Recently I've been obsessed with madeleines: they're cute little french cakes that look like fancy cookies. On the outside, these mini cakes are slightly crispy, but once you bite into it is insanely soft, airy and buttery. Might I say that they are also a wonderful addition to your morning tea (or as a midnight snack, we don't judge haha). This recipe features brown butter, which is one of my all-time favorite ingredients! It takes every treat to the next level with its nutty, complex flavor.
Unfortunately, you do have to use a madeleine pan to actually make madeleines. To get those perfectly nice indents on them, a special pan is utilized. Here is the one I used. This is not an affiliate link, just wanted to share the pans I used :)
These French "cookies" are a little tricky to make. Luckily for you, I made this recipe super simple. And with a little bit of patience, you'll have yummy madeleines on your table and in your mouth in no time.
How to Make Brown Butter Madeleines:
These Brown Butter Madeleines only require 4 steps:
Make the brown butter - Begin by cutting your butter into smaller cubes, this way, the butter will melt quicker. When it melts completely, start to stir it frequently until it reaches a golden brown color and brownish black specs begin to form. When you see this occur, stir for a couple more seconds (around 30 seconds) and take it off of heat and pour into another bowl to let it cool down (pour in the specs too, it's the best part of brown butter!)
Make the batter - To start making these madeleines, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and silky and has reached a pale yellow color (lighter than before), this step will take around 9 minutes. Add in your vanilla extract, lemon extract, mix, then add your dry ingredients. Finally, drizzle in your brown butter goodness (most crucial step lol!)
Refrigerate the batter and pan(s) - Cover the batter with cling wrap (make sure the plastic wrap is touching the surface of the batter so that it doesn't create a film). Then stick the bowl in the fridge to chill for 1 hour. Melt around 1-2 tbsp. of butter and coat each of the cavities in the madeleine pan(s) completely (make sure to get through all the nook and crannies) and freeze for 1 hour. Refrigerating the batter for too long can solidify the butter, meaning the madeleines won't rise as tall and won't be as fluffy.
Bake the madeleines - Preheat the oven to 375°F a couple of minutes before the madeleines are done chilling. Take your batter and pans out from the fridge and place a tablespoon of batter into each cavity of the madeleine pan. Make sure you are not squeezing the air out of the batter as that air is crucial to the quality of your final product (be super gentle, it is key!).
Tips to Making the Best Brown Butter Madeleines:
Still feeling unsure on how to get the perfect madeleines? No worries, follow the tips below and you'll be good to go!
Use room temperature ingredients - Using room temperature eggs and butter is so important for your batter. When whipping up your egg batter, room-temperature eggs tend to trap in more air, therefore, creating a thicker mixture which is great news when making madeleines. You also do not want hot butter going into your mixture. Allowing it to cool completely not only doesn't ruin your egg mixture that you worked so hard to whip up, but ensures a nice crumb in your final product.
Sift your dry ingredients - The reason for this tip is that sifting your flour, salt, and baking powder allow for your madeleines to end up light and airy instead of dense and clumpy. You'll definitely want to pick the first option!
Refrigerate, refrigerate, refrigerate! - What an important tip this is! Refrigerating the batter and pan are really a significant factor in this making process. The temperature difference from the cold fridge into the hot oven allows these madeleines to rise, as well as create the iconic hump :) Don't refrigerate for too long, however, as this can be a risky when baking since it might not rise as tall.
How can I store these Brown Butter Madeleines?
Unfortunately, madeleines aren't great at being stored. They taste best and maintain their wonderful texture on their first day. After, however, they tend to go a bit stale. If you absolutely have to store them, I recommend keeping them in an air tight container for 2-3 days max at room-temperature.
Happy baking! :)
If you make this be sure to tag us on Instagram @sarahskitchenofficial
-Sarah <3
Recipe Details:
Yield: 16 madeleines
Time spent
Prep time: 15 mins + 1 hr chill time | Cook time: 10 mins | Total time: 1 hr 25 mins
Ingredients:
8 tbsp. butter + 1-2 tbsp for coating your pan
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, allow the butter to melt. Once it is melted, begin to stir the butter frequently. The butter will start to turn golden brown and form little black specs at the bottom of the pan as well as release a nutty aroma. Stir for 30 more seconds after you see those specs and take it off of the heat. Pour it into another bowl to prevent it from burning.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt, and baking powder. Whisk until combined and set aside.
In a large bowl, use a stand-mixer or any other electric mixer to beat room-temperature eggs and sugar on high for around 9 minutes or until it lightens in color and becomes very thick and silky in texture). Pour in the vanilla and lemon zest and gently incorporate them into the egg mixture.
Sift in your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently mix until combined, do not over-mix (you also don't want to get rid of the air that you worked so hard to whip up so go gentle on the batter while you are mixing!). Pour in your browned butter and mix again until completely incorporated.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap (make sure the plastic wrap touches the surface of the batter so that it doesn't create a film) and chill for 1 hour.
Using a pastry brush, coat the cavities on your madeleine tin with melted butter. Freeze the pans for 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Add a tablespoon of batter to each cavity on the pan. Make sure you do not squeeze or play with the batter too much, this will deflate all the air and we don't want that (be gentle!). If you want you can refrigerate the pans with the batter in them for 10 minutes before putting it into the oven!
Bake the madeleines for 9-11 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the madeleine bounces back after you press on it gently with your finger. Remove from the oven and tilt the pan forward and bang it on a counter or table. The madeleines will pop out of the pan on the first try, if not, bang it 1-2 more times. Allow to cool for 2-4 minutes on a cooling rack. When cooled, dust them with powdered sugar and serve.
Tips:
Do not aggressively mix the madeleine batter. Doing so will remove all air bubbles that you worked so hard for!
Keep your batter cold so that when it's time to put them in the oven the madeleines will rise and create the beautiful hump it's so known for! But at the same time be careful, chilling it for too long can also be the reason why the hump is not produced.
Do not worry if your madeleine does not form the hump, this could be because of the temperature. It'll still taste amazing (the hump does not have any affect on the taste or texture, it's honestly just for looks!)