Chocolate Chip Madeleines

Madeleines are classic French cakes which are incredibly easy to make, look beautiful in their simplicity and taste delicious. Made using a classic genoise mixture, these little sponge cakes have a light and airy texture and are perfect to nibble on with a cup of tea. In fact, they are not unlike the fairy cakes or ‘buns’ that many Irish children grew up eating at birthday parties and on special occasions – cupcakes are only a recent enough phenomenon in Ireland and one that we have borrowed from across the Atlantic. My grandmother who greatly influenced my love of cooking and baking would have considered cupcakes frivolous and completely over-the-top, but I think that she would have approved of the more restrained madeleines!

 

Although traditionally baked in a specialist madeleine tin with shell-shaped indentations, you can also bake them in muffin tins. Madeleine tins are widely available and relatively inexpensive to buy, so are worth getting so that you can enjoy these little cakes in their full glory.

 

Usually simply flavoured with just a hint of lemon or vanilla, the basic recipe is easily adapted to include other ingredients such a spices, nuts, dried fruit etc. Here I have added chocolate chips to the basic batter but feel free to leave these out and experiment using different ingredients.

 

I love the buttery taste of madeleines and in particular like to brown the butter to the beurre noisette stage as this gives the finished cakes taste a deeper, more buttery flavour. If you are worried that you might burn the butter when browning it, you can use just plain melted butter instead; the madeleines will still taste wonderful!

 

It is really important to prepare your tin properly by brushing each indentation with some melted butter before lightly dusting with some flour, shaking out any excess. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to remove the cakes once baked! If you have prepared your tin correctly, you should be able to remove the madeleines all in one go by giving the tin a sharp tap. Secondly, make sure to allow the batter to rest in the fridge for at least two hours (or ideally overnight) before baking. This hardens up the melted butter and creates a stiffer batter which for some reason seems to produce a lighter result. I don’t know why this works, but it just does!

 

This recipe produces 24 large or 36 small madeleines, so you may need to cook the mixture in batches if you don’t own a number of tins. (Note: the batter will keep for a couple of days in the fridge).

 

Ingredients:

To prepare the madeleine tins/moulds:
A little melted butter

2tblsp plain flour

Madeleines:

120g butter

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

130g caster sugar

175g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

75g chocolate chips (milk or dark chocolate)
 

Method:

To prepare:

1. Brush the madeleine moulds with melted butter and then dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Place in the fridge while you make the cake batter.

Madeleines:

2. Place the butter in a small saucepan over a moderate heat. Allow the butter to melt and start bubbling but make sure to keep a close eye on it as it can burn very quickly. The butter will start to turn a light golden brown and will begin to darken. Remove immediately it has turned a rich golden brown colour and has a ‘nutty’ aroma. Pour into a small bowl and allow to cool slightly.

3. Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl and using a hand-held electric mixer beat together until light and fluffy and doubled in volume. Sift the flour and baking powder together and fold into the egg mixture.

4. Pour in the butter in a steady stream and fold in gently. Finally add the chocolate chips and also fold in. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least two hours, but overnight is preferable.

To bake the madeleines:

5. Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan Oven 180C/Gas Mark 6. Three quarters fill each madeleine ‘hole’ in the tin with the chilled cake batter. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the madeleines are well risen and golden brown.

6. Allow to cool in the tin for five minutes before tapping out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely. These are lovely eaten warm, but are also delicious cooled.

Makes 24 madeleines (or 36 mini madeleines).

 

 

Oat & Apple Muffins

I love baking and really enjoy the techniques and processes involved but sometimes I just want to make something that is easy to prepare and ready to eat in the least amount of time possible. This has to be one of the easiest and quickest recipes and is one that I use on a regular basis as it produces lovely light but moist muffins.

 

Muffins are lovely served for breakfast and these ones are particularly nice as they don’t contain an excessive amount of sugar. In fact, much of their sweetness comes from the diced apple which is included. You can, of course, use other fruits in season. Pears work particularly well and when I use them I also like to add a few chopped walnuts or pecans in addition to the oats. Chopped fresh strawberries are also delicious and make a wonderful summertime muffin.

 

The key thing when making these is not to over-mix the batter as the resulting muffins will be dense and heavy. Combine everything just enough to ensure that you don’t have any large pockets of dry flour and remember that the batter is meant to look a little lumpy.

 

Although the baked muffins are delicious when eaten cold, I recommend eating them whilst they are still warm as they are absolutely sensational.

 

Ingredients:

150g self-raising flour, sifted
35g porridge oats
60g light brown muscovado sugar

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and diced into 1cm cubes

180ml natural Greek style yoghurt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

50g butter, melted

To finish:

25g porridge oats 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Place paper cases in 9 holes of a cupcake tin and set aside.
2. Place the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the porridge oats and sugar. Mix together so that everything is well distributed. Add the cubed apples and mix again. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add yoghurt , egg and melted butter. Do not over-mix.

3. Divide the mixture evenly between the 9 paper cases and sprinkle some oats on the top of each muffin.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the muffins are golden brown and a thin skewer inserted into the centre of one comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving warm.
 

Makes 9.
 

Restaurant Review: Restaurant gigi's at the g Hotel & Spa, Galway

I have stayed overnight in the 5-star g Hotel a number of times and on each occasion I have luxuriated in the elegant and striking surroundings of the Philip Treacy designed hotel. Located in Wellpark, not far from Galway city centre, the hotel is ideally situated being within easy reach of the city’s main attractions, bars, restaurants and shopping areas.

 

On my most recent visit I noticed that there have been a few changes. Restaurant gigi’s, the hotel’s main dining venue, under new Head Chef Cedric Bottarlini, now offers a choice of four menus from which diners can select. Depending on your mood you can opt for the Share menu which consists of an assortment of sharing platters, the Steakhouse menu – perfect for meat lovers and the Delight and Indulge menus which are structured in the more familiar starter, main-course, and dessert format.

Negroni

Like the rest of the hotel, Restaurant gigi’s is sumptuously decorated in deep rich colours and plush fabrics that are warm and inviting. Despite being spacious there is nothing stark and minimalist here but rather, this is a room that encourages you to spoil yourself! With this in mind, and after being shown to our table, we decided to have cocktails whilst we examined the menu in greater detail. Sipping on a very well-mixed Negronis and nibbling on the wonderful selection of breads which had arrived at our table soon after we were seated, we decided to opt for the Indulge menu.

 

Our starters of Crab & Asparagus and Crisp Irish Free-Range Pork-Belly were both beautifully presented and we descended upon them with gay abandon.

 

Crab and Asparagus

Mixed through the crab were little nuggets of diced apple which complemented the crabmeat perfectly and leant a fruity freshness to the dish. The quenelle of crab bavarois presented atop the crabmeat was, by contrast, rich and silky-smooth and completely addictive. The classic paring with steamed green asparagus along with a spear of lightly pickled white asparagus and an asparagus purée excited the taste-buds as all the best starters should… leaving an air of anticipation regarding the dishes to follow.

 

Pork-belly seems to be everywhere these days and unfortunately, it is often a huge disappointment. This is a cut of meat that requires long, slow cooking in order to render the layers of fat down as it is this fat that tenderises the meat as it cooks. Here, the pork-belly had been treated with love and attention to detail, resulting in meat that melted in the mouth. The accompanying rhubarb in two forms – roasted and puréed, cut through the richness of the pork, whilst puffed pork crackling created welcome textural contrast. This was a wonderful dish.

 

Pork-Belly

Moving on to the main course, my choice of the Line-Caught Cod Medallion arrived accompanied by a delightful selection of seafood including clams, octopus and prawns. The thickly-cut piece of cod was meaty to eat and gave the dish substance which sated the appetite. Beautifully turned potatoes had been flavoured with saffron which is a notoriously difficult spice to handle as it requires a light touch; too much and it imparts a soapy flavour which can be over-powering and unpleasant to eat. A light and airy lobster bisque foam finished the dish off perfectly.

 

The other main course of Sliced Peppered Sirloin Steak & Braised Rib was absolutely superb. Here wonderfully flavoursome sirloin steak had been perfectly cooked medium-rare to order. This was a well-aged, prime cut of quality beef so perhaps it was to be expected that it would be good, but the slow-cooked rib was every bit as good. Thinly sliced radishes with their fresh peppery crunch and sweet heritage carrots danced a metaphorical jig across the plate, so artfully had they been placed. This was a dish that screamed EAT ME! The spinach purée with its iron-rich flavour was faultless. In fact the only questioning note I have about this dish as a whole, is whether the large potato hash cake is actually required.  Granted we had also ordered sides of Pan-Fried Mushrooms, Sweet Potato Fries and Green Beans so that may have coloured my view-point! As an aside, I would strongly recommend the Sweet Potato Fries… believe me, they are truly exceptional!

 

Beef Sirloin and Rib

Desserts created by Head Pastry Chef Martina Crotty are beautiful to look at and delicious to eat.  One of my favourite flavour pairings is basil and strawberry, so it was a given that I would pick the Style Strawberries and Cream. The intensely flavoured fresh strawberries and strawberry sorbet were both magnificent but what brought the whole dish together were the shards of pale green, basil meringue and the very delicately flavoured rose petal shortbread crumb. Whilst fresh and light on the palate this was a wonderfully indulgent dessert.

 

The Ivory Cocoa & Rhubarb Verrine came presented in a cocktail-like glass through which you could clearly see the various constituent elements of the dish. Everything about this dish was so well balanced from the freshness of the sorbet to the fruitiness of the rhubarb compote, the cruch of the ginger crumb and the creaminess of the rich white chocolate mousse. The vividly coloured ‘plank’ of white chocolate was so stunning to look at it, you almost didn’t want to eat it (but we did)!

 

Strawberries and Cream

The wine list, comprising some interesting choices including bottles from the Lebanon along with a number of notable reserve options has been sensitively selected and after some dithering, we decided on a New Zealand Pinot Noir. Given our contrasting menu choices, this seemed the best option and we weren’t disappointed. The acidity of the Pinot cut through the inherent richness of the pork-belly starter yet was light enough to enjoy with my crab starter and seafood main.

 

For the quality of the food on offer, Restaurant gigi’s offers great value for money. Rather cleverly, the restaurant has managed to provide options that will appeal to the more conservative diner but also something for those with adventurous palates.  Each dish that I ate was beautifully presented and contained elements that surprised and charmed in equal measure. 

Rhubarb Verrine

Too many establishments, in an attempt to entice as many diners as possible, create menus that are lengthy in order to be all-encompassing and appealing. However, it is folly to try and cater for every possible taste and to aim to be everything to everyone because what invariably results is that a plateau of mediocrity is reached where everything is ‘nice’ and nothing is outstanding. Each individual menu in Restaurant gigi’s arsenal is just the right length and overall there is plenty of choice and many tempting dishes. More importantly, what restaurant gigi’s does, it does well… very well!

Service was impeccable with staff who were friendly and attentive and well-informed about the menu and the ingredients used.

This is a restaurant that clearly has high ambitions and a desire to create a delicious dining experience using quality, locally-sourced ingredients. This it achieves and it is easy to see why it has been awarded and has retained an AA 2 Rosette rating for three years running.

• Share Menu: 3 course for €99 for 2 people
• Delight Menu: 2 courses for €29.50; 3 courses for €36
• Indulge Menu: 2 courses for €42; 3 courses for €48
• Irish Steakhouse Corner Menu: Individually priced

Restaurant gigi’s

The g Hotel & Spa

Wellpark

Galway City

 

Telephone: 091865200

Website: www.theghotel.com

This review was first published in TheTaste.ie

 

Sweet Potato Fries

Soft Bread Rolls

I openly admit that I have become a little evangelical (some may say obsessional) about bread making but this is largely because it is so much simpler than I could have ever imagined! Whilst some of my breads may not look perfect when they emerge from the oven, they always taste delicious and are eagerly gobbled up by my gang. Until recently, I felt that bread making was something that I just could not achieve and that what I produced could never taste as good as the loaves that I bought.

I am so thrilled to have been proved wrong on both these points. I have discovered that it is actually relatively easy to make your own breads at home and that, in fact, they taste so much better than most of the breads you can buy. Furthermore, you also have complete control over the ingredients that are used and can ensure that your bread only contains the things that you want it to. Another aspect of bread making that I particularly like is that it gives you the chance to be quite creative in flavour terms. I love to include fresh herbs, spices, dried fruits, nuts in many of my breads and have been thrilled with some of the flavour combinations that I have discovered. I really feel like a whole new world has opened up to me.

 

My children recently asked me whether I would bake some soft bread rolls for them. Their requirements were quite specific; they wanted bread rolls that were soft, but not too airy and dry; something that you could use to split and stuff a burger into but also something that would taste delicious just simply buttered. After doing a lot of research and trying out a few recipes, this is what I came with. I am absolutely delighted with these bread rolls and how tasty they were.

 

The key to success, courtesy of a tip I picked up from the wonderful Tales from the Kitchen Shed, lies in placing the rolls relatively closely together on a baking tray prior to the final prove. This is because you want them to touch each other during their second rise and as they bake. As you tear the finished rolls apart, the wonderful pillowy soft interior will be revealed. Whilst the rolls should be served after they have cooled, I defy anyone not to have one (or two) still warm from the oven.

 

This recipe makes about 18 rolls and although this may seem like quite a lot, they keep relatively well for a couple of days because they have been enriched with the rapeseed oil. Due to my purist approach to making bread, I mix and knead the dough by hand but feel free to use a sturdy free-standing mixer fitted with bread hooks if you prefer. Finally, to ensure even-sized rolls, I weigh each roll so that they are the same weight before forming them into rolls but if this all seems like too much bother, just do it by eye.

 

Ingredients:

1kg strong white bread flour
15 g fine sea salt
20g fresh yeast

100ml rapeseed or vegetable oil (I use Donegal or Glen Field rapeseed oil)

600ml water
 

Method:

1. Place the bread and sea salt in a large mixing bowl and mix together with your hands. Crumble in the fresh yeast and mix this through as well.
2. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the oil and water. Mix everything together with your hands to form a dough and then tip out on to a clean work-surface. Resist the urge to flour your work-surface and be assured that as you work the dough it will become more manageable and won’t stick to the surface as much. I find a dough scraper invaluable at this stage.
3. Knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes until it is smooth and no longer clinging to your work-surface. Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl, cover with cling-film and set aside for 90-100 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

4. Turn out onto a clean work-surface and knock back the dough expelling the air. Divide the dough evenly into 18 portions and form into rolls using your hand in a cupping motion. Place, relatively closely together (a couple of centimetres apart) onto a large baking tray lined with parchment paper and cover loosely with oiled cling-film. Allow to rise for about 50 minutes until doubled in size.

5. While the rolls are rising, preheat your oven to 200C/Fan Oven 180C/Gas Mark 6.

6. When the rolls are ready, place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes until they are golden brown and well risen. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before breaking apart.

Makes 18.