Baking these madeleines for someone is a far better ‘I love you’ than a bunch of flowers.
Makes 16
100g (3½oz) salted butter
100g (3½oz) caster sugar
2 eggs
100g (3½oz) plain flour, sifted
A few drops of rosewater
For the fondant icing
200g (7oz) ready-to-roll fondant icing
40ml (1½fl oz) water
A few drops of rosewater
Pink or red food colouring
100g (3½oz) white chocolate
Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5 and place a madeleine tin in the freezer. Melt the butter until it just starts to brown. Set aside. Beat the sugar and eggs for 4 minutes or until frothy and falling in ribbons from the whisk. Add the flour and butter down the side of the bowl so you don’t deflate the mix, then fold in until smooth. Add rosewater to taste. Remove the tin from the freezer and spoon about 2tsp of batter into each hole. Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until the edges just start to brown. Remove from the tins and cool on a wire rack. Beat the icing until it breaks up, then add the water and whisk until pourable. Add a little colouring and rosewater to taste, then spoon on the madeleines. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water then pipe over the icing.