Sugar-glazed Gingerbread Madeleines
As an eternal French kid at heart, French Madeleines are always on my mind. These small tea-cakes (often referred to as cookies in North-America) are elegant, timeless and always sure to please. They’re also suited to any season and any occasion, and invite creativity. So for this Winter Holiday Season, I wanted to mix them up with an American twist and created these Sugar-Glazed Gingerbread Madeleines. They follow the classic French Madeleine recipe basics, to which I added a handful of rye flour and a typical spicy-yet-not-too-spicy gingerbread spice mix.…
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 12 min
- Yield
- 12 servings
- Difficulty
- EASY
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp (105g) unsalted butter
- 3 cloves
- 1 star anise
- ½ cup (100g) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (30g) rye flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ tsp cinnamon powder
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- For the glaze:
- 2 cups (200g) icing sugar
- 5 tbsp (75ml) water
Instructions
- 1
Pre-heat your oven to 400°F (205°C), with a rack in the middle and a large baking sheet in it.
- 2
In a small sauce pan, melt the butter with the cloves and star anise. Once melted, set aside to cool and let infuse.
- 3
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until foamy.
- 4
Fold in the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, rye flour, salt, baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg) with the sugar and egg mixture. Mix until just incorporated – the batter will be quite thick. Slowly fold in the melted butter (discard of the cloves and star anise) and stop mixing when just incorporated.
- 5
Spoon the batter equally into a 12-cup Madeleine pan, previously greased with melted butter.
- 6
Place the madeleine pan in the oven, on top of the pre-heated baking sheet. Bake for 4 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350°F (180°C) and bake for 7-8 minutes more, until the madeleines are puffed and golden.
- 7
While the madeleines bake, make the glaze. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the icing sugar with 5 tablespoons (75ml) of water. Whisk until smooth and lump-free.
- 8
Transfer the madeleines to a cooling rack.
- 9
Dip each madeleine into the glaze, drain off the excess (let the madeleines drip for a few seconds) and carefully place them back onto the cooling rack to cool and dry. The madeleines will take about 1 hour to dry completely.
- 10
They can be kept for up to 3 days, in an air-tight container.