Exquisite little cakes, these French Lemon Madeleines are easy to make. Perfectly sized little treats, rich in butter and delicately flavoured with a touch of lemon, these moist cakes are the ideal snack for "goûter" time (the French version of the afternoon snack).
Sharing the same name has always given me a particular attachment to these delicious cakes and they are deeply embedded in my childhood memories of France.
So, I confess that for a long time I was somewhat nervous at attempting to make these iconic French cakes. I was amazed, however, at how easy to make they actually are. The few ingredients are quick to put together, and there is the added bonus that you can make the mixture ahead, cooking the next day.
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Ingredients for French Madeleine cakes
- eggs.
- sugar.
- plain flour.
- butter.
- honey.
- lemon (or orange). Finely grated lemon zest is used to give a delicate flavour to these cakes. Orange zest also works very well as an alternative.
- salt.
See the Recipe Card below for quantities.
How to make French Madeleines
There are many varying recipes for Madeleines. This version is based on the recipe found in Les desserts de mon enfance by the famous French chef Gaston Lenôtre.
- Sieve flour and baking powder. Sieve together 150g of plain flour with 1/1/4 teaspoons of baking powder into a bowl.
- Grate the lemon zest. Finely grate the zest from ½ lemon.
- Melt butter. Melt 125g of butter in a small saucepan over a gentle heat. Just enough heat to melt the butter is needed.
- Whisk. Break 3 eggs into a large mixing bowl and add 1 pinch of salt (finely ground), 130g of sugar and 20g of honey (preferably runny). I use an electric hand held whisk for this stage and beat the ingredients for about 5 minutes until the mixture whitens and develops a mousse-like texture. A sign that the mixture has been beaten sufficiently is if a light trail is left in the mixture when moving the whisk.
- Add sieved flour. Add the sieved flour to the egg mixture and gently fold in.
- Add rest of ingredients. Add the melted butter and grated lemon zest, and gently stir until the ingredients are well mixed together.
- Refrigerate. Place the Madeleine mixture in the fridge. Leave the mixture to chill overnight.
- Pre-heat Oven. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius (425 degrees Fahrenheit, Gas Mark 7). It is important that the oven reaches this temperature before the cold, uncooked Madeleines are placed in the oven.
- Bake. Butter the Madeleine moulds (or mini-muffin tins) and lightly dust with plain flour. Fill the moulds so that the batter fills them by approximately two thirds. This can be a little tricky to judge initially with cold batter, so go with best guesstimates. I tend to overfill rather than underfill. Bake in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Cool. Remove the Madeleines from the baking tray and cool on a wire rack.
Where do Madeleines get their name and shape?
For a long time I thought the unusual shape of Madeleines was the shape of a teardrop.
The French have a saying "elle pleure comme une Madeleine", meaning "she cries like a Madeleine". With allusion to this, I was often told as a child that I was a typical Madeleine. Sadly, not a compliment! The inference is that you are somewhat of a crybaby, making a big fuss over nothing.
"Elle pleure comme une Madeleine" is in fact referring to the famous scene of Saint Mary Magdalen washing the feet of Christ with her tears. Hence the reason for my thinking that the little French Madeleines are shaped as a teardrop.
The commonly held view for the origin of the name, however, is that the cakes are named after the servant girl who made them for the former king of Poland, Stanislas Leszezynski, when he was staying in the French commune of Commercy. The shape of the cakes is said to come originally from them being baked in cockle shells.
Maybe. I prefer my own theory for the origin of the Madeleine cake's name and shape. I should also add, applying the phrase "elle pleure comme une Madeleine" to me was always totally unjustified...
More French Recipes
📋 Recipe Card
French Lemon Madeleines
Ingredients
- 150 g plain flour
- 11/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 lemon zest from ½ lemon is used
- 125 g butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 pinch of fine salt
- 130 g sugar
- 20 g honey (runny)
Instructions
- Sieve flour and baking powder. Sieve together 150g of plain flour with 1/1/4 teaspoons of baking powder into a bowl.
- Grate the lemon zest. Finely grate the zest from ½ lemon.
- Melt butter. Melt 125g of butter in a small saucepan over a gentle heat. Just enough heat to melt the butter is needed.
- Whisk. Break 3 eggs into a large mixing bowl and add 1 pinch of salt (finely ground), 130g of sugar and 20g of honey (preferably runny). I use an electric hand held whisk for this stage and beat the ingredients for about 5 minutes until the mixture whitens and develops a mousse-like texture. A sign that the mixture has been beaten sufficiently is if a light trail is left in the mixture when moving the whisk.
- Add sieved flour. Add the sieved flour to the egg mixture and gently fold in.
- Add rest of ingredients. Add the melted butter and grated lemon zest, and gently stir until the ingredients are well mixed together.
- Refrigerate. Place the Madeleine mixture in the fridge. Leave the mixture to chill overnight.
- Pre-heat Oven. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius (425 degrees Fahrenheit, Gas Mark 7). It is important that the oven reaches this temperature before the cold, uncooked Madeleines are placed in the oven.
- Bake. Butter the Madeleine moulds (or mini-muffin tins) and lightly dust with plain flour. Fill the moulds so that the batter fills them by approximately two thirds. This can be a little tricky to judge initially with cold batter, so go with best guesstimates. I tend to overfill rather than underfill. Bake in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Cool. Remove the Madeleines from the baking tray and cool on a wire rack.
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