Madeleines

By kmad

The darling of French patisseries is less fussy and more open to adventurous flavors than you might expect.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Coarse salt
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted, plus more, softened, for pans
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Details

Servings 30

Preparation

Step 1

1.Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
2.Whisk together eggs and granulated and brown sugars with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Sift flour mixture over top in 2 additions, folding in after each addition. Fold in melted butter in 2 additions, then honey and vanilla. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours.
3.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let batter stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Generously butter 2 standard-size or 2 mini nonstick or aluminum madeleine pans using a pastry brush.
4.Transfer batter to a pastry bag, and snip tip to create a 1/2-inch opening. Pipe some batter into molds, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake on middle rack until pale gold, 8 to 11 minutes (6 to 8 minutes for mini madeleines). Immediately shake madeleines out. Wash and rebutter molds. Repeat with remaining batter. Dust baked madeleines with confectioners' sugar.
Cook's Note
Madeleine batter can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Madeleines are best the day they are made, but they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days


Alternate Flavors:
Chocolate
Add 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder to flour mixture. Fold 8 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate into batter before baking. Dust baked madeleines with cocoa powder.

Olive Oil and Sea Salt
Use only 1 1/2 sticks butter; add 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil to melted butter. Sprinkle a very small pinch of sea salt into buttered madeleine molds before piping in batter.

Maple
Omit honey. Reduce 1/2 cup pure maple syrup by half over medium-low heat, about 15 minutes; add to melted butter. For maple glaze, whisk together 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, and 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar. Let cool for at least 1 hour. Brush onto scalloped side of baked madeleines. (Makes enough for 1 batch.)

Jasmine Green Tea
Grind 1/4 cup best-quality jasmine green tea in a spice grinder until powdery; add to flour mixture.

Black and White
Transfer half the batter to a bowl. Stir 4 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate and 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder into half the batter. Pipe chocolate batter into one half of each mold, then pipe vanilla batter into remaining half of mold.

Spice
Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger to flour mixture. For cream cheese glaze, stir together 6 ounces room-temperature cream cheese and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk. Dip scalloped side of each baked madeleine into glaze, and wipe excess off sides. Grate cinnamon sticks over glaze, dusting tops. (Makes enough for 1 batch.)

Peanut Butter
Use only 1 1/2 sticks butter, and add 1/4 cup natural peanut butter when melting butter. Sprinkle madeleines with 1/2 cup chopped peanuts before baking. Cut baked madeleines in half lengthwise through center, and sandwich each with strawberry jam.

Lemon
Reduce 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice by half over medium heat, about 15 minutes; add to batter with 1/4 cup finely grated lemon zest (from 4 lemons) before adding flour mixture. For lemon glaze, whisk together 2 cups confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 4 lemons). Dip scalloped side of each baked madeleine into glaze, and wipe excess off sides. (Makes enough for 1 batch.)