Learn how to make these classic French Madeleines (Petite Madeleines) with black sesame flavor. This madeleine recipe is the easiest and the fastest and still tastes so good. The batter doesn’t require any resting period and with nice signature hump (belly) of Madeleines.
My kids LOVE this Petite Madeleines. Each time we went to Costco and we saw a huge container of Madeleines (calling our names..), I had almost so tempted to bring them home LOL. But I was strong enough. Then, after making several batches of Madeleines at home, I couldn’t stop making them.
What is Madeleine?
Well, you certainly don’t need a huge intro from me, but basically it’s a small French cake, sponge cake to be exact, baked in shell-shape mold pan with end result of the cakes having huge hump in the middle. The cake batter is pretty much a genoise cake batter.
Why I call this the easiest, fastest, and the best Madeleine recipe
1. Easiest because the recipe requires no creaming of butter, sugar, or eggs like you would when you make a genoise. You don’t need an electric mixer
2. Fastest because you can prepare the batter and bake it right away without resting the batter at all
3. The best because the Madeleine still come out light and spongey inside with slightly crisp shell and that signature hump is just beautiful
Why I didn’t rest the batter
I have tried many different recipes, mostly require resting the batter for at least 1 hour, some even 2 hours or overnight before baking. The theory behind it is that the chilled batter that encounters the hot oven is “shocked” and creates that burst that push the cake batter into creating that hump, but there is also baking powder added to the batter, so that also helps with the rise and the hump.
Then I’ve also tried this recipe by a Korean Pastry Chef, that does not require any resting period and ribboning the eggs and sugar with excellent result. The madeleines taste so light, airy, and with beautiful humps. I can’t tell the difference between the one that I’ve made by resting the batter and the one that did not. So, I will go with the one without resting. It is very important that you follow the recipe exactly as it is what makes it possible not to rest the batter and still with great result.
What’s the right texture for Madeleine?
A well-baked Madeleine are slightly firm/crisp on the shell side, but soft, airy, and moist on the inside and the hump side. The hump on Madeleine is a sign that the cake is very well-baked. They are best served while still warm as they still retain that crisp shell but soft and spongey on the inside.
Why do Madeleines have dry texture?
You have most likely overbaked them. Try to bake 1-2 minute less next round and see. This is something you have to experiment with your oven and the size of the Madeleine pan you use, they are pretty standard usually, unless you use a deep one like I did with this recipe, then it may require slightly longer baking time.
How to make perfect easiest Madeleines without resting the batter
1. Lightly oil the pan with butter and set aside. My pan has a non-stick coating. I use non-stick spray without any problem. I don’t feel that it’s necessary to flour the pan after applying butter, but it’s up to you. Preheat oven to 200 C (390 F). My oven uses bottom heat only. If you have convection top and bottom heat oven, you may want to adjust temperature by lowering the temperature by 15-20 degrees. You will know your oven the best
2. Melt the butter and set aside. Mix cake flour, sesame powder, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Crack one room temperature egg in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Measure out 40 grams of egg into a mixing bowl
4. Add milk, honey, sugar, in a mixing bowl and whisk vigorously for a minute or two until just the sugar melts, that’s all
5. Sift in cake flour mixture and whisk until just combined, meaning, as soon as you don’t see any more pockets of flour, stop mixing. Take care not to overmixing at this point
6. Add the warm melted butter. It is best if the temperature of the butter is between 40-50 C / 104 -122 F
7. Whisk until the batter is homogenous, smooth and shiny. The batter may thicken as the butter cools down, that’s normal
8. Transfer the batter to a piping bag or you can use a plastic bag and snip off the tip. Pipe into the Madeleine pan, about 90% full
9. Put the pan in the middle rack, close the door and lower the oven temperature to 350 F (180 C) and bake for 8-10 minutes for regular standard size Madeleine pan . If you have a clam shell pan like mine, which is quite deep and can hold about 3 Tbsp of batter (for 90% full), I need to bake for 12 minutes. Every oven is different and depending on the size of your Madeleine pan, you need to adjust baking time accordingly. Start observing at around 8 minutes. The top should be dry to touch and springs back lightly when you touch
10. Drop the pan on the counter to release hot air and gently transfer to a cooling rack, the hump facing up preferably so they won’t get “squished”
11. Melt white chocolate over bain-marie or use a microwave to melt chocolate for few seconds
12. Pipe or spoon this chocolate into the madeleine pan. You only need to fill about 1/4 full
13. Carefully place the cooled-down Madeleine on top and gently press and move it around a little bit to make sure the chocolate coats the bottom of the Madeleine and leave the Madeleine on top of the chocolate
14. Place the whole pan in the freezer for 30 minutes. The chocolate will harden and you can easily remove the chocolate coated Madeleine from the pan. Easy as that! If the Madeleine won’t release, try freezing a bit longer.
How to store Madeleines
Madeleines are best served on the same day they are made, best yet, when they are just right out of the oven. But, if you have leftovers, here’s what you can do:
1. Keep them in an air-tight container for 2-3 days
2. For longer storage, wrap them in a cling wrap and then put in a freezer bag. Don’t dust any sugar on them until you are ready to serve them. Simply thaw at room temperature and then dust with powdered sugar or dip in chocolate before serving
Did you make this recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
The recipe is adapted from here. I love his recipes a lot and learnt a great deal from this chef.
The Easiest Black Sesame Madeleines (No Resting, No Ribboning)
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- 50 gr butter unsalted
- 40 gr egg (room temperature)
- 5 gr milk (room temperature)
- 5 gr honey
- 35 gr sugar
Dry ingredients:
- 40 gr cake flour
- â…› tsp salt
- 10 gr black sesame powder
- ¼ tsp baking powder
For coating (optional):
- 60 gr couverture white chocolate
Instructions
- It is very important that you follow the recipe exactly as it is what makes it possible not to rest the batter and still with great result. I provide Cup/Tbsp measurement, but highly recommend using weighing scale for accuracy
- Lightly oil the pan with butter and set aside. I use non-stick spray without any problem. I don't feel that it's necessary to flour the pan after applying butter, but it's up to you
- Preheat oven to 200 C (390 F). My oven uses bottom heat only. If you have convection top and bottom heat oven, you may want to adjust temperature by lowering the temperature by 15-20 degrees. You will know your oven the best
Prepare the cake batter:
- Melt the butter and set aside
- Mix cake flour, sesame powder, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine
- Crack one room temperature egg in a bowl and whisk to combine. Measure out 40 grams of egg into a mixing bowl. Add milk, honey, sugar, in a mixing bowl and whisk vigorously for a minute or two until just the sugar melts, that's all. Sift in cake flour mixture and whisk until just combined, meaning, as soon as you don't see any more pockets of flour, stop mixing. take care not to overmixing at this point
- Add the warm melted butter. It is best if the temperature of the butter is between 40-50 C / 104 -122 F. Whisk until the batter is homogenous, smooth and shiny. The batter may thicken as the butter cools down, that's normal
- Pro tips: If you wish to chill the batter and bake it the next day because you don't have the time to do it now, you can do so too. Just cover it and put it in the fridge. Otherwise, this batter requires no chilling and can be baked straightaway. After chilling, just use a spoon to spoon the batter into the pan, don't use a piping bag as it will be too thick for piping bag
Pipe the batter:
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag or you can use a plastic bag and snip off the tip. Pipe into the Madeleine pan, about 90% full
- Alternatively, you can spoon the batter onto the pan too. I can get 6 if I use regular shell Madeleine pan and 5 when I use this clam shell pan (it is 1.25-inch deep). Regular Madeleine pan is about 1.7 cm/0.67 inch deep
Baking:
- Put the pan in the middle rack, close the door and lower the oven temperature to 350 F (180 C) and bake for 8-10 minutes for regular standard size Madeleine pan . If you have a clam shell pan like mine, about 1.25-inch deep, I need to bake for 12 minutes. Every oven is different and depending on the size of your Madeleine pan, you need to adjust baking time accordingly. Start observing at around 8 minutes. The top should be dry to touch and springs back lightly when you touch
Cooling:
- Drop the pan on the counter to release hot air and gently transfer to a cooling rack, the hump facing up preferably so they won't get "squished"
- They can be served warm without coating with chocolate if that's what you choose to do
Coat with white chocolate (optional):
- Melt white chocolate over bain-marie or use a microwave to melt chocolate for few seconds
- Option 1: You can dip the Madeleine in the melted chocolate and place on cooling rack to harden
- Option 2: Pipe or spoon about 1 Tbsp of this chocolate into the madeleine pan. About 1/2 Tbsp for shallower pan. Carefully place the cooled-down Madeleine on top and gently press and move it around a little bit to make sure the chocolate coats the bottom of the Madeleine and leave the Madeleine on top of the chocolate
- Place the whole pan in the freezer for 30 minutes. The chocolate will harden and you can easily remove the chocolate coated Madeleine from the pan. Easy as that!
4 comments
Dear,
Are there any tell tale signs so that we do not over mix when we sift in the flour into the egg,sugar,honey & milk mixture for this madeleine recipe? Pls advise. Appreciate your reply. Thanks!
I usually stop mixing as soon as I no longer see any more pockets of flour. The overmixed batter usually looks dense and kinda gummy because gluten has formed.
This looks delicious! I want to make them this weekend. Do I need to toast the sesame seeds before I made them into a powder?
Hello, yes I highly recommend toasting the seeds, let them cool down before grinding into a powder or they may turn into sesame paste. Toasting them give an extra flavor you will enjoy for sure!