Chocolate Madeleines with Warm Chocolate Sauce

Melt the chocolate, butter and vanilla in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Don’t let the base of the bowl touch the water. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Beat the eggs and sugar in an electric mixer until very thick and pale and tripled in volume. Using a large metal spoon, fold through the cooled chocolate mixture. Sift over the combined dry ingredients and gently but thoroughly fold together, making sure there are no pockets of flour in the batter. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 190˚C.

Brush the madeleine tray well with butter and chill for 10 minutes. Fill each hole with a generous spoonful of batter. The batter will be quite thick. Return the remaining batter to the fridge.

Bake for 7-8 minutes until risen and just firm to the touch. Don’t overbake or the madeleines will be dry. Transfer to a cooling rack. Rinse the tray, dry and re-butter if you only have one tray.

Chocolate sauce: Put the cream and rum in a small saucepan and bring to just below the boil. Add the chocolate and whisk to make a smooth sauce. If making the sauce ahead, rewarm to serve.

To serve: Place the warm madeleines on a serving platter and dust with icing sugar. Serve with the warm chocolate sauce recipe below. Makes 24