If you want a simple French dessert that is beyond delicious then you have to try these madeleines. These cakes will melt in your mouth and have the most amazing flavours, you can eat them all day. You will start by melting the butter in a saucepan. For the dry ingredients, sift all-purpose flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and lightly whisk up those dry ingredients.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, crack in two large eggs then add half a cup of granulated sugar and beat that on high for about 8 minutes or until the mixture is really thick, glossy and light-coloured. Gently add in the dry ingredients and gently fold in with a spatula at this point you do not want to break the air bubbles formed by the eggs, add in a teaspoon of vanilla and a teaspoon of lemon zest.

Continue folding until it is nice and mix then add the melted caramelized butter and fold it in until you get a beautiful and silky batter. Cover the batter with a plastic wrap all the way to the surface of the batter then chill the batter for 1 hour so that the batter becomes colder and when you bake them they will puff up. You are going to love this.

Brush the madeleines pan with butter then scoop one tablespoon of the batter into the prepared pan and bake in a 375 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven for about 9 to 12 minutes. Once they are out of the oven and cooled, you will see that they have that beautiful hump. Serve them warm with powdered sugar.

Ingredients;

  • 100g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 tbsp 100g sifted
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt

Instructions;

  1. Melt the butter either in your microwave or in a small pot over medium heat. Browning the butter will add a lovely depth of flavour to the cakes but is of course optional. Once melted or browned pour the butter into a bowl and allow it to cool.
  2. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder into a bowl then whisk together and set aside.
  3. Add the eggs and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer.
  4. Beat on high until the mixture is a light yellow colour with a thick silky texture, about 8-9 minutes. You’ll see the beater leave trails when it’s ready. Mix in the vanilla and lemon zest toward the end.
  5. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and mix until just combined. You can sift the flour mixture into the eggs while you fold to avoid getting lumps or over-mixing the delicate batter.
  6. Drizzle the butter into the batter and gently mix until just combined.
  7. Cover and chill the batter in the fridge for 1 hour then scoop one tablespoon of batter into each scallop-shaped well.
  8. Bake the madeleines in a preheated 350F oven for 8-10 minutes.
  9. Serve with a light dusting of powdered sugar.