I love everything lemon poppy seed, but sometimes I don't want an entire lemon poppy seed loaf cake. So I decided to make these cute little lemon poppy seed madeleines instead! If you don’t know, madeleines are a cute little French dessert that look like cookies but are actually more similar to a small cake. They’re perfect with your morning coffee or as an afternoon dessert.
You might also like these lemon poppy seed macarons or my lemon poppy seed sourdough pancakes!
madeleine tips & tricks
Madeleines are known for their classic humped back! If you’ve ever watched The Great British Baking Show, you know what’s up. One of the most important steps to getting the hump is beating the eggs long enough. You want to beat the eggs and sugar together for at least 8 minutes (put a timer on because it feels like forever). After 8-10 minutes the mixture will be very pale and thick.
Chilling the batter is also a super important part of this recipe! Letting the batter chill helps the madeleines rise properly in the oven (however if it chills too long the butter will solidify and then they won’t rise enough). I find that 45 minutes is the perfect amount of chill time, but you definitely want to stay within the 30-60 minute window.
Sadly you can’t make madeleines without a madeleine pan. But if you’re like me and love collecting kitchen gear, I highly recommend my USA Pan Madeleine pan*! It’s nonstick and works great! Even though it’s nonstick I still like to brush the wells with melted butter before baking! It helps the madeleines slide right out and get nice and crisp on the top.
Ingredient Notes
- Lemon Extract - When you're baking, you never want to add to much acid because it can effect how your baked goods rise. This poses a problem with lemon desserts. The best way to get all the lemon flavor with none of the acidity is lemon extract! I prefer the paste, but you can also get it in a liquid form. You should be able to find it in the baking aisle at your local grocery store!
- Poppy Seeds - You can't have lemon poppy seed madeleines without poppy seeds! Sometimes they can be super expensive at the regular grocery store, but I've found they can be more affordable online or at your local international grocery store!
These lemon poppy seed madeleines are best eaten the same day but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
If you make these lemon poppy seed madeleines, please leave us a star rating at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. Happy baking!
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Recipe Card
Lemon Poppy Seed Madeleines
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Madeleines
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 cup cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Lemon Glaze
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and lemon zest together on high speed for 8-10 minutes or until the mixture is thick, very pale, and forms ribbons when you lift the beaters. Add in the lemon extract and beat until combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds. Using a spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Then gently fold the melted butter into the batter. It will take a minute or two to fully incorporate, so just keep gently mixing it together until fully combined. The batter should be thick and shinny.
- Cover the bowl and let the batter chill in the fridge for 45 minutes. During the last few minutes of chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Lightly brush your madeleine pan with 1-2 tablespoons of melted butter, then scoop a generous tablespoon of batter into the center of each well.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the madeleines are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until fully combined and smooth. You may need to add an extra 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice to reach your desired consistency.
- Dip cooled madeleines in the glaze and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Leah says
This was my 3rd attempt at making madeleines and they turned out wonderfully! A few things I did differently, I let my batter sit at room temperature and they still had beautiful that hump!
Secondly I added orange and lemon zest since I had no poppyseeds on hand - and they still were super super delicious! I definitely recommend making these!