My lovely Karen bought me a silicone madeleine mould for Christmas. Because I didn’t have one. See? That’s what friends who love food and cooking as much as you do, do.

I kept meaning to bake them, but never got around to it because Life, but today I worked from home, and in a gap between meetings decided to make some cakes. There’s something almost naughty about doing a non-work activity on a work day, even if you are working from home.

Cue a Google search, and finding a recipe that didn’t involve a bloody piping bag. My dedication to baking does not run that deep.

Michel Roux Jnr to the rescue! That is a lot of lemon, so the cakes are more lemon-flavoured than others I’ve tasted, but still very nice. I am tempted to try cinnamon ones, but then I always am.

Ingredients

2 free-range eggs (I used Clarence Court Burford Browns because the yolks give such a gorgeous colour)

100g/3½oz caster sugar

100g/3½oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1 lemon, juice and zest

¾ tsp baking powder

100g/3½oz butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for greasing

I also added 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation method

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Brush the madeleine tray with melted butter then shake in a little flour to coat, tapping out the excess. (I used a silicone tray, it needed no flour)

Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a bowl until frothy. (I used a large plastic jug so I could just pour the mixture into the tray.)

Lightly whisk in the remaining ingredients. Leave to stand for 20 minutes before carefully pouring into the prepared madeleine tray. (see, jug!)

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the mixture has risen a little in the middle and is fully cooked through. Transfer the madeleines to a wire rack and leave for a few minutes to cool slightly.

These are best eaten within an hour of cooking. <— Michel Roux Jnr said so!