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The classic French madeleine cookies with a layer of chocolate, a perfect little treat that is really easy to make. I’ll share my recipe for vanilla madeleines dipped in chocolate.

What are madeleine cookies?

Let’s start with the fact that madeleines are not cookies. They are small shell shaped cakes, French butter cakes to be exact.

A good madeleine is crispy on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside. And don’t forget: a well-baked madeleine has a nice little belly. The other side looks like a shell, which is due to the shell-shaped molds used to bake French madeleines.

Enjoy a homemade madeleine with a cup of coffee or hot tea. These delicate French cakes are perfect little treats to serve to your guests.

How to make madeleines

It’s not that hard to make madeleines at home. But there are some things to keep in mind to have the best result. I will share what I’ve learned of baking a lot of madeleines in all kinds of flavors.

Chill the batter

To make these little cakes, you need chilled batter. I put a piping bag with the batter in the fridge, as that’s the easiest way to pipe the batter in the baking pan.

Chill the batter for about 2 hours. you can wait longer, but keep in mind the batter wil be hard an cannot be piped with a piping bag in you buttered pan.

​Baking pan

To get the shell shape, you’ll need special madeleine pans. Brush the pan with melted butter with a pastry brush or use baking spray.

After baking, tap the pan on the counter immediately. They will come out of the pan very easily when they come straight out of the oven. Wait any longer and they will just stick to the pan.

I like to use metal molds to bake fluffy madeleines, but you can also use a silicone mold.

Chocolate covered madeleines

The concept is very simple. First, bake the madeleines and let them cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Then fill the cavities of the (well-cleaned) madeleine pan with a tablespoon of melted chocolate.

You can use a thermometer to check if the chocolate is tempered for that perfect shiny chocolate coating, but I personally don’t use a thermometer. I’ve included instructions on how to temper your chocolate without a thermometer in the recipe. It takes a little practice, but it’s very easy.

Then you simply add some chocolate to the special pan and press the baked madeleines back into the chocolate-filled cavities. When the chocolate is fully set, you can remove them from the non-stick madeleine pan.

The result is beautiful, delicious chocolate-filled madeleines. Very fancy ones, if you ask me. These madeleines are ready for the holidays!

​TIP: Love chocolate? Try my recipe for a quick and easy chocolate mug cake! No egg needed for this recipe and ready in minutes.

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Chocolate dipped madeleines recipe

The classic French madeleine cookies with a layer of chocolate, a perfect little treat that is really easy to make. I’ll share my recipe for vanilla madeleines dipped in chocolate.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Cooling time3 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 24 servings

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 150 grams fine caster sugar
• 150 grams all purpose flour
• 125 g unsalted butter melted and cooled
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 200 grams chocolate for the coating

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Beat eggs and sugar in a medium bowl until a airy mixture whose volume has increased 3 times, you are definitely mixing for 5 minutes for this. Add the flour and melted butter to the egg mixture. Finally, add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. You can either use a stand mixer or hand mixer for this recipe.
• Put the batter in the refrigerator for 2 hours before proceeding.
• Grease the pan and dust with flour. Tap out excess flour. Pipe or spoon the madeleine batter into the pan. I like to use a piping bag, but using 2 teaspoons worked well too.
• Bake the madeleines for 8-10 minutes at 200°C/390°F (conventional oven) until golden brown. Release the madeleines on a cooling rack immediately. Allow the madeleines to cool completely and thoroughly clean the baking pans.
• Melt 2/3 of the chocolate in a separate bowl in a double boiler, remove the bowl when melted from the heat and add the remaining chocolate. Stir well until all is melted tot ribbon stage.
• Pour a generous teaspoon of melted chocolate into each cavity of the pan. Spread the chocolate out a bit and press the madeleine in firmly until you see the chocolate coming out at the edge of the madeleine.
• Allow the chocolate to set completely. Then tap the pan on your work surface firmly to release the madeleines from the pan. I found that the madeleines came off easily this way, some a little faster than others.

The classic French madeleine cookies with a layer of chocolate, a perfect little treat that is really easy to make. I’ll share my recipe for vanilla madeleines dipped in chocolate.

What are madeleine cookies?

Let’s start with the fact that madeleines are not cookies. They are small shell shaped cakes, French butter cakes to be exact.

A good madeleine is crispy on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside. And don’t forget: a well-baked madeleine has a nice little belly. The other side looks like a shell, which is due to the shell-shaped molds used to bake French madeleines.

Enjoy a homemade madeleine with a cup of coffee or hot tea. These delicate French cakes are perfect little treats to serve to your guests.

How to make madeleines

It’s not that hard to make madeleines at home. But there are some things to keep in mind to have the best result. I will share what I’ve learned of baking a lot of madeleines in all kinds of flavors.

Chill the batter

To make these little cakes, you need chilled batter. I put a piping bag with the batter in the fridge, as that’s the easiest way to pipe the batter in the baking pan.

Chill the batter for about 2 hours. you can wait longer, but keep in mind the batter wil be hard an cannot be piped with a piping bag in you buttered pan.

​Baking pan

To get the shell shape, you’ll need special madeleine pans. Brush the pan with melted butter with a pastry brush or use baking spray.

After baking, tap the pan on the counter immediately. They will come out of the pan very easily when they come straight out of the oven. Wait any longer and they will just stick to the pan.

I like to use metal molds to bake fluffy madeleines, but you can also use a silicone mold.

Chocolate covered madeleines

The concept is very simple. First, bake the madeleines and let them cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Then fill the cavities of the (well-cleaned) madeleine pan with a tablespoon of melted chocolate.

You can use a thermometer to check if the chocolate is tempered for that perfect shiny chocolate coating, but I personally don’t use a thermometer. I’ve included instructions on how to temper your chocolate without a thermometer in the recipe. It takes a little practice, but it’s very easy.

Then you simply add some chocolate to the special pan and press the baked madeleines back into the chocolate-filled cavities. When the chocolate is fully set, you can remove them from the non-stick madeleine pan.

The result is beautiful, delicious chocolate-filled madeleines. Very fancy ones, if you ask me. These madeleines are ready for the holidays!

​TIP: Love chocolate? Try my recipe for a quick and easy chocolate mug cake! No egg needed for this recipe and ready in minutes.

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Chocolate dipped madeleines recipe

The classic French madeleine cookies with a layer of chocolate, a perfect little treat that is really easy to make. I’ll share my recipe for vanilla madeleines dipped in chocolate.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Cooling time3 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 24 servings

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 150 grams fine caster sugar
• 150 grams all purpose flour
• 125 g unsalted butter melted and cooled
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 200 grams chocolate for the coating

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Beat eggs and sugar in a medium bowl until a airy mixture whose volume has increased 3 times, you are definitely mixing for 5 minutes for this. Add the flour and melted butter to the egg mixture. Finally, add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. You can either use a stand mixer or hand mixer for this recipe.
• Put the batter in the refrigerator for 2 hours before proceeding.
• Grease the pan and dust with flour. Tap out excess flour. Pipe or spoon the madeleine batter into the pan. I like to use a piping bag, but using 2 teaspoons worked well too.
• Bake the madeleines for 8-10 minutes at 200°C/390°F (conventional oven) until golden brown. Release the madeleines on a cooling rack immediately. Allow the madeleines to cool completely and thoroughly clean the baking pans.
• Melt 2/3 of the chocolate in a separate bowl in a double boiler, remove the bowl when melted from the heat and add the remaining chocolate. Stir well until all is melted tot ribbon stage.
• Pour a generous teaspoon of melted chocolate into each cavity of the pan. Spread the chocolate out a bit and press the madeleine in firmly until you see the chocolate coming out at the edge of the madeleine.
• Allow the chocolate to set completely. Then tap the pan on your work surface firmly to release the madeleines from the pan. I found that the madeleines came off easily this way, some a little faster than others.

I’ve got the perfect Valentine’s day recipe for you today! Delicious and beautifully red velvet madeleines. The biggest difference with classic madeleines is of course the bright red color. Which makes these the perfect gift for Valentine.

Red velvet madeleines

Making these red velvet madeleines is not very different from making a traditional madeleine. You need a madeleine pan (something like this one) and it is easiest to make them with a stand mixer or electric mixer.

What do you need to make the madeleines:

For making these pretty madeleines you will need the following ingredients:

• unsalted butter
• eggs
• granulated sugar
• all purpose flour
• cocoa powder
• vanilla extract (optional)
• red food coloring – it’s good to know that the amount of red food coloring needed is depending on the type of coloring you use and even the brand can be different.
• white chocolate – for decoration
• Valentine sprinkles

You start the proces by adding the eggs and the sugar together in a large bowl and whipping them until they are very light. In the meantime melt the butter in a small saucepan.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix them together until smooth. At that point it is time to add the food coloring. If you’re unsure of how much you need add a little bit at a time until the batter has the desired color.

Chill the batter in the fridge for at least two hours.

Once the batter is chilled properly divide it over the prepared madeleine pan. This is easiest if you use a piping bag for easy distribution but two teaspoons or a small cookie scoop also work.

Decorating

Once the edges of the red velvet madeleines are golden brown but not too brown (you still want to be able to see the beautiful red color) you take them out of the oven and place them on a cooling rack.

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler and pipe some of the melted chocolate over the madeleines for a pretty effect and so the sprinkles will stick.

Melting chocolate in a piping bag

I have a nice little baking tip for you! When I need a small amount of chocolate for piping details or a drizzle, I like to melt the chocolate in a piping bag!

Put the chocolate in a disposable icing bag and hang it in a glass of warm water. Make sure water can’t get into the bag. Wait until the chocolate has completely melted. Then cut off the tip of the piping bag and use as you like.

In this case: drizzle the chocolate over the madeleines.

More Valentine recipes

Want to give your Valentine more delicious Valentine treats? I have some cute and yummy options:

• Red velvet marble loaf cake
• Heart shaped Oreo truffles

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Red velvet madeleines

The prettiest gift for this Valentine's Day are these bright red red velvet madeleines!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Chilling2 hours hrs

Total Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 24 pieces

Equipment

• Madeleine pan

Ingredients

• 125 grams unsalted butter
• 2 eggs beaten
• 150 grams granulated sugar
• 135 grams all purpose flour
• 15 grams cocoa
• Pinch salt
• 1½ tsp red food coloring
• 30 grams white chocolate
• Sprinkles

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a saucepan. Beat the eggs and sugar for a few minutes until very light. Add the melted butter, flour, cocoa and salt. Mix until the dough is even.
• Colour the dough with the food coloring. The amount you need will vary depending on the coloring you use.
• Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Grease the tins with butter or baking spray. Divide the dough between the moulds.
• Bake the madeleines for 8-10 minutes at 200˚C/400˚F (conventional oven).
• As soon as the madeleines come out of the oven, turn them over a wire rack; if you wait, they will be much harder to remove from the pan. Leave to cool completely.
• Put the white chocolate in a disposable icing bag and hang it in a glass of warm water. Wait until the chocolate has completely melted. Then cut off the tip of the piping bag and pipe the contents over the madeleines. Decorate some (or all) with sprinkles.

Ready to bake some chocolate chip madeleines? I love these little French cakes and love to make them in different kind of flavors. And since it is the month of Valentine’s I figured I share one of my all time favorites.

you guessed it, that is a recipe for perfect madeleines. This time it is a twist on chocolate chip cookies; chocolate chip madeleines! Perfect with a cup of tea and a great gift for Valentine’s!

Chocolate chip madeleines

I’ve already shared a recipe for chocolate dipped madeleines and red velvet madeleines but this one is very different as it has chocolate in the batter before baking. Although you could make chocolate-dipped chocolate chip madeleines too if you wanted to go all out!

I’ll soon be sharing a recipe for a classic madeleine as well but for now this delicious chocolate chip version.

What you need for making the madeleines

First thing you need to have is a madeleine pan for baking them. If you’ve never made madeleines before it’s good to know that they require a special pan. Something like this although there are various models available.

Other than that you need the following ingredients at room temperature:

• eggs
• unsalted butter
• icing sugar
• vanilla extract
• sifted flour – ideally you would use french wheat flour for making them but any good quality plain flour will also do the trick
• milk chocolate chips – you can choose white chocolate or dark chocolate if you prefer

How to make the chocolate chip madeleines

Now the first step is to whisk the eggs and the sugar together. The easiest way to do this is with a stand mixer but you can also use a large bowl and a hand mixer. You want the mixture to triplicate in volume. And then keep whisking for another 5 minutes.

Now carefully fold in the melted butter and the flour. Do this in batches and try and keep the air in as much as possible. Once everything is mixed you add the chocolate chips as the last step. Fill one large piping bag or two if it doesn’t fit.

If you don’t have a piping bag you can do this with two teaspoons. Now before you finish the chocolate madeleines you need to chill the dough in the fridge for at least two hours before moving on to the next step. That will enhance the flavor of the madeleines.

Baking the madeleines

Now the last step is baking the madeleines and giving them that classic bump on top. You start by greasing the madeleine pan and dusting it with flour to ensure that they will release from the pan easily.

You bake the madeleines at 400˚F for just 8-10 minutes. You want them to be lightly golden brown but still quite pale in the middle.

Once baked the chocolate chip madeleines will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

As you can imagine: I bake a lot! I made a selection of my most used and favorite baking pans. This collection is perfect for every home baker.

My collection

If you love to bake, you know that your cupboards are slowly but surely filling up with baking utensils. I know that especially baking pans take up a lot of space. For a while, I bought and received special baking pans with some regularity, but I found that I ended up using them little to none.

I almost always reach for the same basic tins and rings anyway. I use them a lot and like to make room for them in my cupboards.

I’m currently cleaning out my cupboards. I have the most used pans in a drawer in my kitchen, the rest are in my office, in my junk room or in the attic. Totally inconvenient to have all these different places. So I’m going to change that soon.

At the same time, I’m going to take another look at what shapes I really want to keep. Today I will tell you more about my most used and favorite baking pans. And I have also created a list with a bakeware collection for the avid home bakers.

Sizing is a little bit different between European standard sizing in centimeters and the inch sizing so I’ve rounded up the inch. So a 8.9 inch pan will become a 9-inch pan.

Loaf pans

I have 2 metal loaf pans that are 25 cm/10 inch long. I find this to be the perfect size for cakes and I use them a lot. I have tried several brands over the years and find that there is not much difference in quality. I currently have 2 of these loaf pans at home.

As far as I’m concerned, you don’t need expensive loaf pans. They cost a few dollars and for that amount of money I don’t mind if you have to replace them at some point.

I use them quite a lot myself and I want to look at a slightly more expensive loaf pan to replace them, mainly because I am curious to see if I actually find it nicer to work with and if it will last longer. I will give an update when the time comes 😉 .

Springforms

For years I have been working with springform tins from two particular brands, Patisse and Kaiser which are more than fine to work with. For about 2 years now I have owned two Le Creuset springforms.

They are quite expensive and I don’t know if I would have bought them if I hadn’t been given them. However, now that I know how they work, I am sure I would buy them myself. They are fantastic.

If one of them fails, I’m sure I’ll buy the same one again. But it will be a long time before I do, because even though they are used a lot, they still look pretty good.

I have a 20cm/8 inch and a 24cm/ 9 inch springform pan, both of which I use a lot. I have been using them for about five years now and they still look great.

Cake Pans

A baking pan is a solid bottom pan and comes in all shapes and sizes. I own (or have owned) several different shapes and sizes, but there are only a few that I actually use a lot.

Those are the 20 x 20 cm square pan (perfect for brownies) and the 15 and 20 cm round pans. I even have three of the 15cm ones, which are perfect for baking layer cakes.

Of course, you can do this with just one pan, but it’s much faster and more convenient with multiple pans. Highly recommended if you make this type of cake regularly.

There are several brands of pans. Mine are almost all PME, but I also have a few from Wilton. These brands are mostly available online. These are mine:

• Square cake pan 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 inch)
• Round cake pan 15 cm/6 inch (I have 3)
• Round 20 cm/8 inch baking pan

Rectangular pans

I just mentioned my square baking pan, which is also available as a rectangular baking pan. Personally, I use oven baking dishes whenever I need a rectangular baking pan. From cakes to crumbles, I use them for almost everything.

While baking pans are all standard sizes, baking dishes are very different. The sizes I use most often are 16 x 25 cm (6 x 10 inch) and 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inch), but any size close to that will work.

Otherwise you can just convert your recipes with my conversion tool. This set of 4 baking dishes is nice to have around the house. The small one is similar to what I often use for baking recipes, the large one is perfect for casseroles.

As far as brands go, I don’t really have a preference. I have baking dishes from Le Creuset and a lot of other brands you can find online. I also have a set of these rectangular sheet pans which are great for lots of different things too. From sheet cakes to using as cookie sheets.

Baking rings

I have had a set of baking rings for a few years now and I use them a lot, which I never expected. I mostly make tartelettes and rondos, but you can use them for anything. Baking rings have no bottom, you put them on a baking tray covered with baking paper, which forms the bottom.

I personally have these baking rings that are 8 cm/3 to 4 inch in diameter, an ideal size. I have a set of 6, but would like to expand to 10 or 12. Then I don’t have to clean them in between and can just keep baking. You can also use these tall baking rings, you can use them for even more dishes in the kitchen.

Quiche and tart/pie pans

I bake quiches and pies in round quiche pans with a (solid bottom and) scalloped rim. I have both ceramic and metal pans, both of which I use regularly.

The ceramic quiche pan I have is 28 cm/11 inch, a hefty size but very handy for savory pies. The metal one is 25 cm/10 inch and is a flan/quiche tin with a removable bottom, very handy for getting your pie out of the tin easily. I use this one for both savory and sweet pies.

I don’t have a strong brand preference. My metal mold is unbranded and the stone mold is from Le Creuset. The important thing is that the metal mold has a good non-stick coating. And a loose bottom works so well with a metal pan. It’s also very convenient to have different sizes.

Other specialty pans

That was quite a bit of text about the baking pans I like and use a lot, but there are more! These are more specific pans for “special” baking. For example, I wouldn’t want to be without my muffin pans. I have one for regular muffins and cupcakes and one for mini muffins and cupcakes.

My molds are from Wilton, the first one I ever bought is about 10 years old and still good. But any good brand will work.

I bought my madeleine pan at a grocery store and I wouldn’t be without it. In fact, I would rather have another one. After all, you can often fill two molds with one recipe.

Finally, bundt cakes, one of my favorite baking molds. Also one where I have a strong brand preference. All but one of my bundt pans are from Nordic Ware. You pay a little extra for them, but they are worth it.

Besides the special and beautiful shapes, they have a very good coating. I just use a baking spray to grease them and all my cakes come out of the mold beautifully. Although I already own 4 of these pans, I have many more on my wish list. The designs are unique and they keep coming up with new and beautiful designs.

All in a row

Here are the cake pans that I like to use a lot and that I think are useful in any baking enthusiast’s kitchen:

• 1 or 2 25 cm loaf pans
• 20 and 24 cm springform pans
• 15 cm round baking pans (maybe several per size)
• 20 cm round baking pan 
• 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 inch) square baking pan
• Baking dish set
• Rectangular sheet pan
• Set of 8 cm baking rings
• 28 cm/11 inch quiche pan
• 25 cm pie pan (with loose bottom)
• Muffin tin (for regular and small muffins)
• Madeleine mold
• Bundt pan(s)

That’s a pretty big list. I have many more molds, but the ones I mentioned are the ones I use the most and would really miss if I didn’t have them anymore.

Do you have a lot of baking pans at home? Or are there many more on your wish list? I am curious about your favorite baking pan(s)!