Cinnamon Madeleine Cakes

Want to bring the French bakery vibes to your kitchen? Make these tasty Cinnamon Madeleine Cakes! They're packed with the delicious flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

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Madeleines are classic French cakes with a cute scallop shape and a perfect combination of soft and buttery inside and crispy outside. Get ready for some serious yum!

Years ago, I bought a Madeleine cake pan and promptly put it away, never to be used.  It took cleaning out my cupboard to find this pan again; it was still clean and shiny. If you have done the same, pull that pan out and make these easy-to-make classic French cakes, our favorite little treats.

Enjoy these sweet little cakes with a hot mug of creamy Hot Chocolate; you can even dip your cakes in it, too.

Jump to:

• What are madeleines?
• Madeleine flavors
• Ingredients 
• How To Make Cinnamon Madeleine's
• Baking tips
• Do you have a madeleine mold?
• More spicy dessert recipes
• FAQs
• Our best cake recipes
• Recipe

Madeleine flavors

There are many possibilities to flavor Madeleines by adding different ingredients to the batter.  Here are a few flavor ideas for you ~

• Chocolate
• Earl Grey
• Honey Lavender
• Lemon with Lemon Glaze
• Orange Cardamom
• Pumpkin Spice
• Vanilla Bean

Of course, plain Madeleines with a dusting of powdered sugar are always delicious!

Ingredients 

• Unsalted Butter
• All-purpose flour
• Large eggs
• Granulated Sugar
• Salt
• Vanilla
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Cloves

Do you ever see madeleines in containers next to cash registers in bakeries or coffee shops? It's so tempting to buy one or two or three, right? But you can bake these at home because this madeleine recipe isn't complicated and uses simple ingredients. 

Grab a mixing bowl and a madeleine pan, and let's bake. 

How To Make Cinnamon Madeleine's

Step 1.  Place the butter in a small bowl and microwave until melted, then set aside to cool.

Step 2. Prepare the batter by adding the sugar, eggs, and vanilla to a stand mixer bowl or a large mixing bowl and using a handheld electric mixer. Mix these ingredients on medium speed for five to seven minutes until the mixture becomes pale and has tripled in volume.

At this point, you want to treat the egg batter as delicately as possible so it doesn't deflate, so be gentle.

Step 3. Mix all the dry ingredients in a small bowl, then lightly spoon half the flour mixture over the egg mixture. Then, with a rubber spatula, start folding the flour into the beaten egg batter until the flour has been incorporated, then add the rest of the flour.

Step 4. Add about a ¼ cup of the batter to the melted butter and slowly stir to incorporate. Now add this mixture to the egg/flour batter and slowly mix to combine. The batter will be thick and shiny.

Step 5. Your madeleine sponge batter is ready to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Chilling helps the batter rise during baking, so you get those nice fluffy madeleines.

Step 6. While the dough is chilling in the fridge, prepare your pan. Always butter your pan, even if it is nonstick. You can use cooking spray, but I like the butter flavor better. Then, lightly coat the pan with flour.

Step 7. Spoon one tablespoon of batter into each shell.  The batter will be thick but spread during baking, so it is unnecessary to spread it in the shell.

Step 8. Bake these cakes at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes until the bump is on top and they are golden brown.  

Step 9. Remove the little cakes from the oven and cool them in the pan for 5 minutes.  Remove the cakes from the pan one by one,  pushing each from the mold. If they are stuck, you can run a knife around the edges to release them. It is better to prop the cakes up in the pan to finish cooling instead of putting them on a cooling rack, which could cause the indentation of the rack lines.

Step 10. When cooled, dust with confectioner's sugar and sprinkle the sugar on top using a sifter or a small strainer. Store the cakes in an airtight container for three days.

Oh, joy, this batch came out beautifully. Give these little cakes a sprinkle of powdered sugar to add a bit of sweetness because anything dusted with powdered sugar looks extra special.

Do you have a madeleine mold?

Of course, you will need a Madeleine pan; just don't put it away in your cupboards for long. When buying a pan, make sure to purchase one that is heavy-duty that doesn't warp, such as the carbon steel non-stick madeleine mold.

More spicy dessert recipes

Who doesn't love spices? Here, you will find nutmeg recipes, recipes with cloves, and, of course, our favorite spice - cinnamon!

• Spiced Holiday Cookies with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg 
• Classic Ginger Cookies are always a tasty cookie.
• Cinnamon Rock Candy is a fun-to-make sweet treat and perfect for the holidays.
• Apple Cider Bread has all the yummy fall flavors we all love.
• Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls are made with refrigerated dough for a quick-to-make pastry.
• Chai Spiced Shortbread Cookies are filled with chai tea.
• If you love nutmeg, bake a loaf of our favorite Nutmeg and Pecan Braided Bread.

FAQs

Pin for later when you want to bake these sweet and tasty shell cakes

Our best cake recipes

Recipe

First published: Nov. 10, 2018. Last updated: July 16, 2022, for better readability.

  

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