Easy French Madeleines and Variations
Dust off that madeleine mold you have sitting in the back of your cupboard! These gems are worth it!
Madeleine Recipe Variations: Chocolate-Orange Madeleines, Orange-Spice Madeleines, and classic Vanilla Madeleines.
When writing the newest edition of my Everyday French cookbook, I had to axe quite a few recipes from the old edition to make room for new recipes and all the all-new photos. Here’s one that, with much trepidation, I omitted. But, here, the recipe lives on ….
In truth, most French cooks don’t need to bake their own madeleines—the famous shell-shaped tea cakes are available in commercial packages at the supermarket and, better yet, freshly made at pâtisseries.
Happily for those of us who don’t live in France, madeleines are very easy to make—as long as you get a handle on the trickiest part: getting them out of the molds.
How to Get Madeleines Out of the Molds
I’ve had mixed success simply greasing and flouring the molds. I’ve also seen recipes that call for brushing the molds with equal parts melted butter and flour, and this method works somewhat better. Better still is using a nonstick baking spray that contains flour.
However, best of all are silicone madeleine molds, which you need only spray lightly; not only do the cakes pop out easily, but the grooves of the shells are more pronounced. If you love madeleines, invest in these; find them at kitchen supply shops or online.
By the way, these are true gems at appetizer parties when you want to offer something sweet
and elegant—yet handy to eat—to round out the savory offerings.
One caveat: These are best the day they’re made.
Easy French Madeleines Recipe and Variations
Makes 2 dozen miniature tea cakes.
Nonstick baking spray with flour, such as Pam Baking
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Confectioners’ sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Coat two (12-cavity) madeleine molds (each cavity should be about 3 inches long, with a 2-tablespoon capacity) with baking spray. If using silicone molds, place them on baking sheets to make it easier to put them into and remove them from the oven (metal molds do not need to be placed on baking sheets).
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs and vanilla on high speed until thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the sugar until thick and shiny, about 5 minutes more. Sift the flour and salt, one third at a time, over the egg mixture, folding in after each addition just until blended. Gently stir in the cooled melted butter.
3. Spoon the batter into the madeleine molds, filling each three-quarters full. Note that you may have an extra tablespoon or two of batter left over; discard this rather than overfilling the molds.
4. Bake until the edges are golden and the tops spring back when lightly touched, 8 to 11 minutes. Let the cakes stand for 1 minute in their molds, then loosen with the tip of a knife and invert onto a wire rack to cool. Before serving, sift confectioners’ sugar over the madeleines.
Variations:
Citrus Madeleines Recipe: Add 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon, lime, or orange zest with the vanilla extract.
Orange-Chocolate Madeleines Recipe: Add 1/2 teaspoon pure orange extract and 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest with the vanilla extract. Decrease the flour to 1/4 cup and add 2 tablespoons sifted Dutch processed cocoa powder to the flour mixture.
Orange-Spice Madeleines Recipe: Add 1 teaspoon grated orange zest with the vanilla extract. Sift 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1⁄8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg with the flour.
