Paleo Madeleine
These little cakes are very easy to make, they do not need lot of time to bake. The longest you will have to wait would be for the chocolate to harden on top. However the chocolate is not necessary as madeleines did not get chocolate coating in the original version.
It’s the perfect choice for a coffee morning or in the afternoon with a cup of tea. To be honest, in my house nobody can walk by a bowl of madeleines without eating at least one, so they run out very quickly. This recipe shows how easy and delicious a gluten and lactose free dessert can be.
Madeleines are very small sponge cakes with shell-like shape which are baked in traditional madeleine pan. You can buy this pan in any kitchen equipment store, it’s not a special tool.
There are many origin stories about this little cake. One of them, Madeleine Paulmier prepared this cake first in 1755 to charm Louis XV. Another story linked the cake with the El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, in Spain. A cook, named Madeleine had offered small cakes into the shape of a shell to pilgrims. According to the next story, a pastry chef Jean Avice invented the Madeleine in the 19th century. But the term madeleine to describe a small cake seems to appear for the first time in France in 1758 by an Irish Jacobite refugee, Lord Southwell. It seems that these little cakes have been very popular for more than 300 years.
Madeleines were chosen to represent France in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union on Europe Day in 2006.
Paleo Madeleine
Equipment
- Madeleine Baking Pan
Ingredients
Madeleine
- 160 gram almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 eggs
- 80 ml coconut cream
- 100 ml honey
- 100 ml coconut oil plus extra to grease the madeleine pan
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 pinch salt
Chocolate Topping (Optional)
- 80 gram dark chocolate 85% melted
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Mix dry ingredients in bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients well in other bowl with electric hand-mixer.
- Mix these 2 mixtures gently together.
- Spread the madeleine pan with a bit of coconut oil.
- Spoon the batter into the greased madeleine pan.
- Put it into the oven and bake for 12 minutes, until golden brown.
- Take madeleines out from the oven and let them cool on a rack.
- Melt chocolate with 1 tsp coconut oil in a small pan above boiling water (Bain-marie).
- Immerse half part of the madeleine in the melted chocolate and sprinkle with a bit of desiccated coconut (it’s optional) then put it on a rack to dry.
- Repeat with all madeleines.
Great recipe! Really straightforward to do, and so quick to bake. I couldn’t wait for the right moulds to arrive so I used what I had (one mini madeleine, a cannelé, and some small brioche moulds) and they turned out great. Next time, apart from using the right moulds, I’d perhaps add some extra lemon because I LOVE lemon, and if not dipping them in chocolate I’d also add a bit more honey or coconut sugar, just because I like them a bit sweeter. Thanks again for another addition to my gluten-free baking repertoire!
Dear Maddison, I’m very happy that you’re satisfied with the recipe. Of course you can add more honey if you like them sweeter. Thank you very much for your nice response!