cakes

I first made Madeleines with my friend Louise. Her mom is French, and she is deeply influenced by her French heritage. It was Louise who taught me to use orange zest in lieu of the traditional lemon zest, which she learned from her dad. 

These are two takes on the classic the madeleine. I love the combination of spices like cinnamon and cloves with orange – it reminds me of decorating oranges with whole cloves as a holiday art project as a child. I hope they invoke the cozy seasonal joy for you that they do for me! And chocolate is… chocolate. And both are dusted with powdered sugar.

The one piece of equipment you need is a madeleine pan, but I believe it is worth the investment. This is the mold I use, as I prefer silicon. I find it easy to remove the madeleines from the pan and clean it.

spiced madeleines

ingredients

• 2 eggs
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 5 dashes orange bitters (optional)
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 10 tablespoons butter
• Powdered sugar

steps

• Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease madeleine pans with a neutral oil.
• Melt butter in a saucepan and let cool.
• In a bowl, beat together eggs, brown sugar, almond extract, and orange zest until light and fluffy.
• In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, ground cloves, and cinnamon. Slowly add this mixture into the egg mixture until combined. Slowly pour melted butter into the bowl until the mixture emulsifies.
• Fill each mold with batter and bake for 12-14 minutes until the cakes have puffed up and are beginning to brown.
• Remove from oven and let cool then remove each individual cake and dust with powdered sugar.

chocolate madeleines

ingredients

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 10 tablespoons butter
• Powdered sugar

steps

• Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease madeleine pans with a neutral oil.
• Melt butter in a saucepan and let cool.
• In a bowl, beat together eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, almond extract, and orange zest until light and fluffy.
• In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Slowly add this mixture into the egg mixture until combined. Slowly pour melted butter into the bowl until the mixture emulsifies.
• Fill each mold with batter and bake for 12-14 minutes until the cakes have puffed up.
• Remove from oven and let cool then remove each individual cake and dust with powdered sugar.