How To Make the Perfect French Madeleines

Nothing beats these authentic French Madeleines straight from the oven. This guide with the fool-proof recipe guarantees “humpy” homemade madeleines that are perfect in shape, density, texture and taste. Pamper yourself with the perfect madeleines!

It is quite funny that many years go I did not even know what a French madeleine is; however, today I can tell you that I have completely perfected my skills in making these sweet treats.

Have you ever wondered how to make the perfect French madeleines? My favorite madeleine recipe is the adapted one from the cooking school of Alain Ducasse. It guarantees the perfectly shaped and fluffy authentic madeleines.

From time to time, I experiment with different recipes of these little tea cakes in order to get the higher bump on top. The highest madeleine I have ever made was 1.57 inches or 4 cm high.

What is Madeleine?

Madeleine is a small sponge cake baked in a shell-like shaped mold. The bump on top of the madeleine is a signature of the authentic French madeleines.

History of French Madeleines

The origin of French madeleines remains quite mysterious. It goes back perhaps to the Middle Ages when one baked brioches in shells for the pilgrims of Saint-Jacques de Compostela.

But there is another story – the story of Commercy, which is the capital of madeleine. The cake was created in the kitchen of the King Stanislas during the reception in the Duchy of Lorraine in 1755. It was following the resignation of the pastry chef the day before. The dessert was created by one of servants who saved the situation. The King was so delighted that he called a creator of the miracle. It was one of his maids…

“What is the name of this delicacy?” asked Stanislas.
“It has no name, sire. This is what we cook back home in Commercy on festive days”.
“So what is your name?”
“Madeleine”.
“Then from now on, it will be called like you: Madeleine of Commercy”.

So, Madeleine was born!

Ingredients

Rising agent

It is universal that the main raising agent that gives the madeleines their distinctive bump or hump is baking powder *. Most chefs such as chef Philippe, Philippe Contichini, Cédric Grolet add baking powder * that is 1/20 of the amount of flour used in a recipe.

David Lebovitz uses a bit less and even recommends to use the baking powder * optionally.

Butter

Butter is responsible for texture of the perfect madeleines. According to food historians, the madeleines of Marcel Proust – who “cemented [madeleines] into French hearts and culture” – were quite dry. In order to make these little cakes less moist, it is necessary to limit the butter, eggs and sugar in a recipe.

The author of a popular nineteenth-century cook book, La Cuisinière de la campagne et de la ville Louis-Eustache Audot adds butter in a 1:2 weight ratio to flour. His madeleines indeed have a lighter, drier texture.

Nowadays, most French chefs use the same amount of butter and flour. Moreover, Philippe Conticini adds a small amount of neutral oil (such as grape seed oil) to his recipe. It means that modern madeleines are richer, softer and moister.

Historically, traditional madeleines of Commercy are made with brown butter (beurre noisette in French), which is when the butter is heated to get the brown color and the nutty flavor.

Roger Pizey, the author of the book “World Class Cakes 250 Classic Recipes from Boston Cream Pie to Madeleines and Muffins *“, and Belén from Belula Cusine & More suggest using brown butter in making madeleines.

Sugar

While Louis-Eustache Audot, Roger Pizey, Pierre Hermé use caster sugar, Sebastien Rouxel goes for a mixture of caster and brown sugar. Philippe Conticini often replaces caster sugar for light brown muscovado sugar * that brings a toffee-like taste.

Sebastien Rouxel and Philippe Conticini also add honey to increase the moisture and flavor of the madeleines.

Milk

Most chefs use whole milk, but Philippe Conticini suggests to use semi-skimmed milk. According to the chef, semi-skimmed milk contains 97% water, which brings additional moisture.

Flour

Authentic French Madeleine recipes call for a special type of flour, flour T55, which is medium in protein content (9.4%) and contains 0.55% mineral content. These characteristics assure the perfect fermentation and rising of dough. However, all-purpose flour does the job very well, too.

Flavors

Classic French madeleines are made with citrusy additions. Pierre Hermé uses lemon zest, Roger Pizey adds orange zest, and Audot uses orange flower water * and lemon zest.

Philippe Conticini varies the taste of his perfect madeleines by using the zest of fingered citron, or the Buddha’s Hand, lime or lemon. Sebastien Rouxel suggests to add 1 to 2 drops of lemon oil. How to make madeleines without the citrus note? The answer is simple, just use vanilla extract *.

Baking and Famous Bump of French Madeleines

Like it or not, a French madeleine is not a madeleine worthy of the name if it does not have its famous bump. It is unknown if the madeleine’s bump was as important in the 18th century – the time when the madeleine was born – as it is nowadays when “that dome has become the holy grail of madeleine bakers.”

Madeleine Mold

After multiple tests and trials with madeleine baking, I can conclude that the size, especially the depth, of cavities of a madeleine mold * is important. Only deep cavities, instead of shallow ones, can guarantee the most beautiful bump on top of madeleines.

I find that most metal madeleine molds are too shallow to form the bump. That is why I personally use only silicone madeleine molds. The one I use is not available in the market any more, but after some research I have found a silicone madeleine mold * that closely resembles mine.

Filling of Madeleine Mold

Fill the cavities of a madeleine mold up to 3/4 (no more!) that can guarantee a nice bump on top. Pipe the batter with a pastry bag *, as Sebastien Rouxel and Roger Pizey suggest, but it might be easier to spoon it. Just choose your way of filling the molds.

Thermal Shock

This is the thermal shock that makes the bump! Bringing a cold madeleine mold filled with the cold batter to the hot oven can guarantee that the famous bump will form and never falls.

Ideally, make the madeleine batter and refrigerate overnight, or even better for 24 hours. David Lebovitz even recommends freezing the prepared madeleine mold before filling it with the batter.

Next day, fill the cavities of a madeleine mold and chill in the fridge for one hour before baking (I omit this step). Then, bring the cold mold filled with the batter on the hot oven rack of the preheated oven.

If you are short on time, let rest the filled madeleine mold in the fridge for at least one to two hours in order to optimize the formation of the bump.

Oven Rack

Place the filled madeleine mold on the hot oven rack and not on a baking sheet.

Drop of the Oven Temperature While Baking

To form a beautiful bump on top of madeleines, lowering the oven temperature during baking is essential!

French chef Philippe Conticini bakes madeleines in the oven preheated to 435 F/225 C for 6 minutes and then lowers the oven temperature to 355 F/180 C and bakes for another 5 to 6 minutes.

Pierre Herme’s version is a bit different. He bakes madeleines in the oven preheated to 425 F/220 C for 5 minutes, then lowers the oven temperature to 390 F/200 C and bakes them for 10 more minutes.

Cédric Grolet advises to bake madeleiens in the preheated  oven at 410 F/210 C. After 3 minutes of baking, he rotates the mold and bakes another 3 minutes. Then he turns off the oven for 1 minute and turns it on again (always at 410 F/210 C) and bake for 5 minutes longer.

Now it’s up to you to find the right way of baking. Each oven is different, so you must test and adjust the oven temperature to make your perfect madeleines.

How to Make French Madeleines – Step by Step

To make the batter, place eggs, caster sugar, honey and scraped seeds of half of the vanilla bean in a bowl (photo 1) and beat with a hand whisk * (photo 2).

Sift flour and baking powder * with a flour sifter *, add to the mixture (photo 3) and combine with a whisk (photo 4).

Add melted butter (it has to be cooled till 120 F/50 C) and whisk again (photo 5). Zest half of a lemon with a zester grater *, add to the main preparation and mix (photo 6). 

Cover the batter with a plastic film * on contact and refrigerate over night, or even better for 24 hours. The plastic wrap must touch the batter, and not cover the bowl.

Preheat oven to 425 F/220 C. Butter the cavities of the madeleine mold *: either it is a silicon one (it facilitates the removal of cakes) or it is a metal one. If you use the latter one, dust it with flour and tap any excess. Using a pastry bag *, fill the cavities up to 3/4 (photo 7).

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 other 5 minutes.

Remove little cakes from the oven and cool in the mold for 5 minutes. Take them out one by one, simply pushing each cavity from the bottom. Place cakes on the side, still in the mold (photo 8), so that they completely cool (do not use a wire rack to avoid its traces on the surface of madeleines).

More Tips to Make the Perfect French Madeleines

1. Switch chestnut honey * for any other kind of honey.
2. Replace vanilla seeds with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract * if you wish.
3. Do not over heat butter while melting. To avoid this, turn off the heat when half of the butter is melted and mix butter off the heat.
4. Replace lemon zest with orange or lime zest if you prefer.
5. Preheat the oven to 425 F/220 C and let it heat for 10 minutes. To get the bump, it is necessary that the oven is really well preheated.
6. Leave the filled mold in the fridge while preheating/heating the oven.
7. Respect the temperature regimen while baking. The ideal temperature formula is 3 + 8 + 5 where 3 is 3 minutes of baking at 425 F/220 C, 8 is 8 minutes with the oven switched off and 5 is 5 minutes of baking at 320 F/160 C. You might need to test your oven and adjust this formula, for example, as 3 + 7 + 4 or something different.
8. Bake one batch of cakes (one mold) at a time. After each batch clean the mold, then bake the rest. Keep the batter in the fridge between batches.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Can You Keep Madeleine Batter?

Refrigerate the madeleine batter covered on contact with a plastic film * or in a pastry bag * for up to 2 days.

How to Store Madeleines?

For an exceptional taste, serve madeleines immediately (straight from the oven) or store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days. I personally prefer to cover these little cakes with a kitchen towel.

How to serve French Madeleines?

There is an etiquette, a French ritual to eating these golden little tea cakes. In order to appreciate their taste and to release their lemon flavor, madeleines have to be dipped in tea, the same way as Marcel Proust enjoyed madeleines. Unfortunately, coffee ins’t the same.

How to Make Madeleines Without a Mold?

If you do not have a special madeleine mold *, you can try to make these cakes in a silicone muffin pan *. You can even line the wells with cupcake liners *. Surely, you will not get the perfect shell look and the bump on top, but you will be able to enjoy the taste of these delicious little cakes.

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The recipe was adapted from http://www.niksya.ru. It was originally published in February, 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. and translated from Russian. All posted pictures are mine.