sprouted rice flour in place of gluten flour. I was curious how I might use sprouted rice flour and thought it might bode well in a recipe that is light, fluffy and assisted by baking powder for a rise.
Well, these little honey sweetened gems are gluten free and pack a punch. I imagine that David Lebovitz might have some words of wisdom about how far I strayed from the madeleine code of ethics, but maybe he might take mercy upon me and my use of a gluten-free flours. Either way, it was fun to experiment. Next I am going to be baking something with the organic sprouted spelt flour that just arrived in the mail...


Cardamom & Blue Corn Madelines with Vanilla

9 tlbs butter (I used pasture butter)
1/2 cup honey
1 tbls grand marnier
2 tsp. crushed vanilla beans (or a whole bean with seeds removed and added)
12 cardamom pods crushed
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs separated
2/3 cup sprouted rice flour
1/2 cup organic blue corn meal
3/4 tsp baking powder

Combine butter, honey, crushed cardamom pods (I used a mortal and pestle) vanilla and salt
Warm to almost bubbling, then add grand marnier and stir.  Set aside for 15 minutes to steep. Strain the vanilla and cardamom pieces out with a sieve, then discard pieces and let strained butter mixture to cool to room temperature. Whisk egg yolks into butter mixture when butter mixture is room temperature.

Combine flours and baking soda in a bowl, and add butter/honey and mix just until combined. Set aside.  

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then fold into the flour mixture just until combined.

Spoon batter into oiled madeleine forms (I used a baking non-stick spray) and bake at 350 on top rack of oven for 10 minutes.