Daniel Boulud's Madeleines

Classic French madeleines with a delicate citrus twist, featuring light and fluffy shell-shaped cakes made with melted butter, citrus zest, and honey. These elegant tea cakes are deliciously buttery with perfectly golden edges.

12 servings
1 hr 43 min

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 whole large eggs
  • cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon or orange zest
  • 6 tablespoons warm melted unsalted butter
  • 1 piece madeleine pan

Cooking Instructions

  1. 1.

    Whisk 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt in a small bowl.

    3 min

  2. 2.

    Whisk 2 large eggs, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon honey, and 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon or orange zest in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients until just incorporated, then whisk in 6 tablespoons warm melted unsalted butter until smooth. Transfer batter to a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag and chill at least 1 hour.

    70 min

  3. 3.

    Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly coat a 12-cake regular madeleine pan or three 20-cake mini madeleine pans with nonstick vegetable oil spray and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Snip end off pastry bag (or 1 corner of resealable plastic bag) and pipe batter into pan, filling two-thirds full (you may have a little batter left over).

    15 min

  4. 4.

    Bake madeleines until edges are golden brown and centers are puffed and lightly spring back when gently pressed, about 8-10 minutes for regular cakes and 5 minutes for mini.

    10 min

  5. 5.

    Tap pan against counter to release madeleines. Dust with powdered sugar and serve while still warm.

    5 min