Sheesh! Ever since I joined the Tuesdays with Dorie group, Tuesdays sure seem to roll around a lot faster! I don’t really mind, though. I’m having a great time trying out all of these fab new recipes. This week’s selection is a favorite of mine - Madeleines. I had my first taste of these plump and buttery little shell-shaped sweets last summer in Paris and I was hooked. In fact, one of my very first posts on this blog was about one of Dorie’s versions of the madeleine. Part cookie/part cake, these madeleines go with everything and are a perfect treat any time of the day.
I followed this recipe as written. I’ve made them a few times before and they always turned out great. The only adjustment I did make was to add extra lemon zest, because I like a more lemony flavor. My madeleines turned out beautifully! They were a burnished golden color with the slightest hint of crunch on the outside and soft and cakey on the inside. More importantly, each one bore that very desirable hump!
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My thanks go out to Tara of Smells Like Home, our host this week, for choosing such a great recipe. Also, please take some time to visit the other TWD bakers here and check out their delectable offerings.
If you’ve never eaten a madeleine before, you owe it to yourself to make some NOW! Then, put on a Piaf CD, grab a steamy cup of cafe au lait and enjoy! C’est Magnifique!
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…Traditional Madeleines
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2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
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Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Working in a mixer bowl, or in a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl. Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines. (For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge; see below for instructions on prepping the pans.)
GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds, or up to 36 mini madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick pan (or pans), give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, no prep is needed. Place the pan(s) on a baking sheet.
Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don’t worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven’s heat will take care of that. Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, and minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched.
Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any recalcitrant madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.
If you are making minis and have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the pan(s) before baking.
Just before serving, dust the madeleines with confectioners’ sugar.
makes 12 large or 36 mini madeleines
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Enjoy!
Filed Under: Baking, Cookies and Brownies, Desserts, Ethnic, Recipes, Tuesdays with Dorie
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On May 20, 2008 at 12:01pm, Mansi Desai said...
These look perfect and extremely adorable, just like all your other recipes girl!! beautiful madeleines indeed:)
btw, I’m hosting a Monthly Mingle event on my blog this month, and it would be great if you could participate! please check the details here
On May 20, 2008 at 12:04pm, kim said...
they look great! exquisitely humpy
On May 20, 2008 at 12:06pm, Bridget said...
Wow, you really have some madeleine perfection there!
On May 20, 2008 at 12:20pm, Engineer Baker said...
Beautifully browned! Nice job! And I totally agree - Tuesdays come by waaay too quickly!
On May 20, 2008 at 12:27pm, Melissa said...
Beautiful madelines. Beautiful presentation!
On May 20, 2008 at 12:45pm, Heather said...
perfect madeleines! They look yummy! Great job!
On May 20, 2008 at 12:56pm, Jescel said...
i love ’em too.. gotta make them, but i have to buy the molds first :o)..
On May 20, 2008 at 12:58pm, Jacque said...
Oh, wow, those are some great pictures! My hat’s off to you.
On May 20, 2008 at 1:07pm, Bumblebutton said...
Congratulations on your hump! Pretty photos, and they look great!
On May 20, 2008 at 1:36pm, Lynnylu said...
Beautiful madelines and great photos.
On May 20, 2008 at 2:00pm, Linda said...
Perfect results! bravo!
On May 20, 2008 at 2:26pm, Rebecca said...
Once you join TWD, Tuesdays are every other day. 😉
On May 20, 2008 at 2:29pm, smellslikehome said...
absolutely beautiful! so glad you enjoyed this week’s choice.
On May 20, 2008 at 2:34pm, mimi said...
your humps came out beautiful! what pretty madeleines, love them with the ribbon!
On May 20, 2008 at 3:33pm, Tracey said...
Your madeleines look lovely!
On May 20, 2008 at 3:44pm, Gretchen Noelle said...
Great look madeleines and lovely presentation!!
On May 20, 2008 at 3:46pm, Dianne said...
Gorgeous!
On May 20, 2008 at 3:47pm, Katie B. said...
Is it weird that my first thought upon seeing your madeleines was, “Oh, they look like princesses!” Princess Madeleines, indeed - they look great!
On May 20, 2008 at 3:52pm, karen said...
they look absolutely perfect!
On May 20, 2008 at 3:55pm, Cheryl said...
Pretty pictures! They look great!
On May 20, 2008 at 4:36pm, Aardvark Cakes said...
What beautiful presentation - I’m sorry I missed out the Piaf bit! Maybe next time…maybe not! I will also add more lemon zest next time. hx
On May 20, 2008 at 4:50pm, Gabi said...
Proust would be so envious- I love the hump and I adore a good madeleine!
On May 20, 2008 at 5:45pm, Christine said...
Your madeleines look beautiful and I am so jealous you have a bump! Love the pictures
On May 20, 2008 at 5:59pm, StickyGooeyCreamyChewy said...
Thank you all very much! I’m so glad that you like my madeleines! I was pretty pleased with them. Believe me, they didn’t last long around here!
On May 20, 2008 at 6:17pm, LyB said...
Magnifique indeed! They’re perfect, and now I want to make some again!
On May 20, 2008 at 6:54pm, Jayne said...
Those look perfect! And your photos - especially that first one - just gorgeous!
On May 20, 2008 at 7:45pm, Kevin said...
Your Madeleines look great! Nice photos and presentation.
On May 20, 2008 at 7:57pm, Garrett said...
Very nice looking madeleines. Congratulations!
On May 20, 2008 at 9:33pm, Manggy said...
Ooh, how perfect! The grooves are so sharp and well-defined! I must confess I was traumatized once by a bad madeleine (it was dry and tough), but your description totally makes me want to try one again
On May 21, 2008 at 12:55am, Dhanggit said...
your madeleines look so perfect!!! yummy!!
On May 21, 2008 at 5:50am, ostwestwind said...
I am green with envy, you got the humps. Your madeleines turned out beautiful and are nicely presented.
Ulrike from Küchenlatein
On May 21, 2008 at 7:34am, Patricia Scarpin said...
So perfect, Susan! They look pretty and delicious. And those are some lovely humps!
On May 21, 2008 at 8:02am, Jen of A2eatwrite said...
Oh, I love Madeleines! I think I may have to invest in a pan. You’re bringing back wonderful memories from my childhood!
On May 21, 2008 at 8:06am, joanne at frutto della passione said...
Do you believe in destiny? A couple of weeks ago a friend went to Paris and brought back Madelines. It was my first time eating them and my reaction was !!!!!! I have been thinking a lot about them since and recently Helen at Tartlette posted about them and now you have posted about them and I think the universe wants me to learn how to make these!!!
On May 21, 2008 at 9:10am, CB said...
Love your humps and abumps! (dang now I got that song stuck in my head!) Beautiful pictures! Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought
On May 21, 2008 at 12:41pm, The Kitchen Vixen said...
what lovely little humps! great job;)
On May 21, 2008 at 5:02pm, noble pig said...
What a beuatiful photo you took of these. They just make me want to have one.
On May 21, 2008 at 9:28pm, Simply...Gluten-free said...
What stunning photos! And Happy B-day - belated!
On May 21, 2008 at 10:52pm, Heather said...
I have a Madeleine pan that I’ve been dying to take for a spin. I think I’ll use your tried-and-true recipe. I’ve always wanted to make them - they’re so dainty and ladylike!
On May 21, 2008 at 11:06pm, Jaime said...
adorable! look at your beautiful bumps!
On May 22, 2008 at 12:20am, Nina's Kitchen (Nina Timm) said...
You are a super baking star, Susan. I cannot keep up. I made your Holy Crap cookies yesterday, will post later.
On May 22, 2008 at 6:22am, StickyGooeyCreamyChewy said...
I am really touched by all of your sweet comments! For me, the most rewarding thing about blogging is knowing that others enjoy and appreciate what you have to offer, especially your peers. I never thought I’d be so happy to hear people tell me that they like my “bumps” and “humps”! 😉
Hopefully, things will be back to normal here soon and I’ll have more time to spend responding to each comment individually and making the rounds on all of your great blogs. I really miss it!
Joanne- I do believe in destiny. It must be a sign that you need to start baking madeleines! They are not difficult at all and they go great with a nice hot espresso!
On May 22, 2008 at 7:01am, Aran said...
love, love, love this post!
On May 22, 2008 at 7:13am, SteamyKitchen said...
Honey! Those are gorgeous. I’m coming over for tea.
On May 22, 2008 at 7:27am, familiabencomo said...
These are my absolute favorites! My daughter & I always pick some up at Starbucks. I have my eye on a couple of Madeleine baking forms so that I can make these at home. Thank you for sharing the recipe with all of us! Yours look oh-so-perfect.
xoxox Amy
On May 22, 2008 at 8:13am, Mevrouw Cupcake said...
Your madeleines look perfect.
On May 22, 2008 at 9:45am, PheMom said...
Look how seriously rockin’ yours turned out! I love it! Now, if I could just figure out what I did wrong! More chances to try right!?
Beautiful job!
On May 22, 2008 at 12:21pm, Lori said...
Wow your madeleines look amazing. Love the ribbon picture too. What a great way to show them off.
On May 22, 2008 at 1:34pm, Dolores said...
Tuesdays do seem to come more quickly, but they make Mondays a lot more palatable.
Great job on your madeleines.
On May 22, 2008 at 1:51pm, michelle @ TNS said...
les madeleines, ce cont parfaits!
i don’t know how you TWD people do it, all the baking, ever 7 days. i would be a basket case.
On May 22, 2008 at 8:42pm, Marc @ NoRecipes said...
Yummy! I love madeleines. I posted a little link to your blog as thanks for the Yummy blog award:-)
On May 23, 2008 at 8:20am, Cookie baker Lynn said...
Your madeleines look just perfect!
On September 07, 2012 at 9:09pm, Eusebio Taitt said...
262 W 38th St
On January 09, 2014 at 2:02pm, Jb said...
I have a question - The smooth side of the madeleines always seem to stay a bit sticky - even after completely cooled. Any tips to eliminate this?
Thanks!