Madeleines are a classic french butter cake/cookie. This recipe yields light and wonderful madeleines that have a hint of orange blossom in them. Super easy to whip up and a reliable crowd-pleaser!
I have always wanted to make madeleines but since I did not have a madeleine pan I never attempted them. I have posted my mom’s english madeleine recipe on the blog, and while I love that recipe, english madeleines differ from their french counterpart. Both absolutely delicious but in different respects.
I finally invested in a madeleine pan and had been waiting to try a recipe for these. I knew as my first try I wanted to make the classic version, and keep the more complicated and fancier sounding madeleines for later. I had recently bought orange blossom water from amazon for another recipe, and never got around to making the recipe I bought the water for. From reviews of the madeleine recipes I had read online, I knew I had found the perfect way to use the orange blossom water lying in my cupboard.
From the research that I did while finding the perfect madeleine recipe I found that most recipes are similar and there are basically two version floating on internet- one that uses two eggs and one that uses three. I tried both versions and considered the one with three eggs better. That’s the one I am sharing today.
The only change I made to the original recipe (which is adapted from Baking a Moment) is that I added a teaspoon of baking powder.
The lovely thing about these madeleines is that you can make them ahead of time, since a good rest of the batter in the refrigerator helps. I also like to scoop the batter into a disposable piping bag, so that you can pipe the batter into the pan easily.
Do keep a watch on the baking times when baking madeleines. These things cook quickly. I have realized keeping them a lighter golden color yields lighter texture madeleines. Depending on your oven, 10-13 minutes is good enough.
I love the taste of orange blossom water, and if you can find it ( I bought my bottle of orange blossom water from amazon here) I would recommend you introduce this flavorful water to your baking. It imparts a lovely flavor and you will soon be addicted and encouraged to use it in other baked goods as well.
Of course a lot of charm behind madeleines lies in their look and their shell like appearance, so having a madeleine pan to bake this recipe in is a plus. I use this pan that I bought on amazon for $10 and I love it. In case you don’t have one and don’t want to invest in one, you can use a mini muffin pan too and can try this recipe.
If you bake this recipe, please share pictures on your social media and tag me so that I can have a look too of your baking adventures. Or leave a comment here sharing your feedback of these madeleines.
Happy Baking!
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp orange blossom water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted with 1 tsp baking powder
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- powdered sugar, for dusting
- Beat sugar, egg and salt in a big enough bowl on medium high speed until pale and thick. Stir in the orange blossom water.
- Add the flour and melted butter, alternately, folding gently so the batter loses as little volume as possible.
- Refrigerate the batter (covered), for 45 minutes or until thickened.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a madeleine pan, knocking any excess flour off.
- Scoop 1 tbsp of batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake standard-sized madeleines for 10-13 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges.
- (If you have only one pan, bake in sequence, keeping the remaining batter refrigerated.)
- Cool in pan for few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar, for garnish.
If you liked this recipe you might want to check these other recipes from the blog to try:
Classic Genoise with summer berries and whipped cream
Great Shalloo. Missing thesee beautiful Madeleines and their taste is still in my memory
Thank you papa 🙂
Wow! finally got the orange blossom water! Yay! I too love that flavour it imparts. I try and use them wherever possible as just a dash is enough! These classic madeleines look awesome and perfect! I have seen different shades which I think depends on the total time in the oven. I so want to try this! loving all your latest posts!
Famidha recently posted..Leftover Idli Upma
Yes finally I did and it lay for a long time in my pantry before I finally used it! Glad you liking the posts..been in a rut and need to get back to blogging and need to catch up with my favorite bloggers like you!
Shumaila Chauhan recently posted..Eating Dallas: HopDoddy, Empire Baking Company, Piada, Dallas Chocolate Festival and more
Wow… They sure look yummy 😀 Great post!
https://outfitsandmakeupblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/12/personal-style-a-summer-lookbook/
Thank you so much Ritu 🙂
i love madeleines but since i dont have the pan, i never make them. the idea of orange blossom water with baked goods sounds amhazing!
dixya @food, pleasure, and health recently posted..Virtual Coffee Date
We should do a baking session together with these!
Shumaila Chauhan recently posted..Eating Dallas: HopDoddy, Empire Baking Company, Piada, Dallas Chocolate Festival and more
Shum! amazing! i had made this cake recently and bought orange blosson water.. thanks for giving me another way to use it. I’ll be using this recipe with a cupcake pan.. fingers crossed it works out. i’m a newbie baker so don’t want too many utensils (especially in my teeny NY kitchen)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/orange-polenta-cake-50064793
Thanks Nandeeta! Hope you got to try it and it worked out! Let me know!
Along with looking delicious, they look beautiful as well!
Salma Dinani recently posted..5 Wedding Anniversary Date Ideas
Thank you Salma 🙂
Shumaila Chauhan recently posted..Eating Dallas: HopDoddy, Empire Baking Company, Piada, Dallas Chocolate Festival and more
These look amazing!
Thanks Raj 🙂