French muffins or madeleines with chocolate

How to make French muffins with chocolate topping.

The French muffins are the same as the famous madeleines of you will have probably heard.

In this case, covered with a chocolate coating at one end to make them even more irresistible, if possible.

This French sweet is addictive and dangerously sized. It is eaten in two bites and it is so easy to eat one after the other without realizing that you are going to use one more and you find that the plate is empty.

To prepare them you need a special mold with shell-shaped cavities, hence the beautiful shape they have. This does not mean that we cannot prepare the dough and bake it in the paper capsules of our life-long cupcakes .

Although the result will not be the same. The recipe directions are based on these molds, so we cannot guarantee how they will look otherwise.

They say that genuine Madeleines are characterized by the use of hazelnut butter or beurre noisette , which is achieved by heating the butter over the fire until the dairy solids are burned and the fat acquires a delicious hazelnut aroma that is transmitted to the sponge cake .

We have skipped this step and the result seems exceptional to us. In any case, we will tell you in case you dare with the beurre noisette . Oh la la.

Preparation of the dough for French muffins

1. In a deep container we introduce the sugar, the eggs and the butter in cubes and soft.
2. We beat with electric rods until obtaining a uniform, whitish and airy mass.
3. It will have increased in volume due to the air incorporated with the shake.
4. We can add the melted butter, which is much easier to incorporate into the rest of the ingredients. We leave it to your choice.
5. Then we add the flour and the chemical yeast, passing both through a sieve.
6. Remove with a tongue or spatula with enveloping movements, from the bottom up, gently so as not to lose the air that we have incorporated with the whipping of the dough.
7. In case of using unsalted butter, we add a pinch of salt to the dough at the moment we incorporate the flour. This will enhance the flavor of the muffins.
8. We cover the container with the dough with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

Shape and type of cupcakes mold. Tips

1. We let it sit for at least an hour or even overnight. We can bake them in the morning, first thing, and take them for breakfast.
2. Once the dough rests, we fill with it the cavities of our mold or molds.
3. In this case we are using a silicone mold, which is luxury mold release and does not require pre-cooling.
4. In case of using a metal mold, it will be necessary to grease each cavity with butter and sprinkle with flour and then store it in the fridge until the moment of use. It has to be very cold. 
5. You have to fill the molds about 3/4 of the capacity, no more. Otherwise the dough will come out and the French muffins will not get that beautiful characteristic shape.
6. We put the uncovered molds in the fridge, regardless of the material they are made of, for an hour.
7. Meanwhile we heat the oven to 230º C.

Baking French Cupcakes

1. Once the hour has passed, we put the molds in the central position of the oven. We deposit them on the hot baking tray or on a bread stone, if we have it.
2. We cook the madeleines 4 minutes before lowering the temperature to 180º C and continue cooking the madeleines for 3 or 4 more minutes.
3. The exact time will depend on the size of the mold so it is advisable to be vigilant because they are some buns that are easily passed and can be dried in a mess.
4. We remove the madeleines from the oven and remove from the mold immediately. For this we invert the mold and let them fall.
5. We may have to hit one end against the counter, in the case of the metal mold. Madeleines tend to peel off easily.
6. Let the madeleines cool on a metal rack before continuing with the recipe. Fortunately, it doesn’t take long, so we can prepare the coverage.

Chocolate topping and final presentation of the muffins

1. Chop the chocolate and put it in a deep bowl not too big.
2. We melt in the microwave at short heat strokes and medium power. We remove between heat stroke and heat stroke to ensure that it does not burn.
3. We submerge each madeleine halfway, take it out and keep it in the bowl with the melted chocolate for a while until the excess is eliminated.
4. We place them on the edge of a plate or on a metal grid until the chocolate hardens before serving.
5. We put them back on the rack and sprinkle with the rose petals, pistachios and a little coarse salt.

If you still do not have it clear, I leave you a step by step in photos of this recipe for French cupcakes . Do not miss any detail and they will be perfect.

Tips for perfect French chocolate muffins

• It is essential that the mold and the dough are cold and the oven very hot. The thermal shock is what makes the exterior of the madeleines crisp and the interior juicy and fluffy. About 15 madelaines will come out in this batch.
• Madeleines can be decorated with chopped nuts, poppy or sesame seeds, dehydrated raspberry, etc. or take as is.
• In case of not decorating the madeleines with chocolate coating, we recommend adding lemon zest to the dough for a touch of exceptional flavor.
• For those who do not have a silicone but a metal mold, it is recommended to spread the cavities of the same with butter and sprinkle with flour before filling. In this way they are easily removed from the mold.
•  In case of not consuming all the madeleines in the day, we keep them in an airtight container so that they do not dry out.