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.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Legal
All rights reserved. Perfectly Provence articles and other content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translations into other languages) or redistributed without written permission. For usage information, please contact us.
Syndication InformationAffiliate Information
As an Amazon Associate, this website earns from qualifying purchases. Some recipes, posts and pages may have affiliate links. If you purchase via these links, we receive a small commission that does not impact your price. Thank you in advance for supporting our work to maintain Perfectly Provence.
Related Provence Articles
Recipe for Green Olive Tapenade from Provence
August 20, 2015
Olive trees have grown in Provence since at least the time of the Greeks, roughly 600 BC. Olive oil was a prized commodity during the Roman era. At 4,500 tons per year, France is not considered a large global producer. However, the quality is considered to be excellent. The Provence Gourmet shares his recipe for …
Savoury Anchovy Puff Pastry Bites for Cocktail Hour
December 2, 2019
These Anchovy Puff Pastry bites are a bit of a "throw-back" appetizer from a book of retro holiday recipes. Since not everyone likes the taste of anchovy, you can change the filling - sundried tomato, basil pesto or tapenade all work well.…
Appetizer Tomato, Olive and Goat Cheese Tarts
September 16, 2020
This appetizer, a Provence Gourmet recipe for tomato, olive and goat cheese tarts, is delicious. We prepared the tarts for a starter course during one of Gilles Conchy’s cooking classes. If you are looking for hands-on, fun classes in Provence, then look no further. Gilles puts you to work preparing traditional Provencal recipes and some …
Provencal Appetizer Anchovy Dip
September 14, 2022
This velvety anchoiade-inspired dip is a gentler take on the salty Provencal sauce. I like to serve it with plenty of crunchy radishes, some quickly blanched asparagus and waxy potatoes for an easy aperitif platter to share. Chill your radishes in some iced water before serving for extra crunch. Take a look at the gorgeous …
No Comment