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Homemade Madeleine

A Traditional French Small Cake Made Easy and Healthy at home

by Shirley
Homemade Madeleine Recipe

Homemade Madeleine using limited simple ingredients featuring homemade organic cake flour, organic butter, and sugar, is yummy, healthy, and extremely easy to make.

homemade Madeleine recipe {Easy Yummy Healthy Way}

What is Madeleine?

The Madeleine is a small traditional French sponge cake, featuring a shell-like shape and often with lemon zest flavor. Being a sponge cake, Madeleine is not a leavened cake, baking soda is not necessary for the recipe. The softness comes from beating the egg and butter. Legend says the first Madeleine appears to be created in the middle of the 18th century.

Lucky for us, the shell-shaped baking pan makes it super easy to bake this classic French cake. I also recommend using an electric hand mixer, which helps with the beating process for the batter.

Homemade Madeleine Tips and Tricks

Tip No.1 is to make cake flour at home in advance

Cake flour is important for making a soft and tasty cake. Nevertheless, you don’t have to buy cake flour separately. If you already have your favorite organic all-purpose flour at hand, all you have to do is steam it for 10 minutes. It is an old-fashioned trick, which many cooks leveraged especially during the old days in China when resources were limited.

How To Homemade Cake Flour

bamboo steamer lined with double-layered organic cheesecloth, coupled with a cast iron wok is a perfect tool set for making homemade cake flour. 

After steaming, let the flour cool and dry before rolling it into powder and storing it in an airtight glass jar. I use homemade cake flour to make all kinds of yummy & healthy cakes.

Tip No.2 is to prepare the Madeleine Baking Pan before Baking

To bake a dozen homemade Madeleine, soften 1/2 tbsp butter and blend it with 1 tsp arrowroot flour to create a smooth paste. Use a brush to generously coat the baking pan including all the cavities.

blend softened butter with arrowroot flour to brush & coat the baking pan

Tip No.3 is to blend the batter properly for a yummy Homemade Madeleine

Remove the butter from the refrigerator well in advance to soften it. You can also use a microwave to soften it. When using a microwave, try not to overdo it. We want to soften the butter but not completely turn it into liquid.

Use a electric hand mixer to blend wet ingredients for cake batter first

Use an electric hand mixer to blend all the wet ingredients well. Then sift in the homemade cake flour and a dash of salt. Himalayan pink salt is my go-to salt.

Use a silicone spatula to fold the flour into the batter. Remember not to overwork the flour.

Last but not least, fold in the freshly made lemon zest.

homemade Madeleine batter in the mixing bowl

Tip No.4 is to bake the Homemade Madeleine

You do not have to worry about the shape of the batter when filling in the Madeleine baking pan. Just add enough batter to fill the whole cavity.

This recipe makes a perfect one dozen (12) Madeleine using this 12-opening Madeleine Pan. By the way, I almost always bake two dozen at a time, therefore the picture shows represents 2x the recipe.

Divide the batter evenly among the cavities. If you are not sure, you can go one round fill in about 80%, and then evenly distribute the rest.

add homemade Madeleine batter to the baking pan

For baking, preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit, or approximately 190.6 Celsius, and bake for 9 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 350 Fahrenheit, or approximately 176.7 Celsius, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

freshly baked Homemade Madeleine in the baking pan

Enjoy a yummy, healthy, and nutritious Homemade Madeleine!

Homemade Madeleine Recipe
Homemade Madeleine Recipe

Homemade Madeleine Cookies Recipe {Easy Healthy Yummy Way}

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Homemade Madeleine Cookies using limited simple ingredients featuring homemade organic cake flour, organic butter and sugar, is yummy, healthy and extremely easy to make.

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 90 g cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 8 tbsp {1 bar} unsalted butter, organic preferred
  • 130 g homemade cake flour, see notes
  • 1/8 tsp salt, such as Himalayan pink salt
  • 1 lemon zest

For brushing the Madeleine Pan:

  • 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, organic preferred
  • 1 tsp arrowroot flour

Instructions

  • This recipe makes a dozen (12) Madeleine cookies.
  • Soften the 1/2 tbsp butter in a small dish and mix with 1 tsp arrowroot flour. Vigorously blend until blend into a smooth paste. Use a soft brush to generously coat each cavity of the Madeleine baking pan with the butter/arrowroot flour paste.
    blend softened butter with arrowroot flour to brush & coat the baking pan
  • Add all the wet ingredients including 2 eggs, cane sugar, vanilla extract, and softened butter into a mixing bowl. Use an electric hand-held mixer to vigorously blend everthing together.
    Use a electric hand mixer to blend wet ingredients for cake batter first
  • Sift in the homemade cake flour and salt. Use a silicone spatula to combine & fold the flour/salt with the batter. Remember not to over-work the flour and do not mix in circles. This will makes flour doughy. If there are lumps of flour, use an egg whisk to crush them apart.
    homemade Madeleine batter in the mixing bowl
  • Wash and dry the lemons and then use a zester to zest the peel and add to the batter. Fold them into batter.
  • Use a large spoon to scoop heap of the batter and add to the previously greased cavity. This recipe makes a perfect 12 Madeleine. You don't have to worry about the shape of the batter too much, they take care of themselves during the baking. Just loosely fill the cavity all the way to the top.
    add homemade Madeleine batter to the baking pan
  • Preheat teh oven to 375 F {190.6 C}, and bake for 9 minutes in the middle rack. Then reduce the temperature to 350 F {176.6 C}, and bake for another 5 minutes.
    freshly baked Homemade Madeleine in the baking pan
  • Once you see the egdge starts to brown, then the Madeleine is ready. Turn off the heat and remove it from the oven. Let it cool down a little bit and then remove the Madeleine from the baking pan and cool them on a wired rack. Enjoy!
    Homemade Madeleine Recipe

Notes

  • I almost always double the recipe to make two dozens at a time.
  • Homemade cake four using organic all-purpose flour is easy, yummy and nutritious. I use my homemade cake flour to make all kinds of cakes.

Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 210Total Fat 9.1gSaturated Fat 5.9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 82mgSodium 512mgCarbohydrates 18.8gFiber 0.5gSugar 9.6gProtein 3.3g

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