Madeleines
Shell-shaped sponge cakes with a lemon scent.
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Join HomecookedIngredients
- 120 g All-purpose flour
- 2 Egg
- 100 g Sugar
- 100 g Butter
- 1 Lemon
- 1 tsp Baking powder
Method
- Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale, then fold in the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and melted butter.
- Chill the batter at least 20 minutes for the signature hump.
- Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and bake the madeleines until golden and humped, about 9 minutes.
- Cool slightly and serve.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from ingredients; varies with exact portions and brands.
About Madeleines
Madeleines are small French sponge cakes baked in a distinctive scalloped shell mold, forever tied to Proust and the memory of a bite dipped in tea. They sit somewhere between a cake and a cookie: buttery and tender in the center with delicately crisp, browned edges, and scented here with lemon zest that keeps the sweetness from feeling heavy. The batter is a simple genoise-style mix of whisked egg and sugar folded with flour and melted butter, so success comes less from the ingredients than from technique. Their charm is the balance of a plush crumb and those lightly golden, almost lacy shell edges.
The signature feature of a proper madeleine is the pronounced hump on its back, and the recipe leans on the two moves that produce it. Chilling the batter before baking firms the butter so it sets slowly, and a hot 200C oven hits that cold batter with a burst of heat that forces the center to rise dramatically into the classic bump. Because they bake in only about nine minutes, madeleines are best eaten the day they are made, ideally still slightly warm when the edges are at their crispest. They are the quintessential accompaniment to coffee or tea, and a batch of a dozen comes together fast enough to make on a whim.
Madeleines: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Madeleines?
One serving of Madeleines has about 142 calories, with 2g of protein, 16g of carbs, 8g of fat and 0g of fiber. These are estimates based on the ingredient amounts in this recipe and will vary with your exact portions and brands.
Is Madeleines gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains All-purpose flour. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Is Madeleines dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Butter. Swapping it for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How long does Madeleines take to make?
About 40 minutes start to finish, but only around 10 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
How many servings does Madeleines make?
This recipe makes 12 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.