Madeleine
A small, buttery French sponge cake baked in a shell-shaped mold, known for the hump on its back.
- Cakes, cookies, pastries and baked goods
- France (Lorraine)
Madeleine batter is made with eggs, sugar, flour and melted butter, often with lemon zest or vanilla. Many recipes chill the batter before baking; the cold batter meeting a hot oven helps form the characteristic bump. They are best eaten the day they are baked.
Madeleines are tied to the town of Commercy in Lorraine and became famous in literature through Marcel Proust.
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Tools for this
Bellemain 12-Cup Madeleine PanThe shell mold that gives madeleines their ridges and hump.See it on Amazon
KitchenAid Artisan 5-Qt Stand MixerDoes the beating and kneading for you, hands-free.See it on Amazon
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Sources
Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.
- Madeleine (Q604408), Wikidata