Bomee Ki's Kugelhopf madeleines recipe
Fluffy, sweet sponge cakes with a zesty, rum twist
This recipe by Bomee Ki, chef and co-owner at Sollip, combines a French cake classic with the flavours of Kugelhopf, a festive German Bundt cake. Golden and fluffy, each sponge is enriched with the warm flavours of rum and citrus. Brushed with fruit liqueur and rolled in sugar, these treats are best enjoyed warm.
You'll need a madeleine mould, a piping bag, and the time to soak the fruits overnight.
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
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For the fruit preparation
- 1 vanilla pod
- 60g gold rum
- 10g orange liqueur
- 150g golden raisins
- zest of 1 lemon
- 30g candied orange peel
- 30g candied lemon peel
For the madeleines
- 90g butter
- 2 large eggs
- 15g honey
- 85g caster sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 90g white bread flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- granulated sugar, to serve
Method
- First, prepare the fruits. Split open the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Put the rum and the orange liqueur in a bowl and add the vanilla pod and seeds, raisins and lemon zest. Leave to soak overnight.
- Chop the candied orange and lemon peel. Add them to the bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 4.
- To make the madeleines, melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat until it reaches 75C and turns a light golden brown.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs. Then add the honey, the sugar and the salt, combining well. Sift in the bread flour and baking powder.
- Pour in the melted butter and mix until fully incorporated.
- Drain the fruits and put the liquid to one side. Fold most of the fruit into the batter, but keep 50g for sprinkling on top before baking.
- Rest the batter for 1 hour, ideally in the fridge.
- Lightly butter and flour the madeleine moulds.
- Pipe batter into each madeleine mould until about three-quarters full. Use the 50g reserved soaked fruit to place a little fruit on top of the batter in each mould.
- Bake in the oven for 8 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove from the moulds, brush all over with the reserved fruit liquid, roll in granulated sugar and serve warm.
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Rebekah Evans joined The Week as newsletter editor in 2023 and has written on subjects ranging from Ukraine and Afghanistan to fast fashion and "brotox". She started her career at Reach plc, where she cut her teeth on news, before pivoting into personal finance at the height of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. Social affairs is another of her passions, and she has interviewed people from across the world and from all walks of life. Rebekah completed an NCTJ with the Press Association and has written for publications including The Guardian, The Week magazine, the Press Association and local newspapers.
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