Cinnamon Madeleine Cakes

A plate of madeleines dusted with powdered sugar, next to a bowl of blueberries and a green-checkered cloth.

Cinnamon Madeleine Cakes

These cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove-flavored Madeleines make such a pretty dessert to pair with coffee, tea, and even a dessert wine. Set out a platter dusted with powdered sugar for a beautiful presentation of these Classic French cakes.

Course Cake

Cuisine Dessert

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Chill Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 89kcal

Author Jere' Cassidy

Equipment

Ingredients

2 large eggs room temperature
½ cups granulaed sugar
1 cup all purpose flour sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon powdered sugar to sprinkle on top of the madeleines

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Place the butter in a small bowl then melt it in the microwave or you can use a saucepan to melt the butter. Set aside to cool.
In a medium-sized bowl beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla for five to seven minutes until the mixture becomes pale and has tripled in volume. You can use a handheld mixer or a stand mixer.
In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices and whisk to combine.
Spoon ½ the flour mixture over the egg batter and gently fold the flour into the batter with a rubber spatula to combine, then add the remaining flour and fold in again.
Do this slowly so you don't deflate the egg batter.
Stir about a ¼ cup of the egg/flour batter in the cooled melted butter gently stir to to combine. Then add this mixture into the rest of the egg/flour batter and gently fold in to combine.
Chill the batter for a half hour.
Set the oven temperature to 350 °F and generously butter and flour the Madeleine pan. Butter is my preferred choice. Some pans are non-stick so you may not have to flour the pan, but I would still butter it.
Spoon a tablespoon of batter into each mold. The batter is thick, but there is no need to press it down into the mold as it will spread during baking.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until they are golden brown and the bump appears on top. Watch carefully so they don't over-brown.
Let cool for 5 minutes then remove from the pan. See notes.
With a sifter or fine-mesh sieve sprinkle powdered sugar on top of the cakes.
Madeleines are best eaten warm or at room temperature on the same day they are made, but if you have leftovers store them in an airtight container for up to three days.

Notes

Madeleines taste best warm but will keep for several days in a covered container.

Make sure you are using room-temperature eggs so they combine well with the sugar.

Remove the madeleines one by one from the molds by pushing them up from the bottom. If they are stuck run a knife around the edges to release them.

Place the madeleines on their sides in the cake molds to cool instead of putting them on a cutting board. These keep the wire rack lines from showing on the cakes.

Try these Chai Spiced Shortbread Cookies for another sweetly spiced treat.

Nutrition