She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called ‘petites madeleines’….I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate, a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place.

– Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time, volume 1.

Arguably the world’s most famous literary cookie, the origins of the madeleine are murky, at best. My favorite story involves an 18th-century baking assistant saving the day when the chef for King Stanislaus of Lorraine stormed out mid-luncheon party. Much like the young Franz Sacher and his on-the-spot Sachertorte, when our enterprising young lady improvised with the small cakes her grandmother made and wowed the guests, history was made. Her name? Madeleine.

Other theories include attribution to Marie Leczynska, the wife of Louis XV – who allegedly introduced them to the great delight of the court at Versailles, with the help of her cook, Madeleine – as well as 19th-century ‘master of choux’ pastry chef Jean Avice.

Wherever they come from, they occupy their own special little heavenly niche. Are they a cake? A cookie? Who cares? I will say, they almost require to be dunked in tea, à la Proust. Tea, not coffee – they’re too delicate and citrus-y for that.

The Journey to Perfect Madeleines

I was so excited when I picked up a madeleine pan on sale. Finally! Madeleines! I studied many, many recipes and many, many methods and went into this madeleine project with some confidence.

Ha. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Though I achieved the famous madeleine domes, my first batch was way too heavy and dense. So I reduced the butter and changed the steps around a little, but then the madeleines wouldn’t cook properly and were rife with holes. Ah, but the third batch? Success! Delicious flavor, light and cakey, and just divine dipped in tea. I think I would have liked them a little browner but that’s easy to remedy.

The Steps

• For two of the madeleine batches I didn’t brown the butter and for two, I did. Final verdict? Brown the butter. The nutty richness adds an amazing layer of flavor.

• Mix the dry ingredients.

• Beat eggs and sugar until thick and frothy.
• Add the extract.
• Gently fold the dry mixture into the wet. You want to do this with a light hand and slowly, in parts, or you may end up deflating your batter, or with tunneling in the final madeleines.

• Lastly, fold in the cooled browned butter, which has been mixed with the honey and orange zest.

• Scoop the chilled batter into a chilled, greased madeleine pan, and chill filled pan again.
• Bake on a pre-heated baking sheet until madeleines puff up and edges are golden.

Light, lovely, and packed with flavor. I used orange zest instead of lemon, which balanced the cardamom and added a sweetness that I preferred to the lemon. (And that’s saying something, given my love of lemons.)

Reality Bakes

I loved the browning on most of the madeleines in batch one – in fact, I might up the temperature next time I make them – but these madeleines were far too heavy and thick.

Lots of holes in batch two, perhaps because the flour was added too quickly. The flavor was delicious, though. These were a most edible batch.

Just right.

Print Pin

Orange Cardamom Madeleines

These delicate, shell-shaped beauties are redolent with orange and spiced with cardamom. Perfect with tea.

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Chilling Time 2 hours hours

Servings 16 madeleines

Author Jen Leigh

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tbsp for pan
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
• 1 tbsp honey
• Zest of 1 orange
• Confectioners sugar, for dusting (optional)

Instructions

• Brush molds of a madeleine pan with melted butter and put in freezer.
• Brown the butter by melting in a light-colored pan over medium heat. Stir frequently as it bubbles and boils, including scraping the bottom of the pan. Allow to simmer until it starts to turn golden brown. Remove from heat immediately and pour into a heatproof bowl to cool. Set aside.
• Whisk sifted flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Mix eggs and sugar on high speed with a hand mixer, 6 to 8 minutes, until thick and frothy. Mix in vanilla and almond (if using) extracts. (You can use a stand mixer if preferred.)
• Gently fold flour mixture by thirds into egg/sugar mixture until combined, keeping as much air as possible in the batter.
• Add the honey and orange zest to the cooled melted butter and mix until incorporated. Drizzle butter mixture into batter a spoonful or two at a time and gently fold in. Mix just until butter is incorporated.
• Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Spoon batter into prepared pan, about 1 tablespoon in the center of each mold. There's no need to spread out the batter but do tap pan on the counter to eliminate any bubbles. Chill batter in the pan for another hour.
• Preheat oven to 375° F, with a baking sheet in the top third of the oven.*
• Slide chilled, filled madeleine pan onto hot baking sheet and bake until cookies are puffed up and edges are golden, 8 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for a minute then turn out onto parchment on the counter. Transfer madeleines to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar (optional).

Notes

*To get a browner finish and crisp up the madeleine shells more, bake at 400°F for 8 to 9 minutes.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword cardamom, madeleines, orange

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