Spring is on the horizon so it’s time to celebrate fresh flavours! Lemon is one of my all time favourites. It’s so zingy and light and matches perfectly with these delicate madeleines.
Made famous by their distinctive ‘bump’ and shell shape, madeleines are a classic for any budding baker. The trick to perfecting these sweet treats is to chill the batter for at least 90 mins before baking. This allows the flour to absorb moisture, thicken the batter and create the signature bump.
This recipe requires a madeleine cake pan to create the shell shapes – you can find these in most supermarkets.
I’ve also included some additional flavour combinations – my favourite HAS to be Lemon & Lavender!
This recipe makes 24 madeleines and takes up to 2 and a half hours to make (including chilling times). If you have the time, you can even let the batter chill overnight and bake the next day.
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 120 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp honey
- 80 ml milk, warmed to room temperature
- 140 g gluten-free plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 40 g almond flour
- 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 250 g unsalted butter, melted plus extra for greasing
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 lemon, zested
Decoration:
- 150 g royal icing sugar
- juice of 1 lemon
See below for more flavour combinations!
Useful Equipment: madeleine cake pan, pastry brush, heatproof bowl, spatula, mixing bowl, hand/stand mixer, zester/grater, wire cooling rack
Method:
- Brush your madeleine cake pan with melted butter and then dust with some flour. Turn over and tap out any extra flour.
- Whisk together the eggs, sugar and honey.
- Whisk in the warm milk followed by the flour, almond flour and baking powder.
- Mix in the melted butter, vanilla extract and the zest of half a lemon.
- Leave the batter to chill in the fridge for at least 90 mins to form the perfect bump!
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C fan/375 °F.
- Pipe or spoon the mixture into your prepared madeleine pans until they are two thirds full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 mins or until golden and spring back when pressed lightly. Once baked, take out of the moulds and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Add lemon juice1 tsp at a time to your royal icing sugar until your desired consistency of the icing is reached. You could have a thick icing which can be piped or go for a thin drizzle or glaze – up to you!
- Finish with the rest of the lemon zest. Enjoy!
Flavour Combinations:
- Lemon & Lavender: Add a drop or two of lavender essence to your royal icing and decorate with dried edible lavender – so delicate and perfect for Spring!
- Honey: Add 1 tsp of honey to your royal icing. Use flavoured honey such as orange blossom or eucalyptus for floral sweetness!
- White Chocolate: why not skip the royal icing altogether and dunk your madeleine in some melted chocolate and sprinkle with lemon zest, or how about freeze-dried raspberries?
These cakes will keep up to 5 days in an airtight container and they also freeze really well so you can always double up the quantities and bake some for a rainy day!
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