Orange Blossom Madeleines

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!

If you liked this recipe you might want to check these other recipes from the blog to try:

Chocolate Brioche

Classic Genoise with summer berries and whipped cream

English Madeleines