Lemon Madeleines

Today, I'm sharing how to make simple yet authentic lemon madeleines from scratch.

It's lightly crispy outside and so soft inside. I bake them often for home parties and as a gift because it's so easy to make yet look so pretty and delicious!

🧡 I love this lemon madeleine because:

• It is so moist and has a perfect bounciness & density.
• The flavor...! It's buttery and perfectly citrusy.
• It's very soft inside while the outside is slightly crispy.
• The best part is: It is so easy to make!

💬 Madeleine is one of the most beloved French desserts, including cream puffs, crème brûlée, opera cake, etc! I love the lemon version as a lemon fan. 🍋 I often bake them with vanilla madeleines and make an assorted gift box.

In this post, you'll learn essential baking tips such as:

• Tips to make them rise more in the oven
• How to create the cute signature bumps on madeleines
• Tips to prevent them from getting dry
• How to store it & the shelf life

... and so on!

I'm sharing how to make it step-by-step with tips, images, and a video.

Let's get started 💪🏻

Jump to:

• 📌 What's in Lemon Madeleines?
• 📌 How To Make Lemon Madeleines
• 📌 Uses for Lemon Madeleine
• 📌 Frequently Asked Questions
• 📌 VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!
• 📌 Printable Recipe
• Lemon Madeleines
• 📌 Pin It!

📌 What's in Lemon Madeleines?

The 10 ingredients:

The madeleine batter

• Unsalted butter
  • Butter adds rich flavor and moist texture.
• Lemon zest
  • The aroma of lemon is enhanced by the zest.
• Granulated sugar
• Salt
  • It gives more depth in flavor.
• Honey
  • It helps to keep madeleines moist. It also helps to caramelize the surface more.
• Whole eggs
  • It plays the primary role in creating a soft, fluffy texture with the help of baking powder.
• Cake flour
  • It gives a more delicate, soft texture.
• Baking powder
  • Baking powder is needed since we do not whip eggs for this recipe.
• Lemon juice
  • Preferably use fresh lemon juice.

Lemon Icing

• Powdered sugar
• Lemon juice
• Water

📌 How To Make Lemon Madeleines

The 11 Simple Steps

The madeleine batter

1. Mix zested lemon, sugar, and salt.
2. Add eggs and honey. Mix well.
3. Add sifted cake flour and baking powder. Mix until it looks smooth.
4. Add melted butter (very warm). Mix well.
5. Add lemon juice and mix. Clean a bowl and spatula to check if it's even.
6. Let it rest in the fridge for more than one hour.
   • Meanwhile, Grease your pan with a thin layer of butter, dust all-purpose flour, and toss to remove the excess. Also, chill it in a fridge until right before use.
7. Pipe the batter onto a mold up to about 85% of the capacity.
8. Preheat oven to 395 F | 201 C. And bake at 365 F | 185 C for 8 - 10 minutes.

Lemon Icing

9. Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water until it looks smooth.
10. Coat it on top of the madeleines thinly.
11. Bake at 302 F | 150 C for 1 minute to let the surface dry completely. Enjoy!

📝 More Tips With Images

Now, let me share detailed tips on each step, which are all crucial for making lemon madeleine successfully.

Step 1: Mix zested lemon, sugar, and salt.

💬 Do not zest lemon too deep: The white part below the yellow skin is very bitter!

Step 2: Add eggs and honey. Mix well.

💬 Honey helps to keep madeleines moist. It also caramelizes the surface more.

Step 3: Add sifted cake flour and baking powder. Mix until it looks smooth.

👩🏻‍🍳 Cake flour gets lumpy easier than all-purpose flour and bread flour. I recommend sifting it!

Step 4: Add melted butter (very warm) and mix well.

✔️ It's important to use warm, melted butter so it does not start getting hardened as you mix since butter turns into a solid as it cools down. Warm it up to 40 - 50 C | 104 - 122 F.

Step 5: Add lemon juice and mix. Clean a bowl and spatula to check if it's even.

💬 Clean a bowl and spatula at the end to ensure the batter is evenly mixed.

Step 6: Let it rest in the fridge for over one hour.

Preparing the pan:

Prepare the pan while chilling the batter.

Grease soft butter thinly all over the surface. This is the pan I used.

Dust all-purpose flour. (You can also use bread flour. The surface gets crunchier with it.)

Toss to remove the excess flour.

👩🏻‍🍳 By chilling the pan until right before use, the surface of madeleines gets more evenly caramelized.

Step 7: Pipe the batter onto a mold up to about 85% of the capacity.

You can pipe with ease using a pastry bag. (You can also use a spoon or something else if you can not get it.)

Divide the rest on top so that each gets the same amount.

💬 This is the perfect amount! The bumps get smaller when it's filled less and spread widely when it's filled more.

Step 8: Preheat oven to 395 F | 201 C. And bake at 365 F | 185 C for 8 - 10 minutes.

It is so fun to look at them rising in the oven. The bumps are so cute!

Adjust the time and temperature depending on your oven.

Let them cool completely on a pan like this - Be careful touching them since they are hot!

💬 One batch of the recipe makes about 16 Madeleines. It can vary slightly depending on the capacity of the madeleine pan you use.

Step 9: Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water until smooth.

Step 10: Coat it on top of the madeleines.

Coat it thinly.

Step 11: Bake at 302 F | 150 C for 1 minute to let the surface dry.

👩🏻‍🍳 It'll eventually get dry even if you don't bake the surface, but baking it creates a crispier texture. It's lightly crispy since it's very thin.

📌 Uses for Lemon Madeleine

Madeleines are perfect on many occasions, such as:

• As an afternoon tea snack
  • Maybe you have a visitor, or your family is asking for snacks. This is a perfect fancy dessert to make quickly and still impress your family and friends.
• As a morning treat
  • There is something about the morning with freshly baked madeleines and a cup of coffee or tea. The start of a great day is guaranteed.
• As a gift
  • This is a great dessert as a gift since it does not break easily and can do pretty well at room temperature compared to other pastries. I sometimes bake them for Rei's friends and teachers, often with vanilla madeleines.

📌 Frequently Asked Questions

📌 VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!

Watch this video to learn how to make the madeleines visually and have a deeper understanding of all!

Don't forget to subscribe if you liked it 😉

📌 Printable Recipe

💬 If you loved this recipe, please share your feedback on this post! I always love hearing how you enjoyed it with your friends and family.

If you loved this madeleine, also check out my other simple dessert recipes, such as crème brûlée, New York cheesecake, churros, lemon pound cake, etc. in my classic recipe collection.

They also taste A-mazing!!

📌 Pin It!

Pin it if you love this recipe, and find so many other recipes on my Pinterest page!

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Classic dessert recipes

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fruit dessert recipes

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