Who has not tried French madeleines? Yes, those little cakes with a scallop shell shape that are perfect as an accompaniment to your afternoon cup of tea, or just as a little sweet treat at any time of the day.
They are very rich, and the traditional French madeleine will have an intense buttery flavour as they are made with melted butter.
The madeleines recipe that I have prepared for you today is not the traditional French recipe, but my own creation using extra virgin olive oil instead of butter.
I always try to use olive oil instead of butter in my cakes in order to get a healthier and lighter result more in line with a Mediterranean diet. And in this case I am more than satisfied with the result, as these madeleines are super light, spongy and soft, and their delicate lemon touch makes them taste like heaven!
A plus for this recipe is that you do not really need to be an experienced cook to prepare these madeleines. It is actually a very simple recipe, as easy as my muffins recipes: the orange and olive oil muffins, the chocolate and olive oil muffins … and you will be able to enjoy them in less than 30 minutes.
If you try this simple, healthy and delicate madeleines recipe, please let me know, leave a comment and rate it. I would love to know what you come up with. Enjoy!
- 4 eggs
- 100g (½ cup) unrefined cane sugar
- 100ml (3.4 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
- 50ml (1.7 fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 175g (1⅓ cup) plain flour
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- The zest of one lemon (avoid the bitter white membrane beneath the lemon peel)
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F).
- Lightly grease a non-stick madeleine pan with olive oil and set aside.
- In a large bowl beat the eggs with a hand mixer. Add the sugar and continue mixing until dissolved. Then mix in the olive oil and the freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Add in the plain flour, the vanilla extract, the baking powder, the salt and the zest of one lemon. And mix it all well until just combined.
- Keep the batter in the fridge for approximately 10 minutes.
- Remove from the fridge and give a final mix before filling the madeleine pan.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 15-16 min at 175 degrees C (350 degrees F).
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Hi Margarita,
Do you think replacing sugar with maple syrup would work?
And instead of oil, if I used just milk?
Hi Sharmila, the measures in these madeleines matter. I wouldn’t replace sugar with maple syrup and I wouldn’t replace olive oil with milk. Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
They turned out so good! Brilliant recipe! I look for cake recipes that use olive oil instead of butter….i’m so grateful you feel the same way 🙂
Hi Kai, I’m glad you like it 🙂 Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
I’ve just done these madeleines using your recipe, Margarita,they turned out so light and yummy. Thank you for sharing 🙂
I’m glad you like them 🙂 Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
Hello Margarita, i made these madeleines today and was surprised how easy they were. They even had the traditional bump…the recipe made the 24 as you said, this is the first madeleine recipe I have made that makes the quantity specified. Thank you, and they are delicious.
Hi Gai, you’re welcome 🙂 I’m delighted to know you like my recipe, it’s a favourite at home! Enjoy!
This is was absolutely delicious! I loved that it was not too sweet and the lemon flavor was perfect. . The recipe was so easy to follow and I’ll definitely be making this again.
Hi Essie,
I’m glad to know you like my recipe 😀 If you enjoyed it, probably you will also like to try my orange & olive oil muffins recipe: https://www.tastymediterraneo.com/orange-and-olive-oil-muffins/ Enjoy and have a nice day 🙂
Hi can I use cake flour? Thank you.
Hi Daphne,
I have never used cake flour for these madeleines, but since the only difference between cake flour and all purpose plain flour is the protein content, and it is not a big % difference, I guess it could work. Just check the cake flour content to make sure it does not already contain baking powder, because some brands add it to the flour.
Let me know how it goes 🙂
Thank you for this recipe, we love it. We don’t have the same pan but we managed to get it to work – very tasty!
Rita
Hi Rita, you are welcome! the shape is not so important if you have a different pan, what is good is that you enjoyed them 🙂
We’ve tried this recipe and we simply love it! Much lighter than the French version with butter. Thanks a million for the idea!
That’s great Laureen 🙂 You are welcome!