Madeleines au Chocolat | Easy & Delicious French Sponge Cakes

Ok first off, a little confession.  I've been a tiny bit neglectful of the blog this past week or so as London has officially come out of its bleak Transylvanian-esque coma and we've all been overloading on the bliss of experiencing our very FIRST taste of summer. I don't know whatever happened to spring, we skipped it altogether apparently.  Nonetheless, blue skies and balmy temperatures have had everyone in the capital dying to be outside soaking up as many UVB rays as humanly possible.  Needless to say, baking in a hot kitchen has not exactly sounded appealing lately.  

I actually started to wonder if I was EVER going to be tempted back indoors for the duration of this magnificent heatwave (otherwise known as normal June weather everywhere else in the world).  And then a little package arrived on my doorstep the other day... 

I spied this little vintage baking gem online a few months ago, but when I tried to purchase it, I was told they were completely sold out.  That's the problem with vintage goodies, no mass reproductions mean they can be tricky suckers to get your hands on!  Trying to be graceful in my shopping defeat, I moved on.  

Fortunately my dear hubby apparently did not because unbeknownst to me, he had tracked it down and the next thing I knew it was sitting on my doorstep begging me to put it to work.  How could I deny this little vintage work of art?  Then it hit me...what DO you make in a tin with such uniquely shallow molds?  That part had me stumped until I cracked open one of my favorite go-to baking bibles for some inspiration. (Seriously, Donna Hay is a deity when it comes to all things chocolate and if you haven't tried any of her recipes yet, here's your chance!)  

Want to know the best part?  Despite their chi chi French name, these chocolate madeleines are honestly incredibly easy to make.  You'll be able to whip up a batch of these delicious treats and still manage to top off your suntan an hour later.  Seriously, what more can a girl ask for?   Enjoy!

Pain au Chocolat Cinnamon Rolls

One of the things I love most about living in close proximity to continental Europe is the access to the best pastries on earth.  I know the English have a profound weakness for the ever popular Full English Breakfast, complete with its eggs, mushrooms, sausages, grilled tomato and all the rest of the trimmings, but give me a frothy cappuccino and basket of fresh croissants or pain au chocolat and I'm a very happy girl.

Having spent the bank holiday in Spain for a friend's wedding this past weekend, I had the opportunity to get my long overdue fix of those classic continental treats. While nothing (in my humble opinion) equals the kind of magic the French seem to elicit from simple mixtures of sugar, eggs and yeast, I will admit that the Spanish bread and pastries I sampled definitely held their own and left me wanting more.  

After returning to London and counting up the days to our anniversary weekend that will be taking place in Paris this year, I decided a month was simply too long to wait and decided to take matters into my own hands and attempt some Parisian inspired treats of my own. It's fair to say that there are plenty of recipes for traditional French pastries out there, however when I tripped over Kerry Saretsky's French Revolution blog with her creative recipe mash up of classic pain au chocolat meets American style cinnamon rolls, I knew this was the one for me.

I concede, nothing can really top the experience of having a fresh-from-the-oven basket of delicate pastries delivered to your room by a man with a charming Gallic accent.  However for those of you awaiting your next visit to Paris, these delicious hybrid pastries should more than help get you by in the meantime!