Chocolate Madeleines
Serves: 24 cakes
Tender and fluffy Chocolate Madeleines which will steal your heart! Tips for making the perfect madeleines. Recipe with step-by-step photos.
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Madeleines
- 3 eggs
- 150 g (½ cup plus 3 tablespoons) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
- 115 g (¾ cup) plain flour, (all-purpose flour)
- 30 g (¼ cup) cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 150 g (1 ⅓ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- butter and flour OR non-stick baking spray, for greasing
To decorate
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) dark chocolate
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- unsalted pistachios, crushed
- freeze-dried raspberries, crushed
Instructions
For the Chocolate Madeleines
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, whisk together the eggs and sugar until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. This step should take 1-2 minutes using an electric stand-mixer, or a bit longer if you are whisking by hand.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.
- Mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Next add the melted butter.
- Continue whisking until you have a thick and smooth batter.
- Leave the batter to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. If you plan to use a piping bag, I recommend transfering the batter to a piping bag now, and placing the piping bag into the fridge until needed.
- Preheat the oven to 270°C (518°F).
- Place a baking tray on the middle shelf.
- Generously grease the madeleine mould with non-stick baking spray and a light dusting of cocoa powder. Place the mould over the kitchen sink and tap to remove any excess cocoa powder. I recommend doing this step even if you are using a non-stick mould.
- Fill each madeleine mould until about 3/4 full, either with a spoon or with a piping bag filled with the batter.
- Place the madeleine pan in the oven, and immediately turn down the temperature to 210°C (410°F).
- Bake until the madeleine cakes have risen and are cooked through. For chocolate madeleines, they are generally cooked when the edges start to change colour. For most standard madeleine moulds, this should take about 7-10 minutes, depending on your oven. For a heart-shaped madeleine mould similar to that pictured, this should take about 10-12 minutes.
- Remove the madeleine pan from the oven, and wait a few minutes before carefully removing the cakes from the moulds.
- Leave the cakes to cool on a wire rack (ideally with the shell-side facing down so that the bumps are untouched).
To decorate
- Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a bain-marie or double-boiler.
- Dip one corner of the madeleines into the chocolate.
- Sprinkle some crushed pistachios and freeze-dried raspberries, or other edible decorations of your choice, onto the melted chocolate.
- Place the madeleines on a wire rack to set.
Kitchen Notes
- WHICH BAKING PAN TO USE
Madeleines are baked in a specialty cake pans which are shell-shaped. These shell-shaped pans come in various shapes and sizes. You can also use a muffin pan. - MAKE-AHEAD TIPS
The batter can be made several days ahead of time and left in the fridge to rest. I have kept batter in the fridge for up to 5 days with no problems. - STORAGE TIPS
The madeleines are best eaten on the same day they are baked, but they keep well for several days on a covered cake stand. - 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.