Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Madeleines

Why you’ll love this recipe

• You’ll get two recipes in one with these marble madeleines. 
• It is actually very easy to make with just 8 simple ingredients.
• The marble pattern and the perfect golden brown scalloped shell shape make these the prettiest pastries.
• They are light and moist while also rich and buttery.

Ingredients and substitutions

As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:

1. Butter – unsalted butter is used in this recipe. Since we only need a very small amount of salt, I don’t recommend substituting salted butter here because it may make your madeleines too salty.

2. Egg – I use both whole egg and egg yolk in this recipe. The additional yolk adds richness and keeps the madeleines moist.

3. Vanilla – pure vanilla extract is used to enhance the flavor even in the chocolate madeleines. Make sure to stay away from artificial vanilla flavoring.

4. Sugar – regular granulated sugar is used here. I haven’t tried using other types of sugar so I can’t really recommend substitutions. If you try using brown sugar, this may add extra moisture to the batter due to the molasses in brown sugar.

5. Flour – all-purpose flour is all you need here.

6. Cocoa powder – I prefer Dutch-processed cocoa powder for the richness and deeper flavor but natural cocoa powder should work too.

7. Baking powder – traditional madeleine recipes don’t use chemical leavening, all the lift is provided by the air whipped into the eggs. However, I find that a little bit of baking powder helps give it a little boost if you happen to deflate the batter while mixing it, making this recipe foolproof.

8. Salt – just a little bit of salt is added to the batter.

Tools you’ll need

• You will need a specialty madeleine pan to bake these. It is a must to get the classic madeleine scalloped shell shape.
• A stand mixer or electric mixer will be needed to beat the eggs to ribbon stage.
• A pastry brush would be useful to butter the pan.

How to make marble madeleines

The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Make the vanilla madeleine batter

First, beat the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla extract together in the stand mixer with the wire whisk until light in color and creamy. The mixture should look thick and fall off the beater in a ribbon.

Second, sift together flour and baking powder, and fold it into the wet ingredients in two additions until just combined.

Tip: at this stage, the batter is quite thick. Don’t worry about mixing it until it is smooth or you’ll end up over mixing it.

Finally, fold the melted butter into the batter, transfer to another bowl, you’ll need the stand mixer bowl for the next steps, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before baking. 

Tip: make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to get any flour that may not have been incorporated in the previous step.

Make the chocolate madeleine batter

Similar to the vanilla batter, beat the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla extract together until light in color and creamy. The mixture should look thick and fall off the beater in a ribbon.

Then, sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder, and fold it into the wet ingredients in two additions until just combined.

Tip: at this stage, the batter is quite thick. Don’t worry about mixing it until it is smooth or you’ll end up over mixing it.

Finally, fold the melted butter into the batter, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and longer if you have time, before baking. 

Tip: make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to get any flour that may not have been incorporated in the previous step.

Butter and flour your madeleine pan and spoon about 1 tablespoon of each batter into each cavity. Use a toothpick to make swirl patterns if you want. This recipe makes about 24 madeleines. You can bake in 2 batches, 1 pan at a time. You can keep the remaining batter refrigerated while the first batch is baking.

More baker’s tips

• Baking powder makes this recipe less fussy – classic madeleines only rely on the air beaten into the egg mixture for volume and lift, but you have to work with the batter very delicately or risk deflating it. Adding a little bit of baking powder helps these rise in the oven even if you don’t have the most delicate of folding technique.
• Make note of the amount of flour for the chocolate madeleines – the recipe calls for ⅔ cup minus 2 tablespoons, so make sure you measure out ⅔ cup and then take away 2 tablespoons. Or just use the weight measurement for simplicity. This is to account for the addition of cocoa powder in the chocolate batter which tends to dry out batters.
• Grease the pan even if it is nonstick – brush the madeleine pan with melted butter, get into all the creases. Then dust the pan with flour to give your madeleines an additional layer of protection. I have a nonstick pan but still do this religiously because occasionally I still get a batch that is tough to remove.
• Refrigerate your madeleine batter – this allows the batter to hydrate properly helping the madeleines cook evenly and rise taller to achieve their characteristic “hump”. 

Variations

• You can switch out the chocolate madeleine and make these marble madeleines with Red Velvet Madeleine or Matcha Madeleine batter.
• Add orange zest to the vanilla madeleine batter to make orange and chocolate marble madeleines.
• You can even do 3 flavors – vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate – for a neapolitan madeleine.

Storage

Madeleines are best enjoyed the same day they are baked but can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container and will stay fresh for 3-5 days. They will last for up to a week but will start to dry out the longer you keep them, though still delicious.

You do not need to refrigerate madeleines but you can freeze these marble madeleine cookies for up to 3 months if making a big batch. Simply thaw at room temperature for a few hours and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

FAQs

More bite size desserts

• Coconut Mochi
• Olive Oil Rosemary Madeleines
• Oreo Cheesecake Bites
• Red Velvet Cookie Cups
• Guava Cream Cheese Pastries

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