Recipe

Lemon Lavender Madeleines

by B loves B

One of my all-time favorite treats, madeleines are mini sponge cakes baked in a special madeleine pan, made of individual scalloped molds reminiscent of seashells. This recipe is for a standard mold that makes 12 madeleine cakes. Other versions of pans make up to 24, and there are also molds for tiny bite-sized madeleines that are super cute. If you are baking with a different sized mold, you may need to adjust the recipe and/or baking time.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup (90 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup (70 grams) sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
1 tablespoon culinary lavender buds*
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the molds

Glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Lavender buds*

*To make lemon madeleines, you can simply leave out the lavender in this recipe

Step 1: Infuse the butter

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add lavender buds. Let steep for about 5 minutes, then strain out lavender and discard.

Step 2: Prepare the batter

Massage lemon zest into the sugar (this is my favorite part!). The sugar takes on a really lovely fragrance. I picked this tip up from Dorie Greenspan’s recipe.

Whisk in the eggs until frothy, then mix in honey and vanilla.

Fold in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) until combined. It’s a good idea to mix the dry ingredients together first before adding them, to make sure they get evenly distributed without over mixing your batter.

Fold in the lavender-infused butter.

Step 3: Refrigerate the batter

Cover your batter and refrigerate for at least an hour. You can also leave it overnight and bake the next day. If you are planning to bake the madeleines within the hour or two, it’s a good idea to butter, flour, and chill your madeleine pan before you start preparing your batter, so it’s ready to go when you are.

Step 4: Fill the molds

About an hour before you’re ready to bake, butter your madeleine pan and sprinkle with a dusting of flour, shaking the pan to get rid of excess flour. Refrigerate the mold to chill it.

Spoon batter into cold madeleine pan, filling each mold about 3/4 full. If you overfill the molds, the batter will expand too far, burn on the edges, and ruin the beautiful shape when baking. This amount of batter will fill 12 molds perfectly.

Step 5: Bake

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a baking sheet inside. The reason for the baking sheet (and refrigerating the mold) is to create thermal shock that will help create the signature madeleine “bump.”

Bake the madeleines directly on the heated baking sheet for 11-13 minutes. Remove from oven and release madeleines from molds right away and set aside to cool.

Step 6: Glaze

Once the madeleines are cooled, prepare the glaze by mixing powdered sugar with water and lemon juice until all the sugar is absorbed. Dip the top of the scalloped edge of the madeleine in the glaze. You can sprinkle a few lavender buds on the glaze if you like, which both beautifies them and calls attention to their flavor.

Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee, and relax!