Guess what??? This is so cool. In my last post I told you about how I tried making Heston Blumenthal’s madeleines and how I was not pleased with the results. Well, I got an e-mail from a lovely lady called Carla, writing to me from the office of Chef Daniel Boulud himself in New York City!!! How awesome is that? Carla kindly gave me the recipe for Boulud’s cloud-like madeleines, and I am so thrilled to be able to share it with you guys.
I have to admit, I knew these were going to be awesome even before they were ready. How did I know? Well, Moi did taste the batter a couple of times… okay more than a couple of times. I shudder to think how many madeleines I may have had in liquid form. Talk about a liquid lunch eh? It tasted so yummy in its raw state that I knew that big mess I made in the kitchen was going to be worth it. Just to make sure, I followed the instructions to the absolute letter. I even used a piping bag to dispense the batter into the tray, as the recipe indicated. I haven’t taken out my piping bag and accessories since my harrowing macron debacle. Now that’s dedication, no?
The results were indeed spectacular. Oh. My. God. YUM!!!! Just like the ones in the restaurant. I left some of the batter in the fridge in the piping bag and I’m going to make some for Mr P so he gets them fresh when he comes home. I can’t wait to see his reaction 
. This is most definitely going into my list of keepers as something I hope to make time and time again. I absolutely can not imagine another madeleine recipe tasting better than this one, Housewife’s word of honour. They take a little bit of effort, but they are most definitely worth it, so I hope you try making them.
I know a lot of you have mentioned that it seems a shame to buy a pan that only really has one purpose. Daaaaahlings, perish the thought. Once you taste these, you will only wonder why you didn’t buy your madeleine pan sooner! Life is short, eat madeleines.
This following recipe was originally published in the cookbook “Chef Daniel Boulud – Cooking in New York City.”
Madeleines
Makes 6 dozen small or 1 dozen large madeleines
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and kept warm
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
1. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl using a wire whisk, mix the eggs, sugar, honey, brown sugar and lemon zest. Add the flour mixture and whisk just until combined. Add the melted butter, stirring just until incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Liberally spray either a nonstick 20 mold or 12 mold madeleine pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the batter in a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip. Pipe the molds two-thirds full, using about 1 teaspoon of batter for the 20 mold pan and 2 tablespoons of batter for the 12 mold pan.
4. For the small madeleines, bake until the centers rise and the edges are golden brown, about 4 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking. For the large madeleines, bake for 5 minutes, reduce the heat to 350°F, rotate the pan halfway, and continue baking until the centers rise and the edges are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, invert the pan and tap it against the counter to release the madeleines. Serve the madeleines warm, dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
Dear HH,
Wow !!!! No blogger will ever rival your popularity !!! I’m sure one of these days you’ll get a comment by Queen Elizabeth !!!! if she has not written to you before, disguised under Lizzie the baking princess, or sth like that !!!
Have a great WE !!!
Oooh I love, love, love, absolutely love Madeleine cookies! Wonderful post, lovely recipe!
Cheers & happy eating~
Oh my gosh, you have hit the big time……amazing HH.
So pleased they were everything you knew they could be darling, so fabulous!!!
xoxox
A beautiful madeleine,wish I had that special pan
So what if a madeleine pan is a ‘uni-tasker’, these gorgeous madeleines would make it totally worth investing in one. And yes, you’ve definitely hit the big time – how cool that the office of Daniel Boulud contacted you and gave you the recipe!
Wow lucky you! They look fantastic.
I should try these sometime soon, I am sure they are so much better fresh:)
This madeleine recipe sounds perfect indeed; thanks for sharing dear!
I got it in my head to try making madeleines, thanks to Proust. I looked ’round the Net and found several recipes, but chose this one because of Boulud’s pedigree and your glowing review (” I absolutely can not imagine another madeleine recipe tasting better than this one”). They came out great! But really, I have nothing to compare them to; this is the first time I’ve made (or even ate) madeleines. Thank you very much for sharing the recipe, though.
Decided on Madeleines as my contribution to the final class in a regional French Cooking series I have been attending. Sweaty afternoon locating the baking tray apart, Boulud’s recipe worked like a dream and looks, smells and tastes superb. The perfect contribution. My sincere thanks to you for your special website. I’m hooked.
How wonderful that Chef Boulud’s office took the time to send an email to you and to give you the recipe! And congrats on your successful Madelines!! They look so pretty, and I can only wish I could reach out and try one! Have a great day! sheila
Just baked these and they are indeed delicious and wonderfully quick to bake (well apart from the hour in the fridge).
One thing I was wondering about the Heston recipe was maybe the Almonds need to be finer. I know when making macarons, they advised blitzing and sieving even ground almonds to create a finer powder.
I might give it a go, glad you have both recipes on your blog as the UK Times has now disappeared behind a pay wall.
Fantastic recipe. If you find the underside is less done flip them for a short bit!
These are the best Madeleines, scratch that, best thing I’ve ever baked! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Just a q, ever tried to change it to get chocolate madeleines?