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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.