This post is a part of my Madeleine series in tribute to this iconic French pastry and all that it means - from its fascinating history, choosing the right ingredients and madeleine pan, all the secrets of authentic madeleine hump, and storage suggestions - you name it!
Here is the best madeleine recipe for homemade French madeleines. They are perfect in shape, density, and texture, with a delicious taste that can't be matched!
It is pretty funny that I did not even know what a French madeleine was many years ago.
I did not realize that madeleines are cakes and not cookies and could not imagine the mysterious stories behind the madeleines' origin.
Today, I can tell that my madeleine baking skills have been entirely perfected, and I started to experiment with their flavors.
From time to time, you will find me playing different recipes for these butter cakes to get a higher bump!
The highest madeleine I have ever made was 1.57 inches or 4 cm tall.
If you have ever wondered how to make the best French madeleines and make a success in making them, you are in the right place.
I am putting together all the tips and advice to guide you. So take notes of essential steps before you get started and enjoy.
I will show what ingredients go into the recipe and how to prepare a madeleine mold to get the hump on top, which is a signature of the authentic madeleine pastry.
GUIDE TO
FRENCH
MADELEINES
I would highly recommend downloading the FAQ Guide, where I answer all the questions regarding madeleine baking.
Why you should try this recipe
- This a foolproof madeleine recipe tested and re-tested by me and numerous readers.
- The recipe guarantees perfectly shaped and authentic French butter cakes with a signature hump on top.
- It is customizable in any way you desire.
Ingredients
Here is a comprehensive overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full madeleine recipe below for detailed amounts and instructions.
Also, read Madeleine Ingredients.
Eggs: the recipe calls for large eggs at room temperature.
Sugar: use granulated sugar to make the recipe or replace it with caster sugar.
Butter: it is crucial to use top-quality butter such as European or European-style butter with higher fat content. This recipe calls for unsalted butter.
Flour: use all-purpose flour or French T55 flour.
Honey: the recipe calls for chestnut honey but, please, feel free to replace it with your favorite honey, golden syrup, or maple syrup.
Baking powder: it is an ingredient responsible for forming the madeleine's hump. Make sure it is fresh and aluminum-free.
Vanilla bean: add scraped seeds of the vanilla bean to bring vanilla flavor to your madeleines. You can replace it with ½ to 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.
Lemon zest: make sure to use organic lemon to make fresh zest with a zester grater. You can replace it with orange zest or omit this ingredient if you are not a fan of citrus flavor.
How to make madeleines
To make the batter, place large eggs, granulated sugar, honey, and scraped seeds of half of the vanilla bean in a large bowl (photo 1) and beat with a hand whisk (photo 2).
Sift flour and baking powder with a flour sifter in a separate bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture (photo 3), and combine with a whisk or rubber spatula (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 butter mixture, and gently mix (photo 6).
Cover the sponge-like batter with a piece of plastic wrap in contact and refrigerate overnight, or even better, for 24 hours.
The plastic film must touch the surface of the batter and not only cover the bowl.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F/220 degrees C. Using a pastry brush, butter the cavities of the metal madeleine pan. Then dust it with flour, and tap any excess flour; there is no need to grease a silicone mold.
Using a piping bag, fill the cavities up to ¾ (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.
Next, turn the oven to 320 °F/160 °C for the other 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove golden brown 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).
Dust cooled madeleines with confectioners' sugar if desired.
Recipe variations
Classic French madeleines are lemon madeleines flavored with lemon zest. But they can be customized endlessly.
Add some poppy seeds that beautifully pair with lemon in Lemon Poppy Seed Madeleines.
Don't you like a hint of lemon? Then add orange blossom water or vanilla extract.
Spice up your madeleines with spices blend and make Gingerbread Madeleines. If you are in love with matcha, make matcha madeleines then.
Dip them in melted dark or white chocolate and enjoy the most delicious French pastry.
Finally, if you want to test the basic madeleine recipe and create your own perfect madeleines, have a look at flavor twists on a classic.
Also, think outside the box when it comes to making your favorite tea cakes: make large (aka regular-sized) madeleines or mini madeleines.
Experimenting with different molds can lead you down a fascinating path.
Try experimentally shaped cakes by making them in a spherical scallop madeleine mold or heart-shaped pan from CHEFMADE.
You can also try making your own madeleines without mold. Just follow the recipe designed for muffin cups, and you will end up with perfectly round cakes.
Or make a sharing version of madeleines - Madeleine cake - that will change your mind: this easy cake skips all of those pesky steps so it can be ready in no time at all.
Although madeleines are eaten for breakfast or dessert, it is quite possible to modify the recipe to make savory madeleines.
They make perfect appetizers with added parmesan, bacon, pesto, or even tomatoes.
How to serve madeleines
Serve madeleines immediately (straight from the oven) for an exceptional taste.
There is etiquette, a French ritual to eating these golden little tea cakes. Warm madeleines are best enjoyed with a cup of tea.
Take an Earl Gray tea, a black tea flavored with bergamot. It will harmonize well with the lemon note of classic madeleines.
To appreciate their taste and release their flavor, madeleines have to be dipped in tea, the same way as Marcel Proust enjoyed little cakes. But, unfortunately, coffee isn't the same.
French chefs serve madeleines as an elegant way to finish dinner in top French restaurants.
Owner of Restaurant Daniel, Daniel Boulud serves his iconic cakes with Ruinart Blanc de Blancs.
Indeed, you can adapt this concept when the simplest pairs well with the most sophisticated.
Storage instructions
Store madeleines in an airtight container (preferably in glass) for a couple of days, four days maximum.
Can you freeze madeleines? Yes, you can freeze madeleines for up to three months, but they may lose their taste a bit.
Bring the cakes to room temperature for one to two hours to thaw them.
Expert tips
- Do not overheat butter while melting. To avoid this, turn off the heat when half of the butter is melted and mix butter off the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F/220 degrees C and even let it heat for 10 minutes. A well-prepared hot oven is essential to get the bump of madeleines.
- Leave the filled mold in the fridge while preheating/heating the oven.
- Respect the temperature regimen while baking. The ideal temperature formula is 3 + 8 + 4, where 3 is 3 minutes of baking at 425 degrees F/220 degrees 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.
- Bake cakes on a baking rack in the middle of the oven and not on a baking sheet.
- Bake one batch of madeleines (one mold) at a time. After each batch, clean the mold, then bake the rest. Keep the rest of the batter in the fridge between batches.
Frequently asked questions
The correct French pronunciation of madeleine is [mad.lɛn]. It is pronounced as /ˈmædleɪn/ or /ˌmædlˈeɪn/ in English.
There is much debate over whether madeleines are cookies or cakes. Although many think they are teacake cookies (or sponge cake-like French madeleine cookies), they are actually mini cakes. But even in France, where the madeleines originated, many chefs still call them madeleine cookies.
Madeleines are a French type of petite gateau or sponge cake, usually shaped like an elongated scallop shell. As teatime cakes, they are an essential part of French culture. Ladyfingers are French biscuits too, but they originated in Italy and were inspired by the sponge finger recipe of Catherine de Medici's pastry chefs. They are used to prepare delicious desserts such as Charlotte or Tiramisu.
Refrigerate the madeleine batter covered in contact with plastic film or a pastry bag for up to 2 days. Don't freeze it.
Yes, you can try a silicone muffin pan that works as a madeleine pan substitute. You can even line the wells with cupcake liners. You can also bake these little cakes in small rectangular or even round molds.
Keep madeleines in an airtight container, and they will stay fresh for up to 2 to 4 days.
No, the baked madeleines don't need to be refrigerated. Instead, you can store them at room temperature.
Love madeleines? Try these next!
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Recipe card
Classic French Madeleines Recipe
This guide is the best madeleine recipe for homemade French madeleines. They are perfect in shape, density, and texture, with a delicious taste that can't be matched!
- Total Time: 1 hour (plus chilling time)
- Yield: 36 madeleines 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 250 g eggs (5 eggs), room temperature
- 1 cup + 1 ½ tablespoon (250 g) granulated sugar
- 8.8 oz (250 g) butter, melted
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ⅓ tsp (12 g) chestnut honey
- ½ vanilla bean
- 2 tsp (10 g) baking powder
- ½ lemon, zest
* If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
**Want to make perfect madeleines? Grab this FREE FAQ Guide!
Instructions
- To make the batter, place eggs, granulated sugar, honey and scraped seeds of half of the vanilla bean in a large bowl and beat with a hand whisk. Sift flour and baking powder with a flour sifter in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture, and combine with a whisk or a rubber spatula. Add melted butter (it has to be cooled till 120 °F/50 °C) and whisk again. Zest half of a lemon with a zester grater, add to the butter mixture, and mix.
- Cover the batter with plastic film on contact and refrigerate overnight, or even better, for 24 hours. The plastic wrap must touch the surface of the batter and not only cover the bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F/220 degrees C. Using a pastry brush, butter the cavities of the metal madeleine pan, dust it with flour, and tap any excess flour; there is no need to grease a silicone mold. Using a pastry bag, fill the cavities up to ¾.
- Bake at 425 degrees F/220 degrees 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 degrees F/160 degrees C for the other 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove madeleines from the oven and cool in the mold for 5 minutes. Then, take them out one by one, simply pushing each cavity from the bottom. Next, place cakes on the side, still in the mold, so that they completely cool (do not use a wire rack to avoid its traces on the surface of madeleines). Dust madeleines with confectioners' sugar if desired.
Notes
- Do not overheat butter while melting. To avoid this, turn off the heat when half of the butter is melted and mix butter off the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F/220 degrees C and even let it heat for 10 minutes. A well-prepared hot oven is essential to get the bump of madeleines.
- Leave the filled mold in the fridge while preheating/heating the oven.
- Respect the temperature regimen while baking. The ideal temperature formula is 3 + 8 + 4, where 3 is 3 minutes of baking at 425 degrees F/220 degrees 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, like 3 + 7 + 3 or something different. Adjusting the last baking minutes is essential to prevent madeleines from burning.
- Bake cakes on a baking rack in the middle of the oven and not on a baking sheet.
- Bake one batch of madeleines (one mold) at a time. After each batch, clean the mold, then bake the rest. Keep the rest of the batter in the fridge between batches.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 madeleine
- Calories: 112
- Sugar: 7.3 g
- Sodium: 27 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
Keywords: madeleine, madeleines, madeleine cake, French madeleines, madeleine recipe, best madeleine recipe, how to make madeleines
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. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should independently verify it using your preferred tool. Under no circumstances will Baking Like a Chef be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from your reliance on the nutritional information. You are solely responsible for all decisions about your health and ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate. Please, read the disclaimers in our Privacy Policy.
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. All posted pictures are mine.
Ginger Kiyomoto says
I just made these over the last two days as a baking project with a 2.5 & 5 year old. I browned the butter for them (too long of a process 😂). But they were able to mix the recipe (we left out zest), grease & flour the madeleine mold & even fill up a pastry bag (little help there). They had fun squeezing the batter out of the pastry bag too (I held, they squeezed). They do not take long to bake, so they saw them puff up in amazement! The best part is they thought they were super yummy!
★★★★★
Irina says
What a fun baking project you had with kids, Ginger! I am happy to hear that you all enjoyed making madeleiens! So sweet... Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Cassie meovon says
Hi, thank you for the detailed explanation! I was very satisfied reading it because you also included the reason why it's needed! But I was wondering, what exactly is the reason that the recipe needs honey as an ingredient? Is it the replacement for milk? If it is, can I substitute it with any other ingredients? Sorry for asking many questions, I love your post 😀 Thanks!
Irina says
Hello Cassie, since I adapted the recipe from the French pastry school, it is hard to answer why honey is included as an ingredient. I do not think that it replaces milk, though. I would replace it with maple syrup or golden syrup. I have never tested this way, but it should work. Please, let m know once you make madeleines. Happy baking!
Clarissa says
Hi Irina, how long did you whisk the egg and sugar? And when the batter finishes so, I don't need to cover the top of the bowl? Only the bottom? Thanks.
Irina says
Hi Clarissa, Thanks for your interest in the recipe. NO, you do not need to whisk the eggs with sugar until the mixture is whitish. Just whisk the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes with a hand whisk. And you need to cover the top of the bowl with plastic film, but the film has to touch the batter. It is called "to cover with plastic in contact." Let me know, please, if you have more questions!
Linh says
Hello, Firstly, thank you for the recipe and all the tips. I followed your recipe to the T but didn't achieve the hump, and it was rather dark and dry. I did not use a silicone pan but instead the non-stick metal pan. Just wondering whether the temperature differs for the metal pan?
Irina says
Hello Linh, I am sorry to hear that you didn't succeed in getting that famous bump. First, the baking regimen should be the same even you use a metal madeleine pan, but it has be adjusted to your oven (I mean the time to keep the oven heated, switched off, and the time to turn on again). It usually the play of 1-2 minutes. To achieve the bump, you should chill the dough for at least 2 hours, better overnight. I hope you didn't skip that step. Once you feel the pan with the batter, you should bake right away or keep the pan in the fridge. You should also preheat the oven, and it is even better to keep it heated for another 10 to 15 minutes. Then you should bring the pan with the batter to bake. Please, re-read the recipe post again and try to analyze at what step you made a mistake. Please, write me back to figure it out together. I am here to help!!!
Aeran says
Hi, just wondering if I could use cake flour instead of all purple flour? What do you think?
★★★★★
Irina says
Hi, Aeran thanks for your interest in the recipe. I understand that it makes sense to use cake flour to make these little cakes, but the recipe doesn't call for any starch that is part of the cake flour. So, I would recommend making the recipe using all-purpose flour, at least the first time. Then, once you succeed in madeleine baking, you will surely get the confidence to experiment. Happy baking!!!
Kristin says
This madeleines recipe is perfection! I’ve tried others, and this is by far the best. They taste and look gorgeous. Thank you!
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you so much for making the recipe, Kristin! I am happy to hear that the recipe worked for you. 🙂
Natalie says
Best ever instruction, success, after all, thank you!
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you very much, Natalie! I'm happy to hear that!!!
Hsu Lin Boyd says
Hi, I am going to try my hand at these. Unfortunately, the people I am making them for have a lot of health issues. So I have to sub the butter with walnut oil and significantly cut down on the amount of sugar. Usually, in cake making, one would usually mix all liquid ingredients together, the beaten egg, sugar mixture, and melted butter, then the flour last…. Why is it not so in this case? Sorry for the idiot question, but I'm just curious…
Irina says
Hello, thank you for your interest in the recipe. The sequence of ingredients is essential in baking, especially in French pastry making. The method of mixing ingredients (liquid plus dry ones) is a standard method of making muffins. French madeleines are different, but there is no universal order to incorporate ingredients while making a madeleine batter. For example, French chef Gilles Marchal mixes all the dry ingredients first, then adds the eggs, and finishes with melted, cooled butter. Another pastry chef Camille Lesecq combines first eggs, sugar, honey, and milk. Then, he adds "the brown butter, and finally, the flour sifted with baking powder and the liquid and powdered vanilla." The madeleine recipe on the blog is adapted from the school of another great French chef, Alaine Ducasse. I wouldn't suggest changing the order of ingredients for the best baking results. And I understand that you are trying to adapt the recipe. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee the right texture of your madeleines, but I am curious if it works. It would be beneficial for my readers too. Please, share your baking results after you make madeleines! Thanks, and happy baking!
Basema Rehman says
It's a definitely fantastic recipe. It was really easy to do and worth making the batter one night before. These are now my brother's favorites!!
★★★★★
Irina says
Thanks for coming back to leave a comment, Basema! I am happy that you succeeded with the recipe.
CF says
This ended up so good! My hubby and kids liked them. I had the hump in all batches, but the first batch turned out a bit burnt. Got the hang of things after that with the temp. Thanks for such an easy recipe!
★★★★★
Irina says
Thanks for getting back to comment. I am so happy to hear that you loved the recipe and succeeded with the bum!! 🙂 Please, stay tuned for more recipes!
Ann says
I just made my first batch ever using this recipe. The madeleines came out perfect. Read the content first to get the best chance for success. They are so light and delicious. Thank you!
★★★★★
Irina says
You are very welcome, Ann! And I am so happy to hear that you succeeded!!
Allis says
This is the best madeleine recipe I've made. Tastes authentic, and I got the most gorgeous hump. 🙂 If I wanted to use less sugar can I sub honey or maple syrup instead? I read that 1 cup to .75 cups honey is an appropriate sub for sugar since honey has more water content, but I was just wondering if you thought this would be an appropriate substitute. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Irina says
Hello Allis, thank you for making the recipe! And I am so happy that you succeed with that famous bump! As for replacing sugar with honey, everything should be tested. I have not done this replacement yet. If you try it, please, let me know. Thanks! BTW, I created a page dedicated to madeleines: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/madeleines/. Please, enjoy reading it. 🙂
Donna says
Anxious to try it - looks pretty straightforward! Do you have a chocolate Madeline recipe?
Irina says
Hello Donna, thank you for your interest in the madeleine recipe. Oh, I should have a chocolate madeleine recipe, but I have not made it yet. It is on my list now! Thanks! BTW, I have a whole page devoted to madeleines: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/madeleines/. Happy baking!!!