Madeleines have been my favorite sweet snack since my childhood , i can still remember my mother baking them through the weekend so we can get them after school and share them with my playmates in the neighbourhood. Although my moms recipe was far from the original french recipe but i grew to love them in every flavour and shape.
French madeleines are a basic recipe with few simple ingredients and few tips to get them just right like the ones u get in any local french bakery or good quality store bought ones and here are the three main tips for the perfect fluffy madeleines of your dreams:
Tip 1: Use brown butter, brown butter is what gives the madeleines that nutty depth of flavor that balances nicely with the lemon zest.
Tip 2: Chill ur madeleines batter in the fridge before baking for at least two hours, ideally overnight.
Tip 3: Bake them in a hot 200 C oven for 5 min before turning down the temperature to 160 C for the last 10 mins of baking.
Now that you have the most important tips here is the full detailes recipe...
Classic madeleines
INGREDIENTS
- 150 gr flour
- 120 gr white sugar
- 150 gr butter
- 8 gr baking powder
- zest of one lemon
- 30 gr lemon juice
- 3 eggs
- pinch of salt
- Optional: some hazeltnuts ( or any other nuts) for decoration
INSTRUCTIONS
- Start by preparing the brown butter: melt your 150 gr of butter and let them on the stove on low medium heat until it turns golden brown , sift the butter and let it aside to cool down.
- In a standing mixer bowl start whisking the eggs , sugar ,pinch of salt and lemon zests until it dubles in volume and gets white and fluffy.
- Add the sifted flour and baking powder gradually to the egg mixture while your mixer is set on low speed.
- While still mixing on low speed add in the lemon juice then gradually the brown butter until you get a homogenous batter.
- Cover your batter with a plastic film and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hr (or ideally overnight).
- In a greased Madeleines mold fill in 80% of the shells (optional: sprinkle the top with some nuts).
- Bake in 200 C preheated convection oven for 5 min then turn the temperature down to 160 C and finish baking for another 10 min or until the madeleines are golden brown and well puffed up in the center.
Madeleines tastes best when cool or at room temperature , i personnaly keep them in the fridge in an air tight container and they last from 6-8 days , if you can resist eating them at once of course.
Amal Nasri
A full time sweet tooth foodie , foodphotographer and recipe developer who is always on the hunt of new flavor combinations and food discoveries to re-create sweet delicacies and fresh dessert recipes .