Chocolate Madeleines

We've tested a few chocolate madeleine recipes, and most were not very chocolately and tended to be dry. Until we found this recipe, and all we could say is ooh la la! It was partially because we baked these in our new, deeper shell molds. But these mads were tender and bursting with chocolate flavor. Our dark chocolate dip with flaky sea salt put them over the top. These decadent French-inspired treats are a chocolate lovers dream.

Some people think madeleines are tricky to make. They are time consuming, but if you follow good recipes and don't cut corners, anyone can make them. 

This recipe is slightly adapted from one from Emma Duckworth and makes 12 of the deeper shell mads or 18-ish of the standard size madeleines. As with other madeleines, these don't have much of a shelf life. They're best the first day, pretty good the second day and "if there's nothing else I'll eat them" on the third. If you bake them in the shallow, traditional pans, we recommend you eat them the first day.
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If you want to extend the life of your madeleines, dip them in a glaze. 

INGREDIENTS

Madeleines

• 9 Tablespoons (115 g) butter, melted and at room temperature
• Extra 1-2 Tablespoons of butter for brushing onto the pans.
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (110 g) granulated
• 1 Tablespoon and 2 teaspoons (20 ml) whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (95 g) all-purpose flour
• rounded 1/4 cup (35 g) cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt

Dipping chocolate

• 1/2-3/4 cup (100g) dark chocolate, melted
• ½ teaspoon coconut oil (or butter)
• 1 teaspoon Maldon flaked sea salt, optional

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat your butter in a small saucepan over low heat until melted, or melt, covered,  at 50% power in your microwave until melted. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the SideSwipe or your flat paddle, add the eggs and sugar and beat on high until increased in volume, pale and fluffy, approx four-five minutes. Reduce the speed to low, and add the milk and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt over and into your mixer bowl.
4. Mix on low until just combined.
5. With your stand mixer on its lowest speed, drizzle in the melted butter in 5 to 6 additions and allow SideSwipe to fold until combined. If you have a standard beater, you can remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in by hand.
6. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.
7. Brush the melted butter onto your madeleine molds, dust with cocoa powder and tap away excess. Refrigerate or freeze your pan at least 1 hour or until you are ready to fill pans and bake.
8. After pans and batter are cold, heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). 
9. Scoop or spoon about 2 Tablespoons of batter into each of 12 large or 18 small/traditional shell pan cavity. If you have extra, divide it evenly between the cavities. DO NOT spread the batter. The oven will do the work for you.
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cakes have risen and domed as it is fully cooked through.  The "humps" will be cracked. That's OK. Mads are done when you touch the top and your finger impression bounces back. Check early and try not to overbake as this makes them dry.
11. Transfer immediately to a wire rack and leave to cool slightly.
12. Heat the chocolate and coconut oil in short bursts in the microwave until fully melted. You can also heat in a double boiler. Transfer melt to a small bowl.
13. Dip the madeleines into the milk chocolate and sprinkle with flaked salt. 

NOTES

1. Carefully butter, dust and chill the madeleines pan. Melt a tablespoon of butter and using a pastry brush work that butter into all the nooks of the shell pans. Then dust lightly all over with cocoa powder and tap out the excess. This helps give the outside of the madeleines a crispy exterior but also stops them from sticking. (Dust with plain flour if the madeleines aren’t chocolate!)
2. Beat the eggs and sugar for a long time. Normally when making a sponge batter we beat the butter and sugar together to aerate the batter. But with madeleines you whip the eggs and sugar for a solid 5 minutes to really get some volume going. Then you add the milk and vanilla bean extract, and then sifted dry ingredients mixing carefully until just combined. It’s at this point, right at the end that we add the melted butter and mix it in.
3. Let the batter rest and chill. This is another important step. Once you have finished making the batter, cover your bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Between 1-2 hours is ideal but overnight if you want to have fresh madeleines for breakfast.
4. How to keep madeleines fresh. Mads are best served on the same day. Even in an airtight container, they can go become dry because they are so small. You freeze in a tightly sealed container if you have too many to eat. Some of our recipes include a dipping glaze, which extends the fresh taste a day or so more. You cannot freeze glazed mads.