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Christmas Madeleines

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It is with great delight that I introduce guest blogger Alica.

Alica Senhouse is a South Florida-based blogger, writer, and stay-at-home mom of two. Her blog, Alica’s Pepperpot, is a Caribbean-influenced food blog where she shares stories and recipes of her cultural cuisine. Alica loves spending time with her family and leisurely trips to Target. She is also in the process of re-designing and re-branding her blog.

I couldn’t help but get into the holiday spirit the moment I dusted these Christmas Madeleines with powdered sugar. It made me feel so festive and excited for the next few weeks. Especially next week, when I’ll be attending a cookie exchange party with all of my really good mom-friends. I’m planning on baking up another batch of this classy buttery tea cakes to bring with me to the party. I can see them being a total hit and also a stunner on the cookie table. I must note, although these look like red velvet madeleines, they are not. This is a classic French madeleine recipe with red and black food coloring which I used to achieve the rich burgundy color.

Christmas Madeleines recipe

Alica's Christmas recipe

I remember the first time I tasted a real Madeleine. I say real because the mass-produced madeleines sold at popular coffee shop chains bare no comparison in taste or texture to a freshly baked batch and nor would I expect it to, but once you’ve tasted a real Madeleine, you’ll know that nothing else compares.

It was in 2005 on my trip to Amsterdam. We took a day trip to Belgium and spent our time sight-seeing and perusing the cobblestone streets. We popped into a local café for coffee and a treat. I ordered a few French Madeleines since it was something I had never tried. Dense, chewy, buttery, soft, and crusty at first bite. It was the most amazing little tea cake I had ever eaten. Whenever I make these little tea cakes, it always brings about a nostalgic feeling. It’s so perfect for the holidays.

christmas madeleines recipe

Christmas Madeleines

Adding food coloring to these little cakes can jazz up any party theme or bring a wow factor to your dessert table. The only special items you’ll need to make these is a Madeleine pan and gel food coloring. I used Dorie Greenspan’s classic madeleine recipe with some adjustments. I prefer to use salted butter; it gives the cakes a nice buttery flavor. Because of this, I omit adding additional salt as well as lemon zest which her original recipe calls for. I add more sugar to this recipe and double the vanilla extract- all for the flavor. Confectioner’s sugar is an option but recommended to bring out the fancy.

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Christmas Madeleines

Yield: 12

Christmas madeleines recipe

  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 oz. melted butter, salted
  • 2 tbsp. whole milk
  • Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Instructions

  1. Whisk the flour and baking powder together in a small bowl, set aside.
  2. Cream the sugar and eggs together until pale in color. Add honey, vanilla, and food coloring to batter. Mix until desired color is achieved.
  3. Using a spatula, fold in flour mixture just until it disappears.
  4. Finally, fold in the butter and milk. Batter will be shiny and smooth.
  5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is recommended.
  6. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter and flour your Madeleine pan. Spoon batter half way in each crevice. Let pan sit on counter to come down in temperature while oven heats up.
  7. Place madeleine pan on a bigger baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes until golden brown.
  8. Remove madeleines right away and place on cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar when cool.

Notes

I prefer to use gel food coloring. It adds color using less liquid. I used Wilton’s no-taste red and needed about ½ ounce to get the desired red I was going for. I added a little black coloring to achieve a deep burgundy color. Use a toothpick with the black coloring, add a little at a time so it doesn’t become muddy looking.

Christmas Madeleines Recipe

Please let me know in the comments below if you plan on trying this recipe for the holidays, you can also stop by my blog Alica’s Pepperpot or my social media pages:

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Enjoy and Happy Holidays everyone!


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Comments

  22. Gorgeous madelines! I just discovered gel food coloring this year. I love it too! Maybe you could provide a link to Amazon so readers can easily see what gel food coloring is. That’s how I found out about it – through another blogger who provided a link. I had never heard of it before then so maybe other readers are in the same boat?

    Reply

  25. I LOVE madeleines!! I actually have a pig shaped tray to make them… totally random but they look awesome and my daughter loves the piggies! Will defo give this a go. Pinning it!

    Reply

  27. ok so i made Madeleine ones and they went terribly wrong – the innards pretty much exploded lol — im going to retry my efforts with this recipe!

    Reply

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