Best Gluten Free Madeleine Recipe Ever

You have to make this recipe. It makes the best gluten free madeleine cakes ever. And maybe even the best madeleines you have ever tasted, especially when they are just out of the oven. You can make this easy, beginner, french pastry recipe at home.

I first learned a version of this recipe years ago working in a french restaurant. That recipe wasn’t gluten free so I have adjusted it over time to come up with this. The magic ingredient is the honey and it makes the these madeleine taste so special.

This gluten free madeleine recipe is so simple and easy to make. And because the batter can be stored in the fridge or freezer you can make warm madeleines in 10 minutes. Here is a quick idea of how easy this recipe is:

Making the Madeleine Batter

• Melt the butter and set it aside to cool.
• Beat the eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
• Add the gluten free flour and baking powder and mix to combine.
• Pour in the melted butter and honey and mix to combine.

That is it, this batter recipe is EASY.

Equipment

There is no fancy equipment needed apart from the madeleine tray. I used:

• a milk pan
• whisk
• large bowl
• spatula
• stand mixer or large spoon
• madeleine tray

Madeleine Moulds

I ordered a silicon madeleine mould tray online and it was inexpensive. I just looked around and found the easiest one to order. That is the tray I use at home whenever I make these delicious little cakes.

I used to have a non stick steel tray and I also found that online. One of our neighbours children loves these little cakes so we gave her a non stick pan with a jar of batter as a present for her birthday.

Ingredients for Gluten Free Madeleines

• 250 grams melted butter, cooled
• 8 eggs
• 400 grams caster sugar
• 600 grams gluten free flour including zanthum or guar gum
• 10 grams baking powder
• 50 grams honey

A Note on Gluten Free Flour

There are a lot of different ready mixed all purpose gluten free flours that you can use for a recipe like this. I think most of them would work well as the flour is a smallish proportion of the overall ingredients.

I haven’t used a store bought gluten free flour blend because my daughter cannot eat potato and most of the ready made blends have potato starch. If you have a store blend that you usually use then that should be fine.

Making your own gluten free flour blend

I have a small collection of gluten free flours in the pantry and just use whatever I have to hand at the time. Sometimes I will use all white rice flour if I don’t have brown rice flour and vice versa. I have made this recipe without almond flour and just increased the amount of rice flour until I have 600 grams.

The 600 grams of gluten free flour I use for this recipe is typically a blend of:

• 300 grams brown rice flour,
• 100 grams white rice flour,
• 150 grams tapioca starch, and
• 50 grams almond flour.
• 2 teaspoons of zanthum gum or guar gum, depending on which one I have in the pantry. You do need the zanthum or guar gum as it holds the batter together.

Alternatives for Dairy Free

I have made these gluten free madeleines with dairy free margarine and they tasted great. In fact, the first time I made these for my children I had to make them dairy and gluten free and they loved them.

How to Make Gluten Free Madeleines

Second, put the eggs into the bowl of the stand mixer and pour in the sugar. Mix on a medium speed until the eggs and sugar are combined and start to look fluffy. This doesn’t take long, maybe 3-5 minutes.

Sifting the dry ingredients

I use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl because I don’t have a sifter for aerating the flour and combining the dry ingredients like my Nana had.

Now, you have the dry ingredients ready, the butter has cooled and the honey is waiting. This is not fussy so just go ahead and add the dry ingredients to the eggs and sugar.

The batter will be lighter if it is not overworked so as soon as the butter and honey have been mixed in you can turn off the stand mixer.

Finally, I use a spatula to make sure the gluten free madeleine batter is completely mixed, just a few folds will usually be fine. And the batter is ready.

The batter can be used immediately for the best ever gluten free madeleine you could ever wish to have with your morning coffee or glass of milk. Or it can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or the freezer for 3 months.

Storing the batter

This recipe makes a lot of batter so I tend to store most of it. I keep about half the batter in an airtight container in the fridge. And I put the other half of the batter in another airtight container and store it in the freezer.

Just take the frozen batter out of the freezer 10 minutes before you want to use it. Happily, this is about the same amount of time it takes to heat up the oven and the batter will be soft enough to scoop and put into the madeleine tray.

A Delicious Breakfast or Afternoon Tea

I have taken some batter out of the fridge or freezer many times when a neighbour comes by for a cup of tea, or some my children’s friends come over to play.

I hope this inspires you to try these delicious little cakes. Serve them with a glass of milk or cup of tea because they are perfect for dipping. Please let me know what you think and whether you have tried any other flavours, maybe lemon?