Recipe: Spiced Madeleines - perfect for the holidays | Fuss Free Flavours (2024)

FAQs

Should I keep madeleines in the fridge? ›

Storing: The batter can be covered with a piece of plastic film pressed against the surface and kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, but the madeleines should be eaten soon after they are made. You can keep them overnight in a sealed container, but they really are better on day 1.

Allow to cool in the tin for a minute or so, then carefully ease the madeleines out of their moulds onto a cooling rack. They are best eaten straight away, slightly warm, but will keep (some hope) in an airtight container for a day or so. Although they will lose their crispy edges if you store them overnight.

To avoid that, simply keep the pastry such as a croissant or madeleine in a paper bag to keep it crisp if you plan on consuming it within 12 hours. Otherwise, wrap it up with aluminium foil or cling wrap to prevent them from drying up.

Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the madeleine pan with melted butter. I find that greasing the pan is necessary even if you're using a nonstick pan. We want to avoid any chance of sticking.

Telling if Madeleines have gone bad can be bit tricky. Generally, look for a change in color or a moldy appearance, which indicates that they are no longer good to eat. Another clear give away is their aroma. If they give off an unusual or off-putting smell, it's time to get rid of them.

Approved by Dr. Thomas Dwan - Madeleines are bad for you. They have some ingredients that by themselves may be good, but when mixed with sugar, fat, and cholesterol, they lose just about all nutritional value.

To ensure that your meringue is sweet and not eggy, make sure to use fresh egg whites, beat them to soft peaks, add sugar gradually and make sure it's fully dissolved, and use appropriate amounts of vinegar or cream of tartar. You probably forgot to put the sugar and a tiny pinch of salt in when you were beating it.

Chilling the batter helps the ingredients hydrate, yielding tender madeleines with large humps. Baking the madeleines briefly at a higher oven temperature encourages an initial rise, leading to taller humps.

They are often eaten hot in the French markets with a coffee in the morning, or at the 4pm goûter, the French equivalent of the British afternoon tea.

Madeleines are very small sponge cakes with a distinctive shell-like shape acquired from being baked in pans with shell-shaped depressions. Madeleine-style cookies are popular in a number of culinary traditions. A génoise sponge cake batter is used. The flavour is similar to, but somewhat lighter than, sponge cake.

Can you freeze madeleines? ›

You can freeze madeleines for up to one month if you allow them to cool completely after baking. Wrap the mini cakes in wax paper and then aluminum foil and place into an airtight container. Allow them to thaw at room temperature and then dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Don't overbake the madeleines or they'll be dry. Use an offset spatula or a dull knife to quickly loosen the madeleines from their wells as soon as you remove them from the oven. (They're notorious for sticking if you wait too long.)

Although modern madeleines pans are sold as “nonstick,” the only way to ensure your madeleines will pop right out of their molds is to generously butter and lightly flour each cavity. To do so, use a pastry brush and very soft—not melted—butter to grease the cavities, then lightly sift flour over the pan.

The success of madeleines hinges on maintaining the air that you've whipped into the eggs at the beginning of the recipe. If you knock the air out, you'll end up with flat, dense madeleines. It's important to work gently with the batter, particularly when folding in the flour and browned butter.

Leftover Madeleines

Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. As note above, I think these are best the day they are made. And since the dough benefits from overnight fridge time, this helps to make them fresh as needed (and they are a need).

You can also store them in an airtight container for up to two days. (See more tips for how to store your favorite baked goods.) You can freeze madeleines for up to one month if you allow them to cool completely after baking. Wrap the mini cakes in wax paper and then aluminum foil and place into an airtight container.

We also want to chill the prepared Madeleine tin, again at least for an hour but longer also helps. Why all the chilling? Temperature difference. The oven the madeleines are baked in is hot and by chilling the batter the underside of the batter stays a little cooler meaning it takes a little longer to bake.