White chocolate madeleines

Ever since I started considering white chocolate not as actual chocolate but as an ingredient combining fat, sugar, and hints of vanilla I can’t stop myself from adding it to my usual bakes, to see what it brings to the table. I absolutely loved the vanilla flavor it added to my classic butter madeleines recipe and I decided to accentuate it even more with the addition of vanilla seeds and my oh my! These white chocolate madeleines are super duper delicious (and frankly addictive).

The texture of these adorable tiny cakes is light and bouncy, crispy around the edges but so fluffy at the center. These white chocolate madeleines are not overly sweet, so the vanilla comes through beautifully, as well as the taste of butter. Can a madeleine be a madeleine if it isn’t buttery anyway? White chocolate and vanilla really bring madeleines to a whole new level with a taste lingering in your mouth you won’t forget.

EASIEST TEACAKE EVER

I remember a girl who used to come to school with homemade madeleines in a plastic container. No one was convinced that she was making them herself (I believed her, for the record!) and she quickly gave up trying to explain how easy it was to make madeleines. But it sure is easy to make them and those white chocolate madeleines are no exception. In half an hour you can have your batter chilling in the fridge and your ‘workspace’ tidied up.

There are some recipes saying that you should beat the eggs and sugar for 10 minutes (sometimes 20!) because the longer you beat them, the more air is incorporated in the batter and the higher your madeleines will rise. And they are supposed to be extra fluffy. Seriously, I have tried beating the egg mixture that long, and I don’t taste any noticeable differences. At least not enough differences to make me beat a batter for 20 min. If I had a stand mixer I would consider it but I don’t and honestly, beating the egg mixture for 5 min is more than enough.

Baking powder will also make your white chocolate madeleines rise, so it doesn’t solely rely on beating the egg mixture. Some say that adding baking powder is cheating but I! don’t! care! and neither should you. Baking powder will ensure a nice rise and a stress-free baking time.

If you want madeleines with their characteristic humps: 1/ you definitely need to chill the batter in the fridge overnight (or at least for 4 hours), as you would to get a dome-shaped muffin, and 2/preheating your oven and getting it really hot (at the right temperature) will help the madeleines rise well during the first minutes of baking.

CHILDHOOD BAKE PAR EXCELLENCE

I totally get the desire to play around in the kitchen and to add a glaze or filling to madeleines. But to me, madeleines should remain, flavor-wise and recipe-wise, as simple as possible. Probably because that’s how I grew up eating them and childhood memories are pretty much sacred. Madeleines can seem plain and boring, but they actually are very delicate, very balanced. Gloriously buttery, madeleines are the goûter (after-school snack) of choice of many French children. And for good reason, few things are as comforting as a good old madeleine. I now realize it’s because of the amount of butter, so use good quality butter for this white chocolate madeleines recipe.

A madeleine is such a nostalgic dessert for people who grew up in France, so reminiscent of happy childhood memories. It’s not like we could remember a specific time we ate madeleines but we know we mainly ate madeleines while in primary/middle school. I don’t know why I stopped eating madeleines when I grew up but now that I learned how to bake them, I can’t stop myself from making madeleines every two weeks or so. It doesn’t help that they are so easy to make.

LEFTOVER VANILLA BEAN AND MADELEINES VARIANTS

➝ What can I do with the other half of the vanilla bean? You can easily make vanilla-scented sugar! Fill a small jar with caster sugar (or your preferred type of sugar), scrape the vanilla seeds, and rub them into the sugar. Add the pod, stir well, put the lid on and the vanilla seeds infuse and do their work. You can keep vanilla sugar forever BUT it will become clumpy over time (because of the moisture present in the vanilla bean) so stir well before using. It’s always a great addition to any cup of tea and coffee :).

➝ If you are feeling adventurous, here are some madeleines variants:

• Chocolate madeleines: replace the white chocolate by dark chocolate (70% cacao), 2 tbsp of caster sugar and 1 tbsp of cocoa powder, omit the vanilla pod/extract
• Orange madeleines: omit the chocolate and vanilla pod and add the finely grated zest of 1 orange and 1 tbsp of its juice
• Lemon madeleines: omit the chocolate and vanilla pod and add the finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 tbsp of its juice
• Almond or coconut madeleines: omit the chocolate and vanilla pod and add 1 tbsp of almond or coconut extract

Are you looking for other French chocolate desserts? Here are some of my favorites:

• Chocolate sablés (crispy chocolate cookies)
• Chocolate marble cake (marbré)
• Chocolate and orange truffles

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