Madeleines are a delightful little French butter cake perfect for serving with tea or coffee. Their light sponge texture with crispy buttery edges makes them irresistible. You can use a stand mixer with the paddle attached to it or you can use a hand mixer. Add three large eggs at room temperature to the stand mixer then add granulated white sugar along with firmly packed brown sugar.
Beat on high speed until really thick and pale, once the batter is thick and smooth, flavour it with a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and you can also add lemon or orange zest for a little citrus flavour and beat that in. For the dry ingredients, add all-purpose flour in a large bowl and then add just a quarter of a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of baking powder and whisk that together. Sift the dry ingredients over the butter mixture then fold it in then pour the melted butter over the mixture and incorporate it.
When you bake the madeleines right away without chilling the batter, the madeleines don’t get the rise. So chill the batter for about an hour or you could chill that up to three days in the fridge. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit which is 190 degrees Celcius then it is very important to prepare your Madeleine pans currently. What you will need is some melted butter and a pastry brush and just brush the inside of your pan with the melted butter. Once you butter them all, dust them with a little flour.
Once you are ready to bake the madeleines, you will need about a tablespoon of batter and then mound it into the centre of the pan. The thing about madeleines is they are the best when freshly baked, so if you have any leftover batter, you can chill it in the fridge and bake the next day when you want to eat them.
Bake them between 9 to 11 minutes until golden brown around the edges and when you touch they are just springy to the touch. To serve, dust with a little powdered sugar over the top and enjoy.
Ingredients;
- 1/2 cup (113 grams/ 3.9Oz) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (130 grams/ 4.5Oz) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 grams/ 3.5Oz) granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (optional)
Instructions;
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter and then keep it warm.
- In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugars at high speed until the mixture is thick and pale in colour.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest (if using).
- Then sift about one-third of the flour mixture over the whipped eggs and gently fold in, using a rubber spatula or whisk.
- Sift and fold in half of the remaining flour, and then sift and fold in the rest.
- Take about 1 cup (240 ml) of the batter and fold it into the warm melted butter.
- With a spatula, gently fold the butter mixture completely into the egg batter.
- Cover and refrigerate the batter for at least an hour or two, preferably overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Using a pastry brush, generously grease the molds of two – 12 – 3 1/2 inch (8.5 cm) Madeleine pans with very soft or melted butter.
- Dust the moulds with flour, tapping out the excess flour. Refrigerate the pans until the butter hardens.
- Drop a generous tablespoonful (can use an ice cream scoop) of the batter into the centre of each prepared mold, leaving the batter mounded in the centre.
- Bake the Madeleines for about 8 to 11 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centres spring back when lightly touched.
- Remove the pans from the oven and immediately tap each pan against the counter to release the Madeleines.
- Place Madeleines on a wire rack to cool. They are best served immediately but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days.
- Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
