No resting, no tricky technique, just perfect, golden, light & airy Madeleines in under 30 minutes! I’m so proud to be sharing my recipe with you today, after weeks of testing I finally have a recipe for the best little butter cakes I’ve ever tasted and you won’t believe how easy they are! Includes a how-to video in the recipe card!
These delicate cookies are shockingly easy to make considering how hard this recipe was for me to crack! Also known as French butter cakes, madeleines are well-known, easily-recognizable, sophisticated little cakes. They have a reputation for being fussy, and what they’re really known for is their scalloped shell-shape and their characteristic bump. It took weeks upon weeks to finally get this recipe perfected, but it was definitely worth it.
If you’ve made madeleines before, you’ll notice that my recipe is fairly different from many traditional recipes. It also produces better results with simpler technique than traditional recipes. There’s no whipping our eggs to “ribbon” stage and there’s no long chilling period (or any chilling period at all). Just perfect madeleines that:
- Are light and airy with a melt-in-your-mouth interior
- Beautiful golden brown with just barely crisp exteriors.
- Perfectly shell-shaped on one side with the classic madeleine “hump” on the other
- Not at all fussy or difficult.
I’ve always been honest with you here. If fussy technique or extra time is needed for the best results, I’m going to encourage you to learn that technique or take that time. Despite my hatred of water baths, I teach you how to use one in my creme brûlée recipe, and I already have my fair share of fussier French recipes (cream puffs and petit fours, to name a few!) in which we’ve tackled different techniques. I was ready to spend paragraphs talking about how to ribbon and the importance of resting (I still talk about it a little below).
But after weeks of testing, it turns out it isn’t necessary after all.
Are They Cookies or Cakes?
Technically, madeleines (or petite madeleines) are small butter cakes. However, because of their shape and size they’re often referred to as cookies. Truthfully they’re mostly like a cross between the two desserts (and who could ask for a better hybrid?). They’re a bit more dense than your average cake recipe, but much, much lighter and fluffier than any cookie.
Whether you call them cookies or cakes, there are two absolutely key characteristics that all madeleines must have: A beautiful scalloped, shell-shaped exterior on one side and a pronounced hump on the other. Check and check ☑️ ☑️
If you’re curious, here’s a brief history on the origins of madeleines.
What You Need:
- Butter. My madeleine recipe uses more butter than other recipes you might have tried or seen. It’s not a mistake, this creates more flavorful, more buttery, more delicious madeleines than you’ve seriously ever tasted before. For real. Melt the butter before you begin so that it has time to cool before you add it to your batter.
- Eggs. You need just two eggs for this recipe. Large or extra large will work (and I’ve even used jumbo-sized with success).
- Sugar. I use a blend of granulated and brown sugar. Many madeleine recipes strictly stick to granulated sugar, but adding brown sugar gives the madeleines a richer flavor, a more distinct golden-brown coloring, and it also encourages a little bit of extra caramelization where the batter makes contact with the shell indent in the pan. This adds so much flavor and an extra (slight) crispness to the exterior of the madeleine. It’s just so good! I use slightly more sugar than some traditional recipes, but I don’t recommend reducing the amount. It makes them delicious straight out of the oven, no dusting of powdered sugar or chocolate dip required.
- Vanilla Extract and Salt. For flavor.
- Flour. My recipe uses all-purpose (“plain”) flour. You’ll sift it into your batter (to remove any lumps in the flour) and gently fold in with a spatula. Madeleine batter is fairly thin, like cake batter.
- Citrus Zest (optional). Lemon or orange zest is a common addition, and if I have a fresh citrus fruit lying around I always add some (make sure to avoid the pith!). If you don’t, though, you can skip it and they’ll still be delicious.
Please note that baking powder is not included on this list. Many madeleine recipes use baking powder to help encourage the madeleine hump/belly to form, but it is not necessary here.
Please also note that this is just an overview of the ingredients used. For the full recipe with amounts, please scroll down to the recipe card.
Another Key Ingredient: The Madeleine Pan
Another key “ingredient” is the pan! You absolutely need a scalloped pan like the one seen above in order to make madeleines. It’s the only way to get that characteristic shape. This is the pan that I use.
I use a non-stick pan, but it’s still important to prep the pan before using to make sure that the madeleines don’t stick. Non-stick spray works, but my preference is to mix together melted butter and a pinch of flour and coat the pan with that. It gives the scalloped exterior shell of the madeleine a better, butterier flavor.
Ribboning and Resting (And Why I do Neither)
Most madeleine recipes call for the batter to be both ribboned and rested before it is baked. My recipe calls for neither, though I tested many, many recipes where I tried both techniques before landing here.
Ribboning (in this instance) is the process of whipping the eggs vigorously (usually with an electric mixer) until the batter is thickened and falls “like a ribbon” from the beater. This incorporates a lot of air into the batter and is typical of a genoise (or, “sponge cake”, which madeleines technically are). My recipe does require you to vigorously whisk the eggs/sugar/salt by hand for a few seconds, but it’s not necessary to go all the way to ribbon stage. With our higher ratio of butter and sugar here, we still end up with a light, delicately cakey interior without needing an electric mixer.
Resting simply means chilling in this situation. Resting helps the batter to thicken and in many recipes it’s essential in order for the hallmark bump or hump of the madeleine to form. The idea is that the chilled batter expands quickly in a hot oven, causing the hump.
Resting is critical with many recipes (even with my crepes I call for at least a half an hour of chilling to help the gluten relax). With some of the madeleine recipes I developed and tested, resting was critical or the madeleines ended up flat (or they spread with crackled edges out of the pan). But with this version, the madeleines still end up with a perfect, buttery-soft interior and that trademark bump, with or without resting.
Your batter will thicken while the madeleines rest. If you have a single small pan like I do and need to wait for one batch to bake before using up the rest of the batter, you’ll notice it is much more stiff when you go to bake round two. This is fine and there’s no significant difference in the madeleines made with the thinner or thicker batter. That being said, if you want to make the batter a day or two in advance, you can store it tightly covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake.
Toppings
Many madeleine-makers top theirs off with a dusting of powdered sugar just before serving. This adds a nice extra sweetness to the cakes, but while I added some sugar for aesthetics in the photo below my recipe is perfectly sweetened so that no additional sugar is necessary.
A chocolate coating (made of melting chocolate bars, melting wafers, or chocolate chips and then dipping the cakes) is another popular choice, but again it’s not necessary here. Never thought I’d say chocolate isn’t a necessity but somehow here we are.
More Recipes You Might Like:
Storing
Madeleines are truly best served fresh, shortly after they are made (even better if they’re still warm!). However, these will keep for up to three days in an airtight container at room temperature. They may also be frozen for at least a month if allowed to cool completely and then frozen in an airtight container. Again though, they’re better fresh!
Enjoy! I really can’t wait to hear how you like these, so please leave me a comment or tag me on Instagram when you try them!
Madeleines (the Best, Easiest Recipe, with Video!)
Ingredients
For Coating the Pan:
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 ½ teaspoons all-purpose flour
For Madeleines:
- 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces (141g)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar firmly packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (155g)
- 2 teaspoons lemon or orange zest optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and whisk together 1 Tablespoon melted butter and 1 ½ teaspoons flour. Use a pastry brush to lightly but thoroughly grease every cavity of your madeleine pan. Set aside.
- In a small heatproof bowl, melt remaining 10 Tablespoons of butter. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugars, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk vigorously until thoroughly combined (about 30 seconds).
- Sift flour into the egg mixture, about ⅓ of the flour at a time, gently stirring into egg mixture after each addition.
- Drizzle cooled melted butter around the edge of the batter and add zest, if using. Gently fold into batter using a spatula until ingredients are thoroughly combined (but do not over-mix).
- Drop batter by heaping Tablespoon into prepared pan.
- Transfer to center rack of 375F (190C) preheated oven and bake for 9 minutes or madeleines are light golden brown and spring back when lightly touched. Remove to a cooling rack to cool immediately.
- If your madeleine pan did not hold all of the batter, allow the pan to cool before re-brushing with butter/flour mixture and refilling with batter and baking your next batch.
- If desired, sprinkle madeleines with additional powdered sugar or dip in melted chocolate before serving.
Notes
Storing
Madeleines are best served fresh, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Bruce
I’m getting a madeleine pan for Christmas, so I’ll be trying this recipe soon after!
Sam
You already know what you’re getting for Christmas?! Or is this a present to yourself? Those are always the best. 🙂
Joan
These are so easy and delicious!! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you enjoyed them, Joan! Thanks for commenting 😊
Bev
I just purchased pumpkin madelines from a farmers market. I had never heard of these before and they were delicious! I Google for a recipe and found yours. I need to experiment with adding pumpkin to these!
Thanks!
Sam
Sounds interesting! Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Robert
I tried the recipe, and it didn’t work right. when I added the last bit of flour the mixture became a thick mess, and it wouldn’t take the butter. I thought I had it until then and boom it all locked up.
Sam
Hmmm I’m kinda stumped here. I wonder if there was just a tad too much flour measured out? That’s the only thing I can think of here. 🙁
LuluOng
I was looking forward to using my madeleine pans and found your easy and fuss free recipe, no resting etc. True to the recipe, it’s easy and yielded 20 yummy madeleines. Wanted to make some lemon drizzle but the sweetness was sufficient in the original recipe. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much for your review! We are happy to hear they turned out so well for you ❤️
Laurie Hidley
I had never heard of madeleines but when they were mentioned in a novel I was reading I immediately looked for a recipe (found yours) and bought a pan that was delivered the next day! Talk about spontaneous!
I watched your video and followed the recipe exactly, adding the lemon zest. My 27 year old son said I need to make them EVERY day! They were such a hit I make them for every special occasion. I made 10 dozen yesterday for a wedding shower and people raved about them! I’ve shared your recipe with many of them.
They are simple to make and come out perfect every time. I’ve already told my son that he will inherit my madeleine pans!
Thank you!
Sam
That is so great to hear, Laurie! I’m so glad everyone has enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Fatima
Can you make them with gluten feee flour?
Sam
I haven’t tried them with gluten free flour so I can’t say for sure how they would turn out. If you do try it I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
Tapashi
Followed your recipe exactly as shown and written.
They were soft in the centre, I was expecting a cookie like texture. Are they meant to be soft ?
Sam
Hi Tapashi! Yes these are meant to be soft so it sounds like they turned out perfectly. 🙂
Su Rogers
Hi there – tried your Madeleine recipe – great taste but I had a problem – the domes were not quite cooked through – what you think the problem is? Need to hear back soon as am making them again and would love to do it right next time. Thanks.
Sam
Hi Su! I would try leaving them in the oven just a little bit longer. 🙂
Su Rogers
Hi Sam – I bought an oven thermometer this morning – guess what – it was off by a whopping 25 degrees! Jeez! Thanks for suggesting I test oven temp. No wonder they were not cooked right through – ok trying again.
Sam
O no! At least you know how to adjust it now. 🙂
Christina
I’m a bit bummed! I followed the recipe exactly but the madeleines turned out super oily and dense. I’m not sure what went wrong here.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Oh no! Unfortunately, it sounds like an ingredient may have been mis-measured. If you haven’t already, we’d recommend taking a peek at the video and giving it another go 🙂
Chelsea Barber
Omg they turned out amazing.
I did a little spin of my own by adding some chocolate chips with the orange zest, and also adding in some turbunado, all spice and cinnamon.
Wow! They are SO PERFECT.
This is my favorite site for all baked goods!
Leslie
This recipe is great! I made them because they are my husband’s favorite cookies, and they turned out so wonderful! I may dip the next batch in chocolate for a little change.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy they were a hit for you, Leslie! Love the chocolate idea 😍
Terence
I love madelines and usually by them from wegmans. But I bought a shell pan and was excited to make this recipe. Turned out great! I think I overfilled mine so the cookies were bigger but so good!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Homemade are so much better! We’re so happy yours turned out so well, Terence ❤
Finnette Goodyear
I love this recipe! However, I am wondering why mine have air holes in the final product. Recommendations on how to resolve this? Otherwise, easy and delicious!!!
Sam
Hi Finnette! I’m glad you enjoyed them. A few small holes seems pretty normal to me. It could be a product of maybe slightly over or under-mixing. 🙂
Bethany
Made these last night and the came out great! I forgot the brown sugar as I wasn’t paying enough attention, but they were still plenty sweet. Going to try them again soon. This time I’ll remember to add all the ingredients, lol. Thanks for sharing the recipe and I’m going to try some of your others soon.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy they still turned out for you, Bethany! Enjoy ❤
Lynna Hollis
Very nice cookie/cake! Great with berries and whipped cream like a shortcake. I did not have a shell pan. The batter was perfect for two mini muffin pans. 9” is too short cooking time for the bigger mass. I kept them in for 11 and 12” with good results. They needed 12” to brown.
I took phots but can’t see where to post.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Lynna! Unfortunately I don’t have a way to add pictures on the website, but if you have an Instagram you can tag me @SugarSpun_Sam or if you have a facebook you can join my group. I lovvveee seeing pictures! 🙂
Becky
Wowwwww! When I added the melted butter in, I was worried that it looked too greasy (and then I got anxious about overmixing the batter while trying to incorporate all that butter in) but still continued onwards and trusted the process.
I followed the recipe exactly and ended up with perfect madeleines (WITH HUMPS!!) Super easy to make, tasted amazing. I didn’t even need to bust out the stand mixer for this. Thank you so much!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Becky! 🙂
Andrew L Shores
Made these following it to the letter. They were perfect and the lemon zest really makes them pop. I’m also not normally that keen on lemon zest but they really did add that little extra. Thank you so much for this recipe. They are so easy I will be making lots of them and often!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you are such a fan of our recipe, Andrew! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review 😊
Mary
I love this recipe! Thank you!