Lemon Vanilla Madeleines
Sometimes simple is best. A little lemon zest, a little vanilla, a little powdered sugar. These light, cake-like cookies don’t need to be “extra" to be incredible. Madeleines are just little sponge cakes – originating in Northern France – that are defined by their seashell shape. They taste best the day they’re made, so fortunately they don’t take a lot of time. Make the batter around lunch time and enjoy them for your afternoon coffee or tea break.
Another distinguishing feature of the Madeleine is the small hump on its backside. With a traditional recipe like this one, it shouldn’t be too hard to achieve. Just make sure you gently fold the ingredients together where indicated to keep the air , and allow a little time to refrigerate the batter as indicated.
A good pan is a requirement for Madeleines. They need to release easily from the pan to maintain the fine ridges of the design. I use this Madeleine pan from USA pan, but whatever pan you get, make sure it has good reviews!
Lemon Vanilla Madeleines Recipe:
Yield:
16 Madeleines
Difficulty:
Easy
Plan ahead:
The batter needs to rest for an hour in the refrigerator before you bake.
Equipment:
Stand mixer or hand electric mixer
Ingredients:
1 ½ TBSP freshly grated lemon zest
130 grams (⅔ cup) granulated sugar
142 grams (½ cup + 2 TBSP) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs, room temperature
½ tsp fine table salt or fine kosher salt
1 TBSP vanilla extract
125 grams all purpose flour
More butter to grease the pan
2-3 TBSP powdered / confectioners sugar
Instructions:
Combine lemon zest and granulated sugar in a small bowl. Rub together with your fingers until fully blended. You’re trying to get the sugar to take on the lemon flavor.
With a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat together the granulated sugar mixture, eggs and salt until noticeably yellow and very thick batter forms. This will take 6-8 minutes, maybe more. You’re working air into the batter to give the little cakes some body. Gently stir in the vanilla.
Gently fold in ⅓ of the flour, then fold in ⅓ of the melted butter being careful not to deflate the batter too much. Repeat 2 more times until all flour and butter has been folded in. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Lightly grease the Madeleine pan with butter. Remove the batter from the refrigerator and place rounded tablespoonfuls of batter into the center of each cavity. Don’t spread it out, the hot oven should take care of that for you.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are a light golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then carefully turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Sift powdered sugar over top and serve.
Madeleines are best the enjoyed day they’re made.
