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Vanilla French Madeleines

Sliced vanilla French madeleine with other cakes on a dessert plate.
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5 from 9 reviews

Try this vanilla French madeleines recipe, the easy base batter behind all the madeleine flavors and variations, from lemon poppy seed to chocolate chip.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 250 g eggs (5 eggs)
  • 1 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (250 g) granulated sugar
  • 8.8 oz (250 g) butter, melted
  • 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/3 tsp (12 g) honey
  • 1/2 vanilla bean
  • 2 tsp (10 g) baking powder

* If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.

** Want to make perfect madeleines? Grab this FREE FAQ Guide!

Instructions

  1. Follow this French madeleine recipe, but omit the lemon zest.
  2. To make the batter, place the eggs, sugar, honey, and the scraped seeds from half a vanilla bean in a large bowl and beat with a hand whisk. Sift the flour with the baking powder, add it to the mixture, and combine with a whisk. Add the cooled melted butter and whisk again. 
  3. Cover the batter with plastic film in contact, and refrigerate overnight, or even better, for 24 hours. 
  4. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Butter the cavities of a madeleine mold: either a silicone one (it helps the cakes release) or a metal one. If you use the latter, dust it with flour and tap out any excess. Using a pastry bag, fill the cavities to three-fourths full.
  5. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 3 minutes. Then switch off the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. The madeleines will get that famous bump on top. Turn the oven to 320°F (160°C) for the other 3 to 4 minutes.
  6. Remove madeleines from the oven and cool them in the mold for 5 minutes. Take them out one by one, pushing up from the bottom of each cavity. Place the cakes on the side, still in the mold, to cool completely. 

Notes

  1. Replace vanilla seeds with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract if you wish.
  2. Do not overheat butter while melting. To avoid this, turn off the heat when half the butter is melted, then mix it off the heat. Cool the butter before incorporating it into the main preparation.
  3. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and let it heat for 10 minutes. This step is necessary to get the bump of madeleines. 
  4. Leave the filled mold in the fridge while preheating/heating the oven.
  5. Respect the temperature regimen while baking. The ideal temperature formula is 3 + 8 + 4, where "3" is 3 minutes of baking at 425°F (220°C), "8" is 8 minutes with the oven switched off, and "4" is 4 minutes of baking at 320°F (160°C). You might need to test your oven and adjust this formula, for example, as 3 + 7 + 3 or something different. Adjusting the last baking minutes is essential to prevent madeleines from burning.
  6. Bake one batch of madeleines (one mold) at a time. After each batch, clean the mold, then bake the rest. Keep the batter in the fridge between batches.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/madeleine-flavors-classic-french-madeleines/