Christmas Gingerbread Madeleines

Name: Gingerbread Madeleines
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 36
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 5 large eggs (250 g), room temperature; 1 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons (250 g) brown sugar; 8.8 oz. (250 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled; 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons (12 g) acacia honey; 2 teaspoons (10 g) baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves; 1 teaspoon dark rum

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Christmas Gingerbread madeleines or spiced madeleines are a holiday twist on classic madeleines and a great and delicious alternative to gingerbread houses. Made with fragrant spices, rich brown sugar, and a dash of dark rum, they will fill your home with holiday cheer.

Halved spiced madeleines with the rest of cakes in the background.

Gingerbread madeleines recipe

It's my favorite recipe for enjoying gingerbread madeleines around the Christmas holidays. Flavored with warm spices, they are simply the best.

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Gingerbread madeleines recipe
Ingredients
How to make gingerbread madeleines
Expert Tips
Storing and freezing
Recipe FAQ
Love madeleines? Try these next!
Recipe card
Comments

Whether Gingerbread cookies are arranged into a Christmas tree garland, French Gingerbread, or gorgeous Gingerbread Pavlova, they make gingerbread fun.

And these little bites make a great edible holiday gift and an addition to a holiday cookie box.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

Large eggs at room temperature
Golden brown sugar: You can replace it with dark brown sugar, light brown muscovado sugar, dark brown muscovado sugar, or French Vergeoise sugar.
Unsalted butter melted and cooled to 120°F (50°C).
All-purpose flour
Acacia honey: You can replace it with another type of honey, neutral in flavor.
Baking powder as a leavening agent.
Spice blend: Use a mix of ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Experiment with spices by adding or replacing some with ground coriander (no more than ½ teaspoon), ground pepper (no more than ⅛ teaspoon), or use 1 teaspoon McCormick gingerbread spice instead of the recipe's spice mix. Don't use more than four spices simultaneously if you mix a spice yourself.
Dark rum: Omit this ingredient to make the recipe kid-friendly.

How to make gingerbread madeleines

Step 1. Place eggs (at room temperature), sugar, and honey in a large mixing bowl and beat with a hand whisk.

Step 2. In the second bowl, sift all-purpose flour with baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves with a flour sifter. Add dry ingredients to the main mixture and combine with a whisk.

Step 3. Add the melted and cooled butter to 120°F (50°C) and whisk again. Add the dark rum and mix.

Step 4. Cover the batter with plastic wrap in contact and refrigerate overnight.

Step 5. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Butter the cavities of a madeleine mold with softened butter. Dust the mold with flour and tap off the excess flour. If using a silicone mold, there is no need to grease it. Read more about how to bake with silicone molds.

Step 6. Fill the cavities up to two-thirds of the way using a pastry bag or a spoon.

Step 7. Bake madeleines at 425°F (220°C) for 3 minutes. Then, switch off the oven for 7 to 8 minutes. The madeleines will get that famous bump or hump on top. Then, turn the oven to 320°F (160°C) for 3 to 4 minutes.

Step 8. Remove the madeleines from the oven and cool them in the mold for 5 minutes. Turn the mold over and hit it hard: the madeleines will come by themselves. If using a silicone mold, take them out one by one, pushing each silicone mold cavity from the bottom.

Step 9. Place madeleines on the side, still in the mold (not on a cooling rack), so they cool down. Repeat the same procedure to bake the second batch of madeleines.

Gingerbread madeleines on a stone board.

Expert Tips

Learn all the tips and tricks for making perfect French madeleines in this comprehensive guide. Read all the secrets about the madeleine hump.
To ensure perfect madeleines, cool your madeleine pan between batches. Grease and flour metal mold before each batch.
Serve madeleines warm, right from the oven, or within one hour after baking. Enjoy them with a cup of Earl Grey tea, coffee, French hot chocolate, or a glass of Christmas champagne.

Storing and freezing

Store gingerbread madeleines in an airtight container. A BPA-free, microwave-safe Tupperware plastic box or a large glass jar will also work. Keep your madeleines at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Freeze madeleines in a Ziploc freezer bag for up to 3 months. To thaw, bring them to room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.

Recipe FAQ

How do you make madeleines moist?

Moist madeleines are pure butter madeleines or madeleine pur beurre in French. Using high-quality butter is essential in making madeleines. Butter provides a rich, buttery texture, making it the perfect petite treat (a little treat in English).

Do you need to refrigerate madeleines?

Madeleine batter has to be refrigerated to achieve bump or hump formation. However, baked French madeleines need not be refrigerated; they should be stored for up to 2 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Love madeleines? Try these next!

Classic French madeleines
Lemon poppy seed madeleiens
Raspberry madeleines
Or read more about all things madeleines

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Recipe card

Gingerbread Madeleines

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Gingerbread madeleines are a holiday twist on classic madeleines and a great and delicious alternative to gingerbread houses. Made with fragrant spices, rich brown sugar, and a dash of dark rum, they are guaranteed to fill your home with Christmas cheer.

Author: Irina Totterman
Total Time: 1 hour (plus chilling time)
Yield: 36 1x
Category: Cakes
Method: Baking
Cuisine: French

Instructions

Prepare a madeleine pan. Grease it with softened butter and dust it with flour. Remove the excess flour. There is no need to grease a silicone mold.
Place eggs (at room temperature), sugar, and honey in a large bowl and beat with a hand whisk.
Sift all-purpose flour with baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, add to the main mixture, and combine with a whisk. Add butter melted and cooled to 120°F (50°C) and whisk again. Add dark rum and mix.
Cover the batter with plastic film in contact and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Using a pastry bag, fill the cavities up to three-fourths.
Bake cakes at 425°F (220°C) for 3 minutes. Then switch off the oven for 7 to 8 minutes. The madeleines will get that famous bump or hump on top. Next, turn the oven to 320°F (160°C) for the other 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove madeleines from the oven and cool them in the mold for about 5 minutes. Then, take them out one by one, pushing each silicone mold cavity from the bottom.
If you use a metal madeleine mold/pan, turn the mold over and hit it hard: madeleines will come by themselves. Place cakes on the side, still in the mold, so that they cool down.

Notes

Read this guide on how to make perfect French madeleines.
Store madeleines in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2-4 days.
Freeze baked madeleines for up to 6 months and thaw them at room temperature for one to two hours.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1
Calories: 113
Sugar: 7.3 g
Sodium: 50 mg
Fat: 6.4 g
Saturated Fat: 3.8 g
Carbohydrates: 12.7 g
Fiber: 0.2 g
Protein: 1.7 g
Cholesterol: 41 mg

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was originally published on December 11, 2020. It has been revised to include improved content and photos.