Raspberry Madeleines

Flavored with rose water, raspberry madeleines are a decadent delight for your morning or afternoon teatime. They make a romantic dessert for Valentine's Day, too. Experiment with different dried berries, but this raspberry taste and pinkish-red color are the best. 

I love madeleines. These classic French madeleines are perfect to accompany my morning coffee and afternoon tea.

I bring them to work, give them to friends, and make edible gifts during holidays. Gingerbread madeleines are the best example during Christmas time.

I perfected madeleine baking. Yes, I did it! How many batches of perfect madeleines have I made to test the madeleine recipe and write a guide to French madeleines!

My baked madeleines always have the famous hump on top.  And I am looking forward to creating more madeleine recipes to share with you.

Moreover, there is a sharing version of madeleines - a giant madeleine baked in a giant madeleine mold. So, all the madeleine baking time is ahead!

What are raspberry madeleines?

Loaded with raspberries and flavored with rosewater, these raspberry madeleines are called Ispahan. They represent the Ispahan family of desserts by the French chef Pierre Hermé.

So, I adapted the Pierre Hermé madeleine recipe, using store-bought freeze-dried raspberries.

These fruit madeleines have a soft pink texture due to raspberry powder and the irresistible rose taste due to added rosewater.

As a result, these madeleines Ispahan make a romantic dessert, perfect for Valentine's Day.

Why you should try this recipe

1. It is an easy recipe to make.
2. Using other dried berries such as freeze-dried strawberries or freeze-dried blueberries allows experimenting with madeleines.
3. These madeleines make a great edible gift and a romantic dessert.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.

Also, read Madeleine Ingredients.

Raspberries: use store-bought freeze-dried raspberries or make them yourself.

To make 2 oz. (60 g) dried raspberries, place 10.5 oz. (300 g) fresh raspberries on parchment, and bring them into the oven at 385 degrees F/195 degrees C.

Let berries dry for about 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Let cool down and chop into small pieces.

Replace dried raspberries with freeze-dried strawberries or freeze-dried blueberries if you prefer. Don't use rosewater in this case.

Butter: the recipe calls for unsalted butter. 

Flour: use all-purpose flour to make these madeleines.

Baking powder: it is used as a leavening agent.

Eggs: use large eggs at room temperature.

Icing sugar: make it yourself using granulated or caster sugar and a coffee grinder, or use store-bought powdered sugar.

Rosewater: it brings the rose flavor to the dessert. Omit this ingredient if desired.

How to make raspberry madeleines

Place freeze-dried raspberries in a food processor and crush them into small pieces (photo 1).

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, let it cool down. Sift flour with baking powder in a separate bowl and set dry ingredients aside.

Crack eggs (at room temperature) and pour sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, and mix at low speed (photo 2).

Continue to mix and gradually add sifted flour mixture and melted butter (photo 3).

Incorporate in rosewater and chopped dry raspberries (photo 4). Cover the bowl with cling film in contact and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F/220 degrees C. Use a pastry brush and brush a madeleine mold with the softened butter. make sure to read about how to bake with silicone molds.

Transfer the madeleine mixture to a piping bag and cut the tip. Fill each indentation of the silicone madeleine tin with the batter up to ¾ and tap the mold (photo 5).

Bake at 425 degrees F/220 degrees C for 3 minutes. Then switch off the oven for 7 to 8 minutes. The madeleines will get that famous bump on top.

Turn the oven to 320 degrees F/160 degrees C for the other 3 to 4 minutes (photo 6).

Remove the madeleine mold to a wire rack to cool for a couple of minutes. Then gently remove madeleines from the pan and place them on the side, still in the mold, so that they are completely cool.

Recipe variations

There are different recipes to make raspberry madeleines. Some raspberry madeleines are made by inserting a fresh raspberry on top of each madeleine.

Other recipes recommend folding in frozen or fresh raspberries.

These raspberry madeleines are made with freeze-dried raspberries that are evenly distributed in the dough.

As a result, you will taste raspberries in each bite. Moreover, you can make these little cakes all year round!

Storage

Keep madeleine cakes in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature.

You can freeze madeleines for up to 3 months, placing them in a Ziploc freezer bag.

To thaw, bring madeleines to room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. Don't reheat them in a microwave.

Expert tips

1. Please, read the page fully devoted to French madeleines, tips, and tricks while making them.
2. To make 2 oz. (60 g) of dried raspberries, place 10.5 oz. (300 g) of fresh raspberries on parchment paper and bring them into the oven at 385 degrees F/195 degrees C. Let berries dry for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Let cool down and chop into small pieces.
3. Omit rosewater if you do not like rose flavor.
4. 270 g eggs approximately equal 5.4 whole large chicken eggs (eggshell removed).
5. If you use a metal madeleine mold, butter cavities, dust with flour, and remove the excess flour.
6. Use a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon to scoop the batter into the madeleine pan if preferred.

Frequently asked question

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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 adapted from the book “Ispahan” by Pierre Hermé. It was originally published on January 09, 2019. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.