Madeleines a Classic French Recipe that are Easy to Make
Cakes & Cookies · Dessert · Paula Kane · Provencal Recipes · TasteMany people shy away from French cooking and desserts because they seem to complicated. However, the reality is many recipes are quick and easy to make including these classic madeleines. Baked off fresh right before serving is best and easy to do. This recipe is courtesy of Daniel Boulud, but I added a little vanilla. I love vanilla… and I think it makes it just that much tastier. I found this recipe made 22-24 regular size madeleines.
Madeleines
These little sweet treats are not quite cookies and not quite cakes. Easy to make and hard to keep in stock.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp lemon zest or orange zest, finely grated
- 1 tsp vanilla paste (if you have. If not, any good quality vanilla)
- 6 tbsp (¾ stick) unsalted butter melted and warm
- non-stick vegetable oil spray or softened butter
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Whisk baking powder, salt and flour in a small bowl.
- Whisk eggs, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, honey and lemon zest in a medium bowl until smooth.
- Whisk in dry ingredients until just incorporated, then whisk in melted butter until smooth.
- Transfer batter to a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag and chill at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Lightly coat madeleine pans with nonstick vegetable oil spray (or soft butter) and dust with flour, tapping out excess.
- Snip end off pastry bag (or 1 corner of resealable bag) and pipe batter into each mold, filling two-thirds full.
- Bake madeleines until edges are golden brown and centers are puffed and lightly spring back when gently pressed, about 5 minutes for mini and 8−10 minutes for regular cakes.
- Tap pan against counter to release madeleines.
- Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.
Notes
Special Equipment: Three 20-cake mini madeleine pans or two 12-cake regular madeleine pans* Vanilla paste is essentially a small jar of scraped-out vanilla pod, so you get the benefit and potency of fresh vanilla with a pretty speckled end product.Batter can be made 1 day ahead and kept chilled until you are ready to bake.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Private Baux de Provence & Saint Remy de Provence Wine Tour from Marseille
Create your perfect private wine tour in Provence, tailored to your preferences (half-day or full-day). Whether you want to combine wine tasting with stunning landscapes, charming villages, or cultural exploration, we’ll design an itinerary just for you.
Book this ExperienceLegal
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 Financiers a Sweet French Treat
December 7, 2020
Almond and browned butter are the main ingredients of a little French pastry called a financier. Originally, these pastries were called visitandines, named after the order of French nuns who created the recipe in the Middle Ages. I’m not sure in what shape the Sisters of the Visitation made them but, in the late 1800s, …
La Tourte de Fèves a Fava Bean Tart from Nice, France
April 17, 2023
Fève(s) is a French word with several meanings – a trinket in the epiphany cake, chocolate disks used by chocolatiers and in baking, and fava beans. So in this Niçoise dessert recipe, we are talking about fava beans for the tart (tourte) filling, egg, sugar, and hints of citrus. The recipe for la Tourte de …
Chocolate Hearts Coeur à la Crème au Chocolat
February 13, 2019
This dessert – a heart of cream – might just as easily be called “You had me at chocolate.” Coeur à la Crème au Chocolat lives up to its name: creamy, chocolaty and delicious. Make this dessert at least a day in advance to ensure the liquid has time to drain. This dessert is straightforward …
This Apricot Tart Recipe is Made for Sweet Dreams
May 5, 2023
Once again, I was awakened by a dream about food. This one, though, was even more specific than the one for Bistecca con Crema di Porcini. This dream was about a dessert and included all the parts of the recipe — the crust, the fruit layer, and the custard. I made these Apricot Saffron Rose …
No Comment