Homemade Madeleines
Dan Grimes made these gorgeous Madeleines and posted the link to the recipe on The Cook’s Cook Community Forum on Facebook.
“I have wanted to try and make French Madeleines since the first time I tasted one of these delectable little delights… and I finally took the plunge! The enticingly soft and pillowy ‘belly’ and that oh-so-satisfying light crunch on the edges… heaven! These are flavored with a touch of vanilla, a bit of lemon zest, and the classic buttery goodness they are known for. I will definitely be making these again soon.”
Be sure to allow time to refrigerate the batter for at least six hours before baking.
Thanks to Nagi, and RecipeTin Eats for the recipe!
Ingredients
- 90 grams (3/4 cup) plus 15 ml (1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour
- 5.3 ml (1 1/4 teaspoons) baking powder
- 3 large eggs¹ , at room temperature
- 130 grams (2/3 cup) superfine sugar
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) salt
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) vegetable oil
- 45 ml (3 tablespoons) milk
- 10 ml (2 teaspoons) honey
- 10 ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 10 ml (2 teaspoons) lemon zest
- 135 grams (9.5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- Canola oil spray
- Confectioners' sugar (optional, for dusting)
Preparation
- Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and sugar and whisk vigorously for 2 minutes until it becomes paler in colour and it’s foamy (or 1 minute on high speed with handheld beater).
2. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture in 3 parts, whisking gently after each addition until combined. Add salt, oil, milk, honey, vanilla and lemon. Mix until combined. Add butter, mix gently with a rubber spatula until combined. The batter is fairly thin but should leave a faint ribbon briefly on the surface. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
3. To bake: Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan (390°F) for at least 30 minutes². Pour the madeleine batter into 2 medium piping bags (or 1 large) either fitted with a round tip nozzle around 0.7 – 1.2 cm (0.3 – 0.5″) wide, or snip the end off. (You can refrigerate until required at this stage, or freeze 2 months.)
4. Spray the madeleine pan with oil. Fill each hole almost to the top (to just below the rim). Bake until light golden, about 10 minutes. Unmold straight away. Pile onto a serving platter. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately³, while hot!
Notes
¹Eggs need to be at room temperature and not fridge-cold, to ensure they incorporate easily. Quick way to warm up fridge-cold eggs: Place eggs in a large bowl, cover with warm tap water (just warm, not hot) and leave for 5 min. Wipe dry, then use per recipe.
²Preheat oven for at least 30 minutes to ensure there is minimal heat loss when you open the door. This matters for this recipe because the bake time is so short, and the signature “hump” relies on the shock of heat against the cold batter.
³Madeleines are best served hot and fresh, straight out of the oven but leftover Madeleines will keep for 3 days in an airtight container. I would warm them up slightly before serving.
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Dan Grimes
Dan Grimes is a Deputy Fire Chief in Soldotna, Alaska and has loved cooking since childhood. Many nights in fire stations, time honored traditions of shift meals, and breaking bread as family fuel his passion. Dan uses cooking as his hobby, a balance to the world of interrupted meals and high intensity problem solving. The dichotomy of technique driven skills mastery versus the blank slate of flavor exploration is what he loves about the kitchen.
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Dan, I lived in Paris many years and couldn’t tell you how many madeleines I devoured! I’ve never tried to bake them, but now I will give it a try, thanks to you!