Madeleines
Madeleines are a delightful French pastry in the shape of a shell. They are a classic and as such, need nothing else with them, but a cup of tea.
Who doesn’t recognize the iconic shell-shaped madeleines from France?
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I think that they’re probably one of the most famous pastries worldwide, wouldn’t you agree?
But how many people have made them? That number would be so much smaller, and it’s understandable due to the fact that you need a special baking tray.
As you can probably tell from the photos, I’ve checked “madeleines” off my list. The madeleines turned out with crisp edges, yet cake-like inside. There was no “eggy” flavor (which I dislike immensely), so the lemon and vanilla tastes came through instead. I’ve probably made about 10 dozen of these delightful pastries since trying them for the first time, and they’ve always turned out incredibly well and are delicious with a cup of tea!
As noted above, you will need a special mold/tray to make these; I would recommend having two as it’s rather a pain to only make one dozen at a time. I bought my madeleine mold at Sur La Table, but I love this mini sized madeleine pan and it’s imported from France.
UPDATE: since this is one of my earliest posts, today I’m updating my earlier photos and wanted to include that my good friend, Jill Colonna who is a “Macaron Queen” and lives in Paris, has two fabulous cookbooks, Mad About Macarons and Teatime in Paris!
One of Jill’s recipes: Passion Fruit and Lemon Meringue Tarts
She includes many step by step recipes so that you can re-create impressive Parisian pastries in your own kitchen, including Honey, Rose and Green Tea Madeleines (in Teatime in Paris.)
Madeleines
Adapted from an Epicurious recipe Makes 3 dozen
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients (note: I’ve included cups, but a scale is SO much more precise and necessary in pastry making- I highly recommend the small investment in purchasing one)
Ingredients
- unsalted butter
- flour
- baking powder
- fresh lemon zest
- vanilla bean
- sugar
- eggs
- whole milk
- mild honey
Directions for Madeleines
Place oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
Brush molds with melted butter.
Sift together flour and baking powder into large bowl, then whisk in lemon zest.
Scrape seeds from vanilla bean with a tip of a paring knife, into a smaller bowl (save pod for another use) then add sugar and rub together until vanilla is well dispersed.
Whisk in eggs, milk, honey and 1 3/4 cups (7 oz) melted butter, then fold into flour mixture, until just combined.
Place a rounded tablespoon of madeleine batter into each mold, filling about 2/3 full.
Bake on bottom rack for about 5 minutes, then rotate tray 180° and move to top rack for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges
If the madeleines don’t come out easily, use a butter knife or small wooden tool to help remove them from the molds. (If you re-use the molds right away, make sure to wash them well, and brush with butter again.)
Place madeleines on a cooling rack and serve as is, slightly warm, or add a light dusting of powdered sugar when cool.
Madeleines are perfect for an afternoon snack, or for afternoon tea!
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Madeleines
Ingredients
- 7 oz butter (unsalted, melted and cooled, and extra to brush molds)
- 1 ⅔ cups flour (all-purpose)
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp fresh lemon zest (finely grated)
- 1 vanilla bean (halved lengthwise-see notes)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 eggs (large, room temperature)
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 ½ Tbsp honey (mild)
Instructions
- Place oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
- Brush molds with melted butter.
- Sift together flour and baking powder into large bowl, then whisk in lemon zest.
- Scrape seeds from vanilla bean with a tip of a paring knife, into a smaller bowl (save pod for another use) then add sugar and rub together until vanilla is well dispersed.
- Whisk in eggs, milk, honey and melted butter, then fold into flour mixture, until just combined.
- Place a rounded tablespoon of batter into each mold, filling about ⅔ full.
- Bake on bottom rack for about 5 minutes, then rotate tray 180° and move to top rack for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and take pastries from the tray. TIP: if the Madeleines don't come out easily, use a butter knife or small wooden tool to help remove them from the molds. (If you re-use the molds right away, make sure to wash them well, and brush with butter again.)
- Place on cooling rack and serve as is, slightly warm, or add a light dusting of powdered sugar when cool.
Notes
- You can use 1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder or 1/2 tsp extract in place of vanilla bean, but the flavor won't be as intense
Nutrition
I received a copy of Teatime in Paris, but am under no obligation to write this or promote it in any way. I love the book and the recipes are solid, so I want to share this with my readers.
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I have a 16 count Madeline mold tray (large, not mini) that I purchased at Williams and Sonoma, how would I adjust the ingredients to accommodate this size tray?
Hi Asha, I don’t adjust the recipe to accommodate the tray, but vice versa. I too, only have one tray, so I just wash it in between batches. If you don’t want that as many, you could halve the recipe. Let me know how they turn out :) Enjoy!
Oh, I love Madeleines! Great pictures, I can taste them through the screen!
Thanks, Renee! :) CC
your blog is making me hungry!
That’s a good thing for me! Thank you!!