And now for something not so new.

Old habit die hard and I guess that's true for many older people. At least it is with me, especially when I go visiting. I absolutely loathe to go empty handed: a custom that seems to have fallen by the wayside as the years have passed. So, being of the old school I generally find that something fresh from the oven is usually very welcome.

Yesterday when we went to see my husband's brother and to catch up with our niece daughter who was visiting from Sydney I decided to throw together one of my quick little tasties - a batch of Lemon Madelaines. This is a recipe which has saved me on more than one occasion when the cookie and cake tins have been bare and is delightfully quick and simple to do. So for anyone who wants to add a tried and true recipe to their collection, here is my version of these little French delicacies.

LEMON MADELAINES

1 egg

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/3 cup plain flour

2 oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preheat oven to hot. Grease a madelaine pan or a 12 hole tart tray.

Beat the eggs and sugar in a small bowl until mixture is thick and creamy. Beat in the essence. Fold in the rind. Sieve flour over the top and carefully fold in taking care not to lose too much volume. Finally fold in the cool melted butter.

Drop tablespoons of mixture into each pan hole and bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Stand for 5 minutes before turning onto wire racks to cool.

Dust with sifted icing sugar and serve.