Madeleines
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Classic French madeleines are so simple to prepare — and, yet, so wonderful.
Easy to make and quick to bake, madeleines are mini butter cakes from the Lorraine region of France with a distinctive shell-like shape and hump in the center. Traditional recipes like this one include very finely ground nuts, usually almonds, and many variations are flavored with lemon or citrus. The cakes have a buttery almond flavor, pound cake-like texture, and crisp, toasted edges.
Madeleines are best warm from the oven, so try to serve them freshly baked. The batter needs to be refrigerated for at least an hour (or overnight) in the mold before baking, so it’s easy to just pop them in the oven right before you plan to serve them. In France, madeleines are served with coffee or tea in the morning or for le goûter, the 4 o’clock snack.
The recipe is adapted from The Complete Robuchon by Joel Robuchon (Grub Street, 2008). His original recipe is made with egg whites only. It is excellent as written, but I didn’t want you to have to sacrifice 6 egg yolks! If you’d like to try it, increase the butter to 14 tablespoons and use 6 large egg whites. Finally, you’ll need madeleine pans to bake traditional shell-shaped cakes; a mini muffin pan also works beautifully (the bake time is the same).
What You’ll Need To Make Madeleines
The recipe calls for super-fine almond flour, which is easy to find in most supermarkets. If you’re baking for someone with a nut allergy, or just don’t want to use nuts, the almond flour can be replaced with more all-purpose flour.
If you’d like to try a lemon variation, add 2 packed teaspoons of lemon zest to the batter.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Spray the madeleine (or mini muffin) pans with baking spray with flour. It’s best to use a light-colored metal baking pan, as the madeleines darken quickly in a dark-colored pan. (If a dark metal pan is the only option, start checking for doneness around 8 to 10 minutes.)
In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, salt, and confectioners’ sugar.
Whisk to combine.
In another medium bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the flour-sugar mixture.
Whisk until the mixture is evenly combined.
Add the melted butter, honey, and vanilla.
Whisk until the batter is smooth and thickened.
Fill the pan(s): Transfer the batter to a large liquid measuring cup. Carefully pour the batter into the into the hollows of the molds so that they are almost completely full. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight to firm up before baking. (If you only have one madeleine pan, the extra batter can be refrigerated in the liquid measuring cup or a separate container, and spooned into the mold once it is available; no need to refrigerate the batter in the mold again before baking.)
About 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Place a piece of parchment paper over a cooling rack (the parchment will prevent the rack from leaving indentation marks on the cakes).
Bake one pan at a time for 11 to 13 minutes, until the madeleines are pale and firm to the touch on top and golden around the edges. (The bottoms brown more quickly than the tops, so keep the tops pale.) Remove the pan from the oven and let the madeleines cool in the pan for 3 to 4 minutes.
Using a butter knife to lift up the edges, transfer the madeleines to a parchment paper-lined cooling rack, shell-side up, and cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve warm, dusted with confectioners’ sugar if desired.
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Madeleines
Classic French madeleines are so simple to prepare — and, yet, so wonderful.
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup super-fine almond flour (or replace with more all-purpose flour)
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Special Equipment
- Madeleine pan(s) or mini muffin pan
- Baking spray with flour, such as Pam Baking or Baker's Joy
Instructions
- Spray the madeleine or mini muffin pans (see note) with baking spray with flour. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, salt, and confectioners' sugar.
- In another medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the flour-sugar mixture to the eggs and whisk until the mixture is evenly combined. Add the melted butter, honey, and vanilla and whisk until the batter is smooth and thickened.
- Fill the pan(s): Transfer the batter to a large liquid measuring cup. Carefully pour the batter into the into the hollows of the molds so that they are almost completely full. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight to firm up before baking. (If you only have one madeleine pan, the extra batter can be refrigerated in the liquid measuring cup or a separate container, and spooned into the mold once it is available; no need to refrigerate the batter in the mold again before baking.)
- About 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Place a piece of parchment paper over a cooling rack (the parchment will prevent the rack from leaving indentation marks on the cakes).
- Bake one pan at a time for 11 to 13 minutes, until the madeleines are pale and firm to the touch on top and golden around the edges. (The bottoms brown more quickly than the tops, so keep the tops pale.) Remove the pan from the oven and let the madeleines cool in the pan for 3 to 4 minutes. Using a butter knife to lift up the edges, transfer the madeleines to a cooling rack, shell-side up, and cool for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the edges feel crisp. Serve warm, dusted with confectioners' sugar if desired.
- Madeleines are best served freshly baked, but leftover cakes can be stored on a plate in a single layer, loosely covered with foil, at room temperature for up to 1 day.
- Note: It's best to use a light-colored metal baking pan, as the madeleines darken quickly in a dark-colored pan. If a dark metal pan is the only option, start checking for doneness around 8 to 10 minutes.
- To Make Lemon Madeleines: Add 2 packed teaspoons lemon zest to the batter when you add the melted butter, honey, and vanilla. (You'll need two lemons.)
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (24 servings)
- Serving size: 1 cake
- Calories: 122
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 11 g
- Sugar: 8 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 34 mg
- Cholesterol: 39 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I’m using 2 black madeleine pans and they keep getting slightly burnt. I’ve even tried baking them for less time. Should I use a lower temperature than 400*F?
Hi Pierre, Yes with the dark pans I would try lowering the temperature to 375°F.
I made these and all went well until I tried to extricate them from the pans. I released the edges with a butter knife but they would not lift out without further prising. But that resulted in a piece of the cake being left behind in the pan. This was true for those that were still pale on the hump after 11 minutes and those I inadvertently left in the full 13 minutes without checking and their humps are more golden.
I followed the recipe pretty well but instead of using a spray for greasing I did it the old-fashioned way with butter and flour. The other deviation was that once I had mixed everything together there was no way that I could pour my mixture into the madeleine pans so I spooned it in and left them for only a brief rest (10 minutes) in the fridge while the oven was coming to temperature. I figured that maybe I got this thick mixture (it didn’t even drop off the spoon easily) was because I didn’t use the melted butter immediately although it was still liquid or that our house heating is at 68 F or both! So thinking that my mix was the consistency you were aiming for with your hour’s rest in the fridge I shortchanged that.
I have made madeleines before but not for years but with wheat flour only whereas in this recipe there is also almond flour. I liked that for the flavor and as it reduces the carbs but might that be a factor in the sticking?
In any case my madeleines taste great but every one of them has a bit of cake stuck on the ridged side from what I salvaged from the pans!
Hi Barbara, I’m sorry you had a problem with these sticking! I know that it doesn’t have anything to do with the almond flour and don’t think it would have been caused by your batter being thicker. I’m assuming it was the butter/flour method you used to treat the pan. If you make these again, I’d suggest using a baking spray with flour like this. Hope that helps!
Hi Barbara, Glad you enjoyed the madeleines but sorry you had an issue with sticking! I would try the baking spray with flour next time – with pans with lots of crevices, it is more effective than butter and flour.
Just made these and they turned out great! Very moist with crunchy caramelized edges. Will be baking more very soon! Tried another recipe first and these are so much better.
it doesn’t say how much of each ingredient you need
Hi Dylan, It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions underneath. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, to the right of the recipe name, you’ll see an orange/red button that says Jump to Recipe – if you click on that, it will take you directly to the recipe. Hope that clarifies!
Hello Jenn Segal –
Enjoy your recipes looking forward to bake the Madeleine recipe
Was surprised to see no baking powder listed in the ingredients, just thought I check before going ahead with the recipe
Thanks
Anna
Hi Anna, Yes that’s correct; there is no baking powder in the recipe. The eggs provide plenty of lift.
I made these today, and they were amazing! I shared them with a neighbor who declared them the best madelines she had ever had. Who knew madeleines were so easy to make!
This recipe looks yummy! How full would you fill a mini muffin pan and would the bake time be the same? Thank you!
Hi Toni, You’d fill the mini muffin wells just shy of full, and the bake time and yield is the same. Please LMK how it turns out!
I’m so excited to try this recipe! I bought a madeleine pan in the spring, but haven’t had the opportunity to try it out. All of the recipes I have tried from you have been excellent (LOVE the French onion soup recipe BTW), so I’m eager to try this one. Thanks!
Can’t wait to give these a try. What are your thoughts about substituting the all purpose flour with a gluten-free flour?
Hi Kathy, I’ve never made these with gluten-free flour so I can’t say from experience but I think it should work. If you don’t already have a favorite GF flour for baking, number of readers have commented that they have good luck with King Arthur and Cup4Cup gluten-free flour. Please LMK how they turn out!
I just baked these today with gluten-free flour. It was my first time making madeleines. They turned out great. I used a silicone pan.
I may try to cut back a little on the sugar and the butter next time though.
Hi Anne
Did you oil the and flour silicone pan? Thanks
OK, I’m going to order a pan on Amazon right now so I can bake these up, with the lemon zest.