Classic French Madeleines Recipe - Baker by Nature (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep madeleines moist? ›

Be careful to not overbake the Madeleines as they will be dry. Remove the Madeleines from the oven and let them cool in the pan for a couple of minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Madeleines are incredibly popular all throughout France, often enjoyed with tea, coffee and during the “goûter” – the 4 o'clock snack time. They are a favorite among home bakers as they're simple to make with just the baking essentials: sugar, flour, butter and eggs – and very easy to please kids and kids alike.

The rich buttery taste gives them a depth of flavor that you don't often get from other desserts like cookies or cakes. The texture is very light and fluffy, almost like a sponge cake on the inside, with a slightly crisp. Why Madeleines are called Madeleines? In a French cake, madeleines are small and shell-shaped.

As an advanced home baker, it still happens to me and is in fact, a normal reaction that can occur after baking. Sticky cake and cupcake tops are from a reaction with sugar and water. Sugars are hygroscopic, meaning they attract water. Within baked goods, sugars help maintain a moist and tender crumb.

The batter goes into the refrigerator to chill for four hours, which helps hydrate the ingredients and lets the flavors meld. To bake the madeleines, I grease a 12-cup nonstick madeleine pan with melted butter (you can also use cooking spray), then use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the batter.

What is the difference between this and madeleines? Both are classic French tea cakes, but they use different ingredients. A financier recipe uses egg whites with no leavening agent such as baking powder, whereas a madeleines recipe uses the entire egg and baking powder. Madeleines also require a madeleines pan.

To ensure that your meringue is sweet and not eggy, make sure to use fresh egg whites, beat them to soft peaks, add sugar gradually and make sure it's fully dissolved, and use appropriate amounts of vinegar or cream of tartar. You probably forgot to put the sugar and a tiny pinch of salt in when you were beating it.

How do the French eat madeleines? There's really no wrong way to enjoy a French madeleine! They're a favorite during the afternoon “goûter” (snack) time and perfect for dipping into a cup of tea. They're often dusted with powdered sugar or glazed with a light citrus or chocolate coating for an extra touch of sweetness.

Storing: The batter can be covered with a piece of plastic film pressed against the surface and kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, but the madeleines should be eaten soon after they are made. You can keep them overnight in a sealed container, but they really are better on day 1.

Mexican Madeleines, known as Magdalenas, are soft buttery cupcakes with hints of fresh orange zest. The madeleines are soft, spongy, and sweet, and best when homemade. These baked treats are typically served for breakfast or before dinner paired with frothy Mexican hot chocolate or cafe con leche.

Why are there holes in my madeleines? ›

Why do madeleines have holes? Little air holes on the surface of the baked cakes means you achieved the perfect, fluffy, airy madeleines! The small holes are a result of the air bubbles that were created when beating the eggs and sugar.

The purpose of this is to chill the batter which also thickens it. This is what creates the signature hump on the Madeleines – the shock of the heat hitting the cold batter, and the thicker batter which allows the cake to rise faster; Ready to use: Remove the chilled batter from the fridge.

Nothing is worse than a pastry that has gone stale, is hard to chew on and is no longer crispy. To avoid that, simply keep the pastry such as a croissant or madeleine in a paper bag to keep it crisp if you plan on consuming it within 12 hours.

Perhaps the most straightforward alternative is to use a mini muffin pan. Most hold just the right amount of batter to make madeleines — about 2 teaspoons of batter per well. (Despite the name, our teaspoon cookie scoop actually holds about two teaspoons in each scoop, which makes it a perfect tool for these cookies.)

If you've had madeleines before, you might have noticed how the backside usually has a tiny cake bump. These bumps can range from little skyscrapers to mini hills. Either way many of the French would insist that the bump is a must. To get the hump, make sure that your batter is cold and your oven is hot.

3 Add a piece of bread for moisture

Add a slice of bread, along with your baked cookies, to an airtight container and store them at room temperature.

Using an air-tight container is the best and easiest way to keep your cake from getting exposed to air. However, if you don't have one of those, you can wrap your cake in cling film, or if it's iced, place a large inverted bowl over it to trap the air.

These mini butter cakes are sweet, but not overly sweet, with a hint of lemon. They are moist on the inside with a tender fine crumb and have a deeper golden crust on the edges and underside of the cake. For me, the best madeleines should also be plush yet light and fluffy.

Storing: The batter can be covered with a piece of plastic film pressed against the surface and kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, but the madeleines should be eaten soon after they are made. You can keep them overnight in a sealed container, but they really are better on day 1.