Lemon Madeleines

Do you have madeleine pans?  For years and years I wanted a set, but couldn’t justify something I would use so infrequently when space is tight.   I happened to be in a Bed Bath and Beyond, with no supervision (aka no one to make reasonable comments about potential purchases) and  there was a sale on the baking equipment! I scooped up these Wilton pans and threw them in my buggy ASAP.  

I got the madeleine pans home and they collected dust for like three months. I always tell myself that I will keep a decent baking schedule at the end of the year, but the reality is that’s also my busy season at work, and well the bills have to get paid. 

Finally, I was ready to make the Fresh Lemon Madeleines from The Cookie Book, but here’s the thing, they take a ton of time.  Lemon Madeleines aren’t a “I decided 15 minutes ago these would be tasty” kind of situation. If you want a Lemon Madeleine fast, I hope you have a good french bakery near you!

Madeleine Technique Notes

The most important thing to know about making madeleines is that you need a plan and you need a lot of time.  

1. The batter needs to refrigerate overnight.  
2. Madeleine pans need to freeze for 30 minutes before baking. 
3. Make room in your freezer before you get started.  Seriously, turn this into an opportunity to do a bit of spring cleaning, you’ll be glad you did. 
4. Filling the wells takes a bit of practice.  The first batch I overfilled, the second batch I under filled, the third batch was just right.  Practice makes perfect people.  
5. Resist the temptation to “smooth” out the batter in the pan.  DON’T DO IT. You’re better than that. 
6. You should only bake one tin at a time, this way if you have two tins, you can chill the pan that is not in the oven. 

Lemon Madeleines

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Ingredients

For the Madeleines

• 8 tbs unsalted butter (softened and cut into 8 pieces)
• 2 large eggs
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbs whole milk (room temperature)
• 1 tbs lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅔ cup + 1 tbs. (101all purpose flour
• 1 tbs (9cornstarch
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp sea salt

For the lemon glaze:

• 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
• 4 tbs milk
• Zest of two lemons

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Instructions

Make the Madeleines:

1. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and sugar on high for 5 minutes. The mixture should be pale and have the consistency of mayonnaise.
3. Pour in the milk, lemon zest and vanilla and whisk on low for another minute.
4. Add the flour and softened butter to the mix and whisk on low for about 30-45 seconds. The batter should be smooth and creamy with a few bits of butter remaining. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight.
5. Grease two nonstick madeleine pans with room temperature butter and place the pans in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
7. Add a tablespoon of batter into each well of the madeleine pan, taking care to place the batter in the deep end of the well, it will spread.
8. Bake for 10 minutes. The madeleines will be golden around the edges. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Make the lemon glaze

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and lemon zest. If the glaze is not thin enough add another tablespoon of milk until you get the desired consistency.
2. Place parchment paper under the cooling rack and then turn out the madeleines. Dip each madeleine into the glaze, letting the excess glaze drip onto the parchment paper for easy clean up. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

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