Giveaway Results and some Matcha Madeleines

As promised, here are the winners of my strawberry powder giveaway! I know some of you added me on Twitter, but I'm not sure if it's because of the giveaway or otherwise, but because you didn't leave a comment as per the 'rules', I didn't include you in the draw. I used random.org to select the two lucky winners but the problem is I'm an IT noob and I have no idea how to copy and paste the results onto my post?! So you guys will just have to take my word for it - there were 34 comments and the two selected numbers are 7 and 1. This means that Cathy and Angel, you guys are the lucky winners! :]  I'll be emailing you shortly, so do give me your details as soon as you receive my email.

For those who didn't win, don't fret, because I'm going to have another giveaway really soon (hint, it's a fruit and it's freeze-dried and rare in Singapore too!)

So this post was really to abide by the deadline I set myself in the strawberry milk macarons post and I've been so swamped with work that I haven't had time to bake the things that I've wanted to bake. Times like these make me treasure my 'down time' even more - I promise I won't ever complain about having nothing to do! Anyway, last week I was busy bringing my brother's Japanese buddy around Singapore and Malaysia, so I didn't get to bake much, and this week was a busy week, so even mid-week bread plans have been put on hold. In fact, I'm typing this post in between doing work in the office. I'm considering this my rest and 'slack time'.

So like I said, I didn't do much baking, but I thought I'd post these matcha (or green tea)  madeleines which I made some time back, as a tribute of sorts to my brother's Japanese buddy who has since gone home. No, I didn't make these financiers for him to eat, because I'm pretty sure that he would be grossed out by the lack of standard of the matcha powder (the ocha satchets which he gave us produce one of the best tasting ochas I've ever had!) and I mean, serving matcha products to a Japanese would be the last thing I would want to do!

Sorry photos are not particularly imaginative because these were taken some time back.

Matcha Madeleines

Adapted from le livre des fours secs et moelleux de pierre herme

Makes 12

120g caster sugar

20g glucose syrup

120g all-purpose flour

10g matcha powder

4g baking powder

¼ tsp salt

130g eggs

20ml milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

130g clarified unsalted butter

Method:

1. Heat about 150g of unsalted butter over a saucepan and let it melt until you get white solids on the top. Skim away the foam and allow the remaining liquid to cool. It should smell nutty and appear slightly brown.
2. Sift together the flour, matcha powder, salt and baking powder. Set aside. 
3. In another bowl, add together the sugar, glucose, vanilla extract and eggs. Mix until just combined.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients, followed by milk and clarified butter. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
5. Brush your madelein moulds with melted butter and dust lightly with flour, tapping out any excess. Fill the mixture into the mould until about 2/3 full.
6. Bake in a preheated oven of 180°C for 12 minutes until golden brown. Remove the madelein from the mould and allow it to cool on a wire rack. Best consumed when cool to allow the matcha flavour to show through.

You don't need madeleine moulds to get that distinctive hump ;)

Janine's jots: 

• Note: I know that these are not the typical madeleine shapes, but I didn't have the moulds where I was, so I simply used a muffin pan. Just grease the muffin pan before use and fill it to about 2/3 full as well.  
• Taste: I usually find madeleines too sweet for my liking, but I really liked how the matcha cut through the sweetness.
• Texture: I overbaked my madeleines a little (as seen from the brown bottoms, so the bottoms were a tad tougher than usual, but the tops were delicious!
• Modifications: I would probably try adding some adzuki beans to vary the textures and tastes, and because adzuki is a perfect complement to matcha :] 
• Storage: The baked product keeps very well. Keep in an airtight container and it'll last you a week! Also, I baked some after refrigerating it for an hour and baked the rest after keeping some of the batter overnight in the fridge and the resulting baked product tasted the same and had the same texture as those baked immediately.
• Would I make this again?: Probably not because this produces a lot of madeleines and most of my family members aren't fans of matcha, so I've to eat all of it myself :[ If you're a fan of matcha, this would be right up your alley, because matcha really is cast into the limelight here.