lemon madeleines

Lemon madeleines buttery and so very moreish! These little french fancies are a perfect mid morning treat or make an excellent after dinner petit four.

Lemon madeleines are both delicious and very easy to make. Once baked the problem is stopping at just one!

This best lemon madeleine recipe is a basic batter that can be made ahead and chilled in the fridge until you are ready to bake.

The only requirement for lemon madeleines is a well prepared tray, brushed with butter and dusted with flour.

However their simplicity in no way impacts on the taste. Rustle up a tray and you’ll be hard pushed not to eat the lot!

This is French patisserie at its most simple. These simple cakes are also French tea cakes or French butter cakes.

These simple sponge cakes originated in France where they are serve warm from the oven, either with morning or mid afternoon coffee.

Lemon madeleine recipe steps:

Recipe ingredients and substitutions:

• Lemon can be substituted with other citrus flavours like orange or lime. You could also do a combination of citrus fruits.
• Caster sugar is used as it has a lighter texture and dissolves quickly. We don’t recommend substituting with any other sugar in these light cake.
• Carefully measure out the baking powder as too much will leave the cakes tasting bitter and you also run the risk of the cakes rising too quickly then collapsing.

How to serve madeleines?

Madeleines were traditionally served as an afternoon tea cake. However, my first taste of madeleines was in a London restaurant along with after dinner tea and coffee.

That gave Michelle and I the idea to serve it as the perfect petit four with after dinner tea and coffee at last month’s Supperclubs.

Our diners were delighted with these warm pastries served straight from the oven.

Hints and tips:

1. The batter can be made in advance and kept in the fridge until you are ready to bake the cakes.
2. Key to the success of baking these simple lemon madeleines, is preparation of the tray. Generously butter and flour the madeleine tray before pouring in the batter. You want the cakes to slip right out of their scallop shapes moulds once baked!
3. You know the cakes are ready when a cocktail stick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
4. The traditional madeleine shape is that they look like little scallop shells. One side has a scallop shape from the madeleine tin, the other side of the cake will be domed.
5. Lemon madeleines are best served warm, straight from the oven and eaten within an hour of cooking.
6. That is not to say that you can’t eat leftovers the next day, just that they are at their best served warm from the oven.
7. A really simple and straight forward recipe, go on give them a try.

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Additional recipe suggestions:

If you like this recipe then why not try some of our other great after dinner treats:

• Chocolate Florentines
• Easy Chocolate Truffles
• Brandy Snaps & Clementine Cream

We are sharing this recipe with #CookBlogShare, and also with Jo’s Kitchen Larder and Apply Face to Blog that run #BakingCrumbs linkup.