These madeleines are lemony and light and completely delicious — a hit with adults and children alike. Madeleines have a reputation of being fussy, but there’s nothing to them. The key is to not over-fill the madeleine pan, but that’s it. Simple and delicious!
A few years ago, I listened to pastry chef Dominique Ansel tell Special Sauce host Ed Levine that the shelf life of a madeleine is three minutes. At his eponymous bakery in Soho, the madeleines are baked to order—they’re never tucked into a cellophane bag and stashed on a shelf to sit for days. When Dominique hands his customers madeleines, he tells them to eat them right away, and when he sees them tuck his freshly baked petite shells into their bags, he implores them not to.
Not all of Dominique’s pastries have such a short shelf life. Other baked treats, he says, age well, tasting better with time. “Food is alive,” he says, and “when you treat time as an ingredient, it changes everything.”
I’ve been dying to make madeleines ever since listening to this episode, but only just got around to experimenting. Just before Easter, I found a recipe for Dominique’s madeleines online, which I made, but which didn’t turn out so well — user error, likely — and so I turned to google, which led me to this lemon madeleine recipe on Epicurious , and I’ve been making it ever since.
I first baked the madeleines for Easter dessert. After turning the madeleines onto a platter, I dusted them with powdered sugar, and plopped the warm cakes into the center of the table, at which point arms savagely flew in, leaving the plate dusted with shell-shaped stencils, the only evidence of the madeleines’ brief existence. Dominque, I think, would be proud.
How to Make Madeleines, Step by Step
- Beat eggs and sugar together; you can beat by hand, too:
- Add lemon zest and salt, and beat again:
- Add flour:
- And beat until just combined; then add melted butter:
- Beat until incorporated:
- Scoop batter — 1.5 tablespoon scoop is perfect for this job — into madeleine pan (I love this madeleine pan ):
- Bake until golden around the edges:
- Turn our onto cooling rack:
- Dusted with powdered sugar and serve immediately.
Savages!
Description
Adapted from this Epicurious recipe .
Notes:
Helpful tools:
- A 1.5 tablespoon scoop , for portioning out perfect balls of madeleine batter.
- A madeleine pan , to create the iconic shell shape. I have four of these.
- A microplane for zesting the lemon.
- A small sieve for dusting powdered sugar over top.
If you are not opposed to nonstick spray, it really works better than butter here. I never like buttering and flouring, because I always find the flour burns or leaves an off taste, but if you are accustomed to buttering and flouring, that is what the original recipe calls for, and that also will likely work well to prevent sticking.
If you don’t have spray on hand, buttering generously works well, too.
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup ( 137 g ) sugar
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup ( 128 g ) all-purpose flour
- 10 tablespoons ( 1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter (or coat with nonstick spray, which works best) a madeleine pan—I have four of these . Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl just to blend. (Alternatively, beat vigorously with a whisk.) Add lemon zest and salt. Add flour; beat just until blended. Gradually add cooled melted butter in steady stream, beating just until blended.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon (or a heaping tablespoon—I use this scoop ) batter into each indentation in pan. Bake until puffed and brown, about 12 to 16 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently remove from pan. Repeat process, cleaning and re-greasing the pan before each use.
- Dust cookies with powdered sugar.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Cookie
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: French
Description
Adapted from this Epicurious recipe .
Notes:
Helpful tools:
- A 1.5 tablespoon scoop , for portioning out perfect balls of madeleine batter.
- A madeleine pan , to create the iconic shell shape. I have four of these.
- A microplane for zesting the lemon.
- A small sieve for dusting powdered sugar over top.
If you are not opposed to nonstick spray, it really works better than butter here. I never like buttering and flouring, because I always find the flour burns or leaves an off taste, but if you are accustomed to buttering and flouring, that is what the original recipe calls for, and that also will likely work well to prevent sticking.
If you don’t have spray on hand, buttering generously works well, too.
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup ( 137 g ) sugar
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup ( 128 g ) all-purpose flour
- 10 tablespoons ( 1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter (or coat with nonstick spray, which works best) a madeleine pan—I have four of these . Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl just to blend. (Alternatively, beat vigorously with a whisk.) Add lemon zest and salt. Add flour; beat just until blended. Gradually add cooled melted butter in steady stream, beating just until blended.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon (or a heaping tablespoon—I use this scoop ) batter into each indentation in pan. Bake until puffed and brown, about 12 to 16 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently remove from pan. Repeat process, cleaning and re-greasing the pan before each use.
- Dust cookies with powdered sugar.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Cookie
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: French
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2018/05/11/lemon-madeleines/
A few weeks ago, after discovering the joys of making harissa from scratch, I spooned a few tablespoons of the fiery, bright paste into a warm dressing infused with garlic, cumin seeds, and fresh lemon, then tossed it all with shredded carrots and chopped parsley.
I was following a recipe on Smitten Kitchen and, as promised, the salad incited more excitement than I imagined capable of a heap of carrots. I ate nearly the entire salad myself, saving a small bowl for Ben, who devoured it as enthusiastically and quickly upon walking through the door after work.
If you have a food processor to shred the carrots and a jar of harissa, homemade or otherwise, on hand, the salad comes together in no time, and it can be adapted in many ways. My favorite variation includes sliced avocado and olive oil-fried toast, but I’ve also served it atop a smear of lemony yogurt sauce , and I’ve also folded in feta, as suggested in the original recipe. In short, adapt the recipe to your tastes and preferences.
As alluded to above, I find this salad completely addictive, and it’s making me especially excited for the summer CSA carrots . But it also makes me wonder, what other vegetables could we shred and toss with this warm harissa-spiked dressing? Raw beets? Raw sweet potatoes? Turnips? Cabbage? Keep me posted if you make any discoveries.
PS: Homemade Harissa (So good and easy! I use the recipe from the Jerusalem cookbook , which calls for using fresh red bell peppers as opposed to dried chilies. I could spoon this harissa over anything.)
Here’s a play-by-play. Gather 3/4 lbs. carrots: no need to peel! Send them down the food chute of your food processor with the shredder attachment in place.
Gather the remaining ingredients:
The hardest part: mincing a clove or two of garlic; juicing a lemon or two; finely chopping some herbs.
Place all of your sauce ingredients in a little saucepan:
Bring it to a sizzle, and cook for one to two minutes. Add fresh lemon juice off the heat.
Toss the carrots with the warm harissa dressing:
Add chopped cilantro or parsley or mint or a combination of all three:
Toss again:
Serve with avocado on the side as well as a slice of toast:
It’s especially good all mixed together. Yum.
Description
Adapted from a harissa carrot salad recipe from Smitten Kitchen .
I’ve been making this with homemade harissa , which varies in spiciness every time I make it depending on the heat of the chilies. Typically, it is less spicy than store-bought brands, which is why I can use as much as 1/4 cup in this recipe. You may only need a teaspoon or less depending on the harissa you are using. Feel free to use whatever prepared harissa you like, though I highly recommend making it from scratch. It is so good and relatively easy.
Use whatever herbs you like best. The original recipe calls for mint, which would be delicious. A combination of herbs would be nice, too. The original recipe calls for feta, which would be delicious. I’ve also served it atop a smear of yogurt sauce as in this roasted cauliflower with skhug recipe .
- 3/4 lb. carrots, scrubbed, root ends trimmed, but unpeeled
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- harissa to taste, I use about 1/4 cup of homemade harissa, but I suggest starting with a teaspoon if using store-bought, see notes
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
- ½ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro or a mix of the two
- 1 avocado, halved and thinly sliced
- Send the carrots down the chute of your food processor with the shredder attachment in place. Transfer shredded carrots to a large bowl. Alternatively, coarsely grate with a box grater.
- In a small saucepan, toast the cumin seeds over medium heat until they begin to darken and smell fragrant. Add the garlic, harissa, sugar, salt, and olive oil, and bring to a sizzle. Cook until fragrant, about one to two minutes. Remove pan from the heat and add the lemon juice.
- Pour the dressing over the carrots and mix. Add the herbs and mix again. Add the avocado, if using, and toss again. Serve immediately or let stand for an hour or so before serving. Note: If you would like to make this ahead of time, hold the avocado until just before serving.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Toss
- Cuisine: Moroccan
