These delicious mini French cakes are the perfect bite for snacks or dessert, and they are the best accompaniment to a cup of your favorite tea, coffee, or warm milk. These traditional mini cakes are from the Lorraine region in northeastern France. Traditionally, Madeleines were made with finely ground almonds and flavored with lemon zest.
French baking is all about precision and techniques but these mini cakes come together in no time, without much effort, and no fancy equipment. All you need is a Madeleine pan. Here, we are using a non-stick Madeleine pan.
Making Madeleines
As we mentioned earlier, making these buttery mini cakes is very easy. We prefer to sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl, sifting helps get rid of lumps. In another mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until pale yellow. Add the melted butter, vanilla, and flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Now the madeleine batter is ready and you can start baking immediately, but we recommend letting the batter rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight if possible. This resting time allows the gluten that formed during mixing to relax, and the Madeleines will have an incredibly tender texture. This resting time will also help you achieve that signature hump on the Madeleines.
Since we are using a non-stick pan, you do not need to grease it. However, to be safe, we still greased the pan with butter, a little more butter won’t hurt either. Put about a tablespoon of batter in the center of the well and let it spread itself. Bake this treat for about 7 to 8 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the center looks set. Let them cool before removing them from the pan. Remove Madeleine from the pan and let them cool on a cooling rack, or just devour them warm.
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Madeleines
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp melted unsalted butter plus more for brushing Madeleine pan
Instructions
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl and combine everything using a whisk
- Beat eggs with sugar until pale yellow, add melted butter, vanilla extract, flour mixture, and mix until combined.
- Refrigerate the batter for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350F, lightly coat a non-stick Madeleine pan with butter.
- Spoon about a tbsp of batter into the center of the well and let it spread out by itself.
- Bake 7 to 8 minutes until slightly golden around edges and the center looks set. Allow cooling slightly, remove Madeleine from the pan, and let them cool on a cooling rack.
- Once cooled completely, dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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