These lemon madeleines are super sweet, light and airy with an amazing buttery lemon flavour! They not only require few basic ingredients but the right technique in order to succeed.

What are Madeleines?

Are they cookies or cakes? Lemon Madeleines are actually very small french butter cakes with a distinctive shell shape and a signature hump in the middle. They are extremely light and airy with slightly crispy edges. They are very delicious and easy to make. They are made in special pan to achieve the perfect shape. You can enjoy straight away after baking or you can make them fancy by coating it with chocolate. It’s the kind of recipe that requires few basic ingredients but it’s the technique that makes them succeed. They are best eaten with a cup of tea or coffee

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Key Ingredients for lemon Madeleines

• Eggs: should be at room temperature
• Unsalted butter, Melted
• Caster sugar
• Lemon zest and lemon juice

How to make Madeleines?

They are very easy to make. In order to make this madeleine recipe, you will need a Madeleine pan. I used here silicon mould but you can use metal mould because I like my Madeleines with little bit fancy look so coating is more easier in silicon mould as compared to metal one (it’s difficult to de mould after coating in the metal mould and enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee.

LET’S START STEP BY STEP!

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Step 1: Melt the unsalted butter in a saucepan over low heat (don’t boil).Once melted, set aside.You will add into the batter later.

Step 2: Sift the flour, salt and baking powder then whisk together and set aside.

Step 3: Mix together one lemon zest and caster sugar. Set aside.

Step 4: Add the eggs in a bowl, whisk the eggs with a hand whisk just for one minute, then add sugar + lemon zest mixture and whisk together until well combined.Add vanilla extract, lemon juice and mix it in.

Step 5: Fold in your dry ingredients into wet ingredients gently.

Step 6: Now carefully add the melted butter into your batter in two batches. Gently fold in after each addition until combined.

Step 7: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill your batter in the fridge for one hour.

Step 8: Prepare your mould, melt 1-2 tsp of butter and lightly grease the mould. Place it in the fridge.

Step 9: Once there is about 1 hour, take your mould out of the fridge and fill 3/4 of the each cavity of mould with batter by using spoon. Tap the pan to remove the air bubbles in the batter.

Bake in the preheated fan oven at 170C for 5 minutes then at 160C for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to become little golden and crisp and the signature hump has appeared. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. Let them cool slightly in the mould then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can enjoy straight away after baking with a cup of tea or coffee or make it little fancy with chocolate coating. Baking time will be reduced if you are using metal pan. Just bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges begin to become little golden and crisp, signature hump has appeared and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

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Chocolate Coating the Madeleines

Now if you want to make your madeleines look fancier and drop dead gorgeous then you HAVE to coat them in chocolate! The coating further highlights their shell like shape. You can skip this step if you prefer your madeleines without the coating.

Ingredients

• 200 g white chocolate
• few drops of yellow gel food colour (according to your colour preference)
• 1/2 tsp coconut oil
  

How to do the chocolate coating?

1. Wash and dry the Madeleine mould.
2. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave for 20 seconds then 15 seconds until melted completely, stir in between.
3. Add yellow food gel colour and melted coconut oil, stir until well combined. Fill the half of each cavity and place the Madeleines on top, gently press it down.
4. Put them into the freezer to set for 15-20 minutes. Once set, gently remove from the mould and enjoy.

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Recipe tips for perfect madeleines

1. Measure your flour correctly. Use a digital scale to measure it but if you don’t have, spoon and level your flour carefully. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level the flour.
2. Always use eggs at room temperature.
3. Don’t forget to use lemon zest and lemon juice.Lemon gives delicate, light and airy texture to the Madeleines.
4. If you are using metal pan, grease the pan with melted butter. Although it is not necessary to grease the silicon mould but if you do so it gives more softness to the Madeleines.
5. Chill your mould before baking that gives signature hump. It prevents the Madeleines from burning edges especially when you are using silicon mould. If still your Madeleines burns from the edges in your silicon mould, use baking mat or baking tray under the silicon mould while baking. I used baking mat. If you are using non-stick metal pan then no need to use the baking mat under the pan while baking.
6. Chill your batter before baking that gives signature hump to the Madeleines.
7. Tap the pan on the counter before baking to remove air bubbles.
8. Only fill 3/4 of each cavity of mould otherwise it will spread out. The batter can be made one day in advance and kept in the fridge until you are ready to bake them.
9. Keep an eye as they bake. Every oven works differently so keep an eye on them.
10. Lemon Madeleines are best served warm and eaten straight away after baking. But if you want to make them fancy as I did, coat them and chill for 15-20 minutes in the freezer.

Happy Baking!