Pandan Madeleines
Pandan is a plant local to Southeast Asia and other tropical climates with spiky fan leaves and fruit that looks like pinecones. People use their leaves for cooking, and it surprisingly has a more mild flavor compared to its strong smell. It tastes like a vanilla bean with a tiny amount of grass and coconut in it, maybe even almond. It’s very aromatic with a sweet-and-nutty-smelling floral fragrance as well as a color that bears a close resemblance to an emerald. I first came across pandan when I was traveling in Thailand. I was picking out goodies in one of their 7-Eleven stores, and I grabbed a green cake, thinking it was matcha, and the rest is history.
Pandan goes well with coconut milk-based desserts, but I’ve also found it to compliment vanilla anything very well. Since I’m a fan of Southeast Asian and European food (just all food in general, really), I decided to make pandan madeleines to create a dessert that encompasses flavors from both continents. I’m very nostalgic for the year I spent backpacking solo in Asia. Given the pandemic/current state of affairs, purchasing some pandan extract is the closest I’m going to get to enjoy all the desserts I miss from my trip.
The line-up
Madeleines are small, light, and airy sponge cakes, not cookies, from France with a distinct scallop shell shape. The flavor is sweet and buttery. They’re made from what’s called a genoise cake batter that’s popular in France and Italy. Traditionally, people would add lemon zest or nuts into their cakes. Still, for this recipe, we’re leaving those ingredients out and going with vanilla bean (or extract) and pandan extract instead. You need a madeleine tray to make these cakes, and if you don’t have one, the texture won’t come out right or at all if you decide to use another pan. The good news is madeleine pans aren’t expensive, and you can find plenty of options on Amazon. Just make sure it’s deep enough so the ridges will show up on the cookie.
Once you have your trusty madeleine pan at your side, you can begin this recipe by whipping the room temperature eggs, sugar, and extracts together at high speed until the batter ribbons. This process ensures that the mixture becomes thick and fluffy. After that, you slowly fold in the dry ingredients, the flour, baking powder, and salt, and then pour in the cooled melted butter a portion at a time and mix by hand.
Pour the batter in 1/3 portion at a time
You do this to ensure everything mixes together evenly
It’s so green!
Many baking recipes call for chilling the dough or batter in the refrigerator, and this recipe is no different. However, it would be best not to keep the batter in the fridge for too long because the butter will solidify. Then your madeleines will lose the airiness they gained when you were whipping the eggs and sugar together. I think 20 to 30 minutes should be long enough. Also, if you over chill the batter, you run the risk of losing the famous madeleine bump. However, the cakes still taste just as good without this aesthetic, so don’t sweat it if you can’t seem to figure it out on the first try. Practice makes perfect and I’m still getting the hang of it, too!
I’ve found more success using baking spray on the madeleine molds than greasing it with butter, but if you don’t have any spray on hand, melted butter spread onto the molds with a pastry brush is just as fine. I think the latter will add more texture to the outside of the cake, but it also has a more significant risk of the madeleines browning, too. I used 1/2 of a tablespoon of batter for each mold, but the amount you can add to each section depends on the size of the madeleine tray you purchased. Use your discretion during this step and fill up each mold 3/4 of the way. I wouldn’t use more than one tablespoon for each madeleine.
Make sure your mold is deep enough otherwise you wont see the ridges on the shells
Sprinkling the cakes with the optional powdered sugar
Pro tip: powdered sugar is a great way to cover up the cookies that came out a little more tan than you would have liked
Are they pistachio? Is it matcha? Nope. It’s pandan!
Madeleines will stay good for up to three or four days, but with every day that passes after you bake them, they get drier and drier. I found that my recipe still tasted great on day three (they didn’t last until day four because I ate them all), but they indeed lost some moisture along the way. I stored my cakes in tightly wrapped foil on my counter, but an easy remedy to slow down the cake from drying is by storing them in an airtight container or by having some coffee, tea, or milk on hand to dunk them in. I prefer to serve madeleines with milk and tea or strong black coffee, but I think they taste just as great on their own, too.
How adorable is this tea set? It was my great-grandmother’s and I’m perpetually paranoid that I’m going to shatter something every time I use it
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus a few pinches for lining the pan (plus a few bits to sprinkle onto the greased molds)
5/8 cup (1 stick + two tablespoons) of unsalted butter, melted and browned, plus another 1 tablespoon of melted butter for the pan or baking cooking spray
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons of pandan extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (you can substitute with almond extract if that’s something you prefer)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
(optional): confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling on top
Cooking Instructions
Brown the butter in a pot by breaking it into small pieces on medium heat until the butter melts and the milk solids separate from the fat
Swirl the pan until the butter turns tan and remove it from heat. Set aside to cool for 10-12 minutes
In a bowl, whip the room temperature eggs with both sugars and extracts for 7 or 8 minutes at high speed until they look thick and the batter ribbons when you lift the whisk. This process will make the madeleines nice and airy
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl
Fold the egg mixture into the dry ingredients, one third at a time, and delicately mix by hand with a spatula until combined
Pour in the browned butter, a small amount at a time, and slowly incorporate into the ingredients
Cover and chill the batter in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes along with the Madeline pan; careful not to over chill otherwise, the butter will solidify again
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Remove the batter and pan from the refrigerator and grease the molds with butter
Fill the molds 3/4 of the way, or use a 1/2 tablespoon to scoop the batter into the center of the shell
Bake for 8 minutes, turning the pan halfway to ensure that the madeleines cook evenly. You will know when they are done when you lightly push the center of the hump and the cake springs back
Carefully turn the pan upside down and dump the madeleines onto a surface to cool. A wire rack is preferred but not necessary
Sprinkle or sift with the optional powdered sugar and serve
