Classic madeleine recipe

My ultimate classic French madeleine recipe

I promise you that this classic French madeleine recipe is the only one you’ll ever need. Not only is it incredibly simple, but I’ve been making it for years and can guarantee you that it will always be a success (provided you follow some simple rules).

The thing that I love about this recipe is how easy it is to personalize.

I often make my classic French madeleine recipe, but when I’m feeling creative it’s the perfect recipe to use as a jumping-off point. For example, I love adding rose water to the batter instead of the lemon zest. Sometimes, when the madeleines have cooled, I like to dip them in chocolate ganache and then sprinkle them with coconut or chopped pistachios. Lately, I’ve been working on a gooey chocolate center, which I’ll be sharing here as soon as I’ve perfected it. Another thing I love to do is make a savory version with fresh herbs. My parmesan and herb madeleines are served with a horseradish dipping cream and they’re absolutely perfect when served with a glass of white wine or Champagne for aperitif.

How to make the perfect madeleine

• Make sure to let the batter rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
• You can also make the batter the day before and then let it rest in the fridge overnight.
• Start the recipe by melting the butter, and letting it come to room temperature. If the butter is too hot, the batter will become too greasy.
• Make sure that your madeleine tray is cold, as well as the batter.
• Start with a hot oven and then turn the temperature down. If you need to, keep the oven door open for a few seconds to help the internal temperature come down.
• Since the ingredients are quite simple, make sure to use the highest quality butter, eggs, vanilla, and honey that you can find. That’s what will make a huge difference in the flavor of the madeleine.
• Ideally, serve these madeleines straight out of the oven. They’ll keep for a couple of days if stored in an airtight container, but they’ll lose their crispy outside.
• When you take them out of the tray, do not pull them by the bump (because that’s how you’ll yank the bump off, leaving you with a huge hole, which is just so sad).
• I recommend using a metal madeleine tray like this one. Avoid silicone ones unless you can get a very high-quality one like this one from Silpat.
• Always use lightly-salted, softened butter to brush the tray.
• Do not overfill each mold, otherwise, they’ll get too fat and lose their shape. Plus the baking time will be longer.
• When you take the madeleines out of the tray, make sure to place them on a flat surface before transferring them to a cooling rack. That’s how you avoid getting those ugly lines from the cooling rack on the bottom of the beautiful shell pattern.

My classic madeleine recipe:

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Classic French madeleine recipe

This failproof, recipe for classic French madeleines will never let you down!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Resting time20 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Keyword: French madeleines, madeleine, madeleines, sweet madeleines

Servings: 20 madeleines

Calories: 150kcal

Author: Gitanjali

Ingredients

• 120 g lightly-salted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 125 g white sugar
• 10 g honey
• 15 g vegetable oil (like sunflower)
• 130 g flour
• 4 g baking powder
• the zest of half a lemon
• 2 tbsp lightly-salted butter softened

Instructions

• Start by melting the butter in the microwave and then set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Butter the madeleine tray with some softened lightly-salted butter.
• In a large bowl, whisk the 2 eggs and the 2 egg yolks together, along with the sugar for 1 minute.
• Add the honey, the vegetable oil and the lemon zest, and whisk for 1 minute.
• Add the flour and baking powder and whisk just until you can't see the flour any more.
• Check that the butter is at room temperature by dipping your finger in it. It shouldn't feel hot to the touch. Alternatively, you can check with a thermoter that it's around 35 degrees (but honestly I always just check with my finger).
• Pour the melted butter into the batter and mix until fully incorporated.
• Fill the buttered madeleine tray with batter, up to 3/4 of the way for each mold.
• Place the tray in the fridge and let the dough sit for at least 20 minutes.
• Preheat your oven to 210 C.
• Place the tray in the oven and let the madeleines bake for 6 minutes. Then turn down the temperature of the oven to 180 C, and keep the door open for about 10/15 seconds so that the internal temperature can come down quickly.
• Bake for another 4 minutes, or until the madeleines are golden brown on the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Immediately remove the madeleines onto a cutting board to cool for a few minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.

[Francais]

Je sais que chaque famille en France a sa propre recette de madeleines, sa propre ‘meilleure’ façon de les faire.

Ca fait des années que j’utilise une seule recette, parce que c’est la seule recette qui me garantit des résultats parfaits chaque fois ! C’est une recette que j’ai trouvé dans le livre de ma copine Pascale Weeks, Le Dessert Etait (Presque) Parfait.

Il suffit de suivre quelques conseils et je peux vous promettre que vos madeleines seront parfaits aussi ! 🙂

1. Il faut laisser reposer la pâte au frais avant la cuisson.

2. Il faut démarrer la cuisson à four chaud et ensuite baisser la température. C’est comme ca que vous allez avoir cette jolie bosse !

Pour le moule, je vous conseille de prendre un moule antiadhésif en métal, comme par exemple, celle la. 

La recette des madeleines classiques:

Ingredients

• 120 g beurre demi-sel, fondu
• 125 g sucre
• 2 oeufs
• 2 jaunes d’oeuf
• 10 g de miel
• 15 g huile végétale
• le zest de 1/2 citron
• 130 g farine
• 4 g levure chimique

Procedure

• Faites fondre le beurre demi sel et laissez-le refroidir à température ambiante.
• Dans un grand bol, fouettez les oeufs, les jeunes, et le sucre.
• Rajoutez l’huile, le miel, le zeste de citron et mélangez.
• Ensuite, rajoutez la farine et la levure chimique, et mélangez jusqu’à ce que vous ne voyez plus la farine.
• Rajoutez le beurre fondu et tiédi, et melangez.
• Beurrez votre moule avec un peu de beurre mou. Remplir chaque madeleine a 3/4, ensuite placez le moule au frigo pour au moins 20 minutes (ou même toute la nuit !)
• Préchauffez le four à 210 C.
• Une fois que le four est chaud, sortez le moule du frigo et mettez le directement dans le four.
• Faites cuire pour 6 minutes, ensuite baissez la température à 180 C. Laissez la porte du four ouverte pour 10-15 secondes, pour aider la température à descendre.
• Enfournez pour encore 4-6 minutes, ou jusqu’à ce que le bord soit doré et un couteau insérée délicatement ressort sec.
• Démoulez immédiatement d’abord sur une planche pour quelques minutes, et ensuite transférez sur une grille pour refroidir complètement.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you buy something through those links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!