French Madeleines Recipe

French madeleine are small sponge cakes with a delicious buttery lemon and vanilla flavour. These delicious treats originate from two communes of the Lorraine region in northeastern France – Commercy and Liverdun. In order to get the shell-like shape, a pan with shell-shaped depressions is used. They are best eaten warm served with a dusting of icing sugar.

FRENCH MADELEINES

For this recipe for madeleine cakes I resorted to chef Julia Child. An American celebrity chef who trained in France at Le Cordon Blue and wrote the best-seller Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She’s also know for her TV appearances, which are really fun to watch, some can be found on YouTube. You might have also been introduced to her via the movie Julie & Julia.

Anyway, back to the baking. Madeleine cakes have a so called belly. This is created during baking, when the outside of the batter is baked and the dough in the center still wants to rise. The pan shape and the belly is what give these little cakes its characteristic look. I found a madeleine pan a thrift store not too long ago and I just had to take it home. You can of course find a madeleine pan online if you cannot find it in a store.

BAKING FRENCH MADELEINE CAKES

Before you start baking, it’s best to have all ingredients at room temperature. You should start by combining flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl and add three quarters of the egg. Then beat vigorously with a wooden spoon to blend into a heavy cream – if it’s very stiff, then you can add a little bit of the remaining egg, one droplet at a time. Set aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring all of the butter to a simmer until light brown and leave to cool slightly.

Once the butter has cooled a bit, you can add the remaining egg into the batter and stir in the butter. Add the salt, vanilla and lemon zest and beat until thoroughly blended, about one minute. Cover the batter, and set aside in the refrigerator for at least one hour. By letting the batter rest, it will help the cake to create its characteristic belly.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Brush the madeleine pan with 1 tablespoon of butter (keep the remaining tablespoon for the second batch) and dust the pan lightly with flour. Divide half of the batter over the 12 cups in the madeleine pan, a generous tablespoon per madeleine cup. Bake the cakes on a wire rack in the upper or middle part of the oven for 14 to 15 minutes, or until cakes are lightly browned around the edges, humped in the middle and slightly shrunk from the cups. Once they are done, unmold them onto a wire rack.

When they are cool, turn them shell side up and optionally dust with some icing sugar before serving. Repeat with the other half of the batter to make 24 madeleines in total, or if you have two pans you can of course bake them at the same time. They are best eaten fresh and will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two in an airtight container.

WHAT INGREDIENTS DO YOU NEED FOR THIS RECIPE?

You will most likely have most ingredients for this recipe already in your cupboard and fridge.

• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter (plus another 2 tbsp for the pan)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest
• Optional: icing sugar for sprinkling on top

==Special tools

• madeleine pan
• pastry brush
• sieve

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French Madeleines recipe

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Serves: 4 Prep Time: 1 hour Cooking Time: 14 minutes 14 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

Madeleines (yields 24)

• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter (plus another 2 tbsp for the pan)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest
• Optional: icing sugar for sprinkling on top

Special tools

• madeleine pan
• pastry brush
• sieve

Instructions

French Madeleines recipe

1. Combine flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl and add three quarters of the egg. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon to blend into a heavy cream – if very stiff, add a little bit of the remaining egg, one droplet at a time. Set aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring all of the butter to a simmer until light brown and leave to cool slightly.
2. Add the remaining egg into the batter and stir in the butter. Add the salt, vanilla and lemon zest and beat until thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Cover the batter, and set aside in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
4. Brush the madeleine pan with 1 tablespoon of butter (keep the remaining tablespoon for the second batch) and dust the pan lightly with flour.
5. Divide half of the batter over the 12 cups in the madeleine pan, a generous tablespoon per madeleine cup.
6. Bake on a wire rack in the upper or middle part of the oven for 14 to 15 minutes, or until cakes are lightly browned around the edges, humped in the middle and slightly shrunk from the cups.
7. Unmold onto a wire rack. When cool, turn shell side up and dust with icing sugar before serving (optional). Repeat with the other half of the batter to make 24 madeleines in total, or if you have two pans you can of course bake them at the same time.
8. They are best eaten fresh and will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two in an airtight container.

Notes

// Recipe adapted from Julia Child’s Kitchen by Julia Child//The madeleines are best eaten on the same day, but you can also freeze them once they're cooled down