Madeleines
Small lemon-scented French sponge cakes baked in shell-shaped molds.
Preparation: 20 min · Cooking: 20 min · Total: 1 hr 40 min · 18 servings
Ingredients
- 125 g all-purpose flour — Contains wheat (gluten).
- 2 pc eggs — Contains egg.
- 100 g sugar
- 100 g melted butter — Melt 100 g butter; reserve 10 g to brush the pan and use 90 g in the batter. Contains milk.
- 1 pc lemon zest — Wash and zest the yellow peel only.
- 4 g baking powder — Use fresh baking powder; check the label for wheat cross-contact if needed.
Instructions
Whisk and fold the batter
Wash and dry 1 lemon, then finely zest its yellow peel without the bitter white pith. Melt 100 g butter; reserve about 10 g for the pan and let the remaining 90 g cool until warm, not hot. Whisk 2 eggs with 100 g sugar for 3–4 minutes until pale and thick. Gently fold in 125 g all-purpose flour, 4 g baking powder, and the lemon zest, then fold in the 90 g warm butter just until combined. Do not taste raw batter.
Pale, thick egg foam and smooth batter with no dry flour or visible butter streaks.
Chill the batter
Cover the batter and refrigerate at 4°C or below for 60 minutes. It should be cold and slightly thicker; keep the raw-egg batter chilled until ready to portion.
Cold batter that is slightly thicker, not warm.
Chill batter: 3600 seconds
Bake two batches in a shell pan
Preheat the oven to 190°C near the end of chilling. Brush a 12-cavity madeleine pan with some of the reserved 10 g butter. Fill each shell cavity about two-thirds full with cold batter and bake at 190°C for about 10 minutes until the edges are lightly golden and the centers spring back with no wet batter. Cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack. Keep remaining batter chilled, re-butter the pan, and bake the final six cakes for another 10 minutes. Use oven gloves and serve when warm or cool.
Eighteen shell-shaped cakes with lightly golden edges and springy, fully set centers.
Bake each madeleine batch: 600 seconds
Tips
- Whisk eggs and sugar until visibly pale and thick for a light sponge.
- Keep the second batch of batter refrigerated while the first bakes.
Common mistakes
- Overmixing after the flour can make the cakes tough.
- Overfilling the cavities prevents the shell shape; fill only two-thirds full.
Substitutions
- Replace the zest of 1 lemon with the zest of 1 orange for a gentler citrus flavour.
Storage
Best eaten the day they are baked; store cooled cakes airtight at a cool room temperature for up to 2 days.
Reheating
Serve at room temperature; reheating is not required.
About this recipe
Madeleines are small, shell-shaped French cakes associated with Lorraine and later made famous by Marcel Proust.
Editorial approval does not establish independent kitchen testing. Check allergens and follow safe food handling.