Madeleines with Lemon Curd

I am rather surprised that it has taken me this long to try this popular madeleine recipe from Rachel Khoo. In my defence, I already had a madeleine recipe to which I have been faithful to for many years, plus I felt that Rachel’s recipe was a bit fiddly for me.

And with a tiny tot distracting me whenever I am in the kitchen, I didn’t think I was safe around multi-step recipes.

But then a good friend produced these Madeleines with Lemon Curd at one of our playdates, and again recently at her son’s birthday party.

As I found myself secretly scoffing far too many of these madeleine cakes and ignoring the birthday cake, I realised that it was probably about time that I got myself out of my current one-pot/one-bowl cooking rut which plagues a lot of busy mothers.

madeleines lemon curd rachel khoo little paris kitchen

As with most madeleine recipes, the batter needs to rest for a few hours for the gluten to swell and to produce a light and spongey cake.

And as the lemon curd benefits from overnight rest in the fridge, this means you can make the both the batter and lemon curd the night before, saving you preparation time on the actual day of serving.

The lemon curd recipe is relatively straightforward; the recipe produces very little curd, but it is still too much to fill all of the madeleines, so you should be able to enjoy any leftover curd with your toast at breakfast the next day.

At a pinch, you could instead use good, store-bought lemon curd.

madeleines lemon curd rachel khoo little paris kitchen

I found Rachel Khoo’s recipe for madeleines to be a little unusual, in that they need to be baked first at a high temperature, before the oven is switched off for a minute, and then switched back on at a slightly cooler temperature. This seems to be Rachel Khoo’s method for making madeleines with their characteristic bump, although they were disappointingly absent from mine.

That said, it could have something to do with the fact that I didn’t bake the cakes with cold batter straight from the fridge, which is one of the secrets to achieving a big bump – one of the perils of food blogging is that much time is spent pfaffing around with the camera, letting the ingredients warm in the process.

Another thought is perhaps the addition of the raspberries might interfere with the formation of the bump?

madeleines lemon curd rachel khoo little paris kitchen

But bump or no bump, these madeleines are incredibly delicious. The raspberries are a pretty touch and are piped with just enough lemon curd to tingle your taste buds. I regret waiting so long to try this recipe but I will certainly make up for lost time now!

madeleines lemon curd rachel khoo little paris kitchen
4.50 stars (2 reviews)

Madeleines with Lemon Curd

Thanh | Eat, Little Bird
Prep40 minutes
Cook15 minutes
Rest1 hour
Total1 hour 55 minutes
Serves: 20 to 24 cakes
Madeleines with Lemon Curd, a delicious madeleine recipe from Rachel Khoo.
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Ingredients

Instructions 

  1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and set aside to cool.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the caster sugar until the mixture is pale and frothy.
  3. Add the honey and milk to the cooled butter, and gently whisk this into the egg mixture.
  4. Measure the plain flour and baking powder into a separate bowl, and zest the lemon into the flour mixture.
  5. Fold the flour into the egg mixture in 2 batches.
  6. Cover the batter and leave to rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours or overnight.
  7. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F (without fan).
  8. Butter and flour a 12 hole madeleine tin.
  9. Transfer the batter to a large piping bag and pipe a small amount of batter into each shell of the madeleine tin, leaving a small border. If you don’t have a piping bag, you could simply spoon the batter into the tin.
  10. Press a raspberry into the middle of each shell with the hollow part of the raspberry facing up. Bake the madeleines for 5 minutes and then turn the oven off for 1 minute.
  11. Turn the oven back on to 160°C/325°F (without fan) and continue baking for a further 5 minutes, or until the madeleines are lightly golden.
  12. Carefully remove the madeleines to a wire rack and pipe a small amount of lemon curd into each raspberry.
  13. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Kitchen Notes

  • If you don’t have a madeleine tin, a muffin tin is a good alternative.
  • The shape and size of madeleine tins vary greatly, so you may need to adjust the baking time.
  • You can use shop-bought or homemade lemon curd in this recipe.
  • HOMEMADE LEMON CURD
    To make your own homemade lemon curd, place the zest and juice of 1 lemon into a small saucepan with a pinch of salt, 40 g (3 tablespoons) caster sugar, and 45 g (3 tablespoons) butter. Heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in 2 egg yolks. Return the saucepan to the stove over low-medium heat, and whisk constantly until the mixture starts to thicken to the consistency of a thick custard. Pass the lemon curd through a fine sieve into a small bowl. Cover the lemon curd by placing a sheet of cling film directly on the surface of the curd, and leave to rest in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
  • STORAGE TIPS
    These madeleines are best eaten warm or on the same day they are made.
  • OVEN TEMPERATURES
    All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.
  • CONVERSIONS
    To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 124kcal, Carbohydrates: 12.8g, Protein: 1.8g, Fat: 7.4g, Cholesterol: 41.2mg, Sodium: 11.5mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 6.3g

Did you make this recipe?

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