French madeleines, or simply madeleines, are small vanilla sponge cakes shaped like tiny shells. Honestly, I’d just call this distinctive look “madeleine-shaped” because it’s how they are classically made. You do need a special mold to get this look, and we highly recommend having one on hand whenever you need it—after all, they aren’t really madeleines if they don’t have that signature shape!

Madeleines are little spongy cakes. They are a French region´s called Lorena typical sweet snack, wich have become really popular in Spain, and therefore, also in Latinamerica. They can be called many different names, but they are always sea shell shaped and a small taste to lemon or orange.

These little sponge cakes pair perfectly with a cup of tea or coffee, or maybe even a bit of chocolate, since that subtle citrus flavor goes beautifully with it.

In fact, a wonderful idea is to dip them in tempered melted chocolate so they get coated on one side. You can get as creative as you want here, using dark, milk, or even white chocolate, and you can even add sprinkles to decorate them. Another great option is to dust a bit of powdered sugar on top—it’s a very simple, easy way to decorate that also tastes delicious.

One important thing to mention is that eggs are crucial in this recipe, as they are what give madeleines their signature fluffiness. Because of this, we don’t recommend substituting the eggs with any other ingredient for this particular recipe.

If you like this classic madeleine recipe, you definitely need to check out our cherry sponge cake recipe—we’re sure you’ll love it!

Madeleins

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings: 20

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

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• 3 eggs
• 1/3 white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• The zest of one lime or lemon
• 1 C flour cake type (less dense grain wheat flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 C unsalted butter melted

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Method

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C).
2. Butter and flour madeleines molds and set aside.
3. In a bolw, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In another bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the eggs and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture thickens and develops a light pale color.
5. Add the vanilla and lemon zest. Then, carefully incorporate flour, salt and baking powder.
6. Slowly stream in the melted butter. Mix until everything is well incorporated but don’t over mix.
7. Divide the batter evenly in the madeleines pans and bake at 350° F for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges.

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