Even if this winter was really more than mild, I'm tired of the gray weather. I yearn for spring and I’m happy about the many small signs of spring that I rediscover every day. The magnolias are in the starting blocks and on my way through the forest I brought home a few fragrant sprigs of early blooming cherry branches.

To sweeten my waiting for spring, I came up with a quote from Marcel Proust's novel "In Search of Lost Time". This reminded me that I haven't baked madeleines for a long time.

„And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane. The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it. And all from my cup of tea.“

Marcel Proust – In Search of Lost Time

I love this sweet classic, which can be baked more than quickly. Since I still had a lot of blood oranges there, I quickly developed a new recipe which I like to share with you. The combination of blood oranges and freeze-dried raspberries and strawberries as well as white chocolate is simply heavenly. Together with a cup of tea, this combination is unbeatable and conjures up the most beautiful spring on my plate.

BLOOD ORANGE MADELEINES

For about 30 Madeleines
2 organic eggs
55 g acacia honey
75 g spelt flour (type 1050)
25 g ground almonds
1 tsp organic baking powder
1 pinch of salt
100 g neutral coconut oil, melted + a little more for the baking pan
finely grated zest of half an organic blood orange
2 tablespoons of blood orange juice

White Chocolate glaze
70 g white organic chocolate (e.g. from Rapunzel)
1 tbsp strawberry powder
½ tsp neutral coconut oil
½ tsp finely grated and chopped zest of an organic blood orange
2 tbsp freeze-dried raspberries, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 175 ° C top / bottom heat (air circulation not suitable). In a bowl, beat the eggs and honey with the electric hand mixer until the mixture becomes whiter and airy. Mix the spelt flour, almonds, baking powder and salt and add to the bowl. Gently fold in with a whisk. Then add the melted coconut oil, the blood orange zest and juice and carefully fold in.

Oil your Madeleine baking pan with a little coconut oil and fill the hollows to the brim with batter. Bake the first batch of Madeleines for about 8-10 minutes until they are golden yellow. Let the finished Madeleines cool on a wire rack. Use the rest of the batter as described for the second batch of Madeleines.

For the glaze, chop the white chocolate. Place with the coconut oil in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir with a spatula. When the chocolate almost melts, remove bowl from heat and place on a towel.
Stir with spatula until every last piece of chocolate melts completely and add the strawberry powder and blood orange zest. Mix well. Glaze the lower part of the madeleines and sprinkle with the crumbled raspberries.

Tip: If you leave out the white chocolate glaze, this recipe is even suitable for babies from 1 year.