Happy Tuesday! I’m back with another installment of Tuesdays with Dorie. This week we made Lemon Madeleines! I was excited about this one.
These were a basic Madeleine recipe, with the addition of lemon zest in the batter, and an optional lemon glaze. Dorie taught us a few techniques to help achieve the iconic Madeleine “bump”, specifically, chilling the batter and pan, and preheating the oven with a baking sheet in it.
I left off the lemon glaze, mostly because I thought the little cakes would keep better without it. The lemon flavor of the finished Madeleines was very subtle; I’m sure it would be more pronounced with the glaze. I think you could easily leave out the zest and have a classic vanilla Madeleine.
I did not get the classic bump, though my cakes were nicely rounded. They had a lovely, light texture. I have to confess I have never had professionally-made Madeleines, but the texture and flavor of these was so nice, I have to think it was close to “the real thing”. These are by far the best Madeleines I have ever made.
Altitude Adjustments
I have mentioned before that I have to made adjustments to cake recipes because of my higher elevation. I made two small adjustments to this recipe and they seem to have worked well (except for my missing the bump). These are my changes for an elevation of 4500 feet:
- Added 1 tablespoon flour
- Reduced baking powder by 1/8 teaspoon
If you live at a higher elevation and need help with your cakes, I highly recommend the book High Altitude Baking: 200 Delicious Recipes & Tips for Great Cookies, Cakes, Breads & More.
From Scratch 
Your madeleines came out beautifully.
No bump here either – despite following the directions 😦 I guess I need to keep practicing! More desserts!
I got the intended bump but these cakes would be great even without it. 🙂
I would wolf these little guys down easily…with or without bump!
They look lovely and delicious, bump or not.
Perfectly beautiful madeleines, Karen!! I loved this recipe and the wonderful lemon glaze! For me it’s all about the taste…not the hump!
I think they look beautiful. I had never had a madeleine before either. But thought these were delicious!
This is my second attempt at making madeleines and I enjoy making them. The lemon flavor was delicious. I did not get any bumps in
mine either, but they were good just the same.
Your madeleines look perfect — I’m sure they were just as delicious as any purchased in Paris!
they look lovely! this was such a good base recipe, that it would be fun to experiment with different flavorings.
Gorgeous looking little cakes! No humps here either…
Beautiful Madeleines!!!
Bravo 🙂
They look pretty. I loved the lemon glaze but I think you’re right they’ll keep better without it.