Everyone Loves Madeleines Salées Try this Savoury Version
Appetizer · Barbara Schuerenberg · Provencal Recipes · TasteMadeleines are typically small sponge cakes made with a génoise batter. The mixture of flour, sugar, butter and ground nuts is baked in a unique baking pan with shell-like depressions. The petite madeleine was first created in northeastern France in the Lorraine area.
This recipe for Madeleines Salées uses ingredients more typical of Provence – olive oil, tomatoes, cheese, basil and thyme. These little bites are perfect with some chilled Provencal rosé.

Savory Madeleines Salées
This madeleine cake batter combines ingredients that are more typical of Provence into a savoury bite. You can play with the combination to suit your tastes. Other variations might include olive, anchovy and goat cheese.
Ingredients
- 100 g sun-dried tomatoes in oil weighed (measured) without the oil, ½ tightly packed cup
- 1 tbsp thyme leaves chopped
- a handful of basil leaves finely chopped
- 2 eggs
- 80 g (½ cup) flour
- 15 g (1 ½ tsp) baking powder
- 15 g (¼ cup) Grated Cheese Gruyère or Emmental
- 3 tbsp (1/8 cup) olive oil
- a pinch of Salt
- a few rounds of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 240C/475F
- Chop the sundried tomatoes into medium fine chunks.
- Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Mix the yolks (with a spoon) with the flour and the baking powder.
- Beat the egg whites just a little bit with a fork to just loosen them up, then stir them into the yolk and flour mix.
- Add the olive oil, a pinch of salt and the pepper and mix really well with a balloon whisk.
- Stir in the grated cheese, the chopped herbs and tomatoes.
- Butter and very lightly flour your Madeleine moulds.
- Fill about one tsp of dough into each Madeleine, taking care not to overload.
- Bake them at 240C/475F for exactly 4 minutes, then, without opening the oven door, lower the temperature to 210C/425F and bake for another 6 minutes.
- Allow to cool and serve with cocktails.
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