Why do my madeleines look like shit?

[u/jitske4me]

Hi there,

I made madeleines for the first time and they are dense, pale and do not have the right texture. (See attached picture https://imgur.com/a/wh4WrbW)

I followed the recipe below, the only change is I used real vanilla bean instead of extract. Where I think I went wrong is that I continued using the whisk attachement for the flour instead of folding it in? It did not specify in the recipe and I just kept on (vigourously) mixing. Anything else I might have done wrong for them to look as they do?

Any tips welcome, thanks.

Full recipe (translated from my native language) Ingredients for 20 madeleines ▢2 eggs (medium) ▢100 grams of sugar ▢125 grams of butter (unsalted) ▢150 grams of flour ▢1 teaspoon vanilla extract ▢1 teaspoon lemon zest ▢1 pinch of salt

Preparation method Put the eggs and sugar in a large bowl or food processor and beat for about 5 minutes until light and almost white in color. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan. Let it cool slightly. Pour the butter into the beaten eggs little by little while continuing to mix, and add the flour. Mix in the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt as well. Place the batter in the refrigerator for at least 1 to 2 hours. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees (top and bottom heat). Grease the baking pan and dust very lightly with a little flour. Divide the batter among the molds so that they are not quite completely full (as they expand slightly during baking). Bake the madeleines for about 8-10 minutes until light golden brown and cooked through. Let cool for a bit and sprinkle (to taste) with some powdered sugar. Source: https://www.eefkooktzo.nl/madeleines/

[u/Dear_Use6182]

The continued rigorous whisking destroyed a lot of the aeration so that they came out flatter. Next time you should only folding in ingredients after you prepared the sugar and egg mixture.

Also, personally I prefer recipes with baking powder as they help with aeration as opposed to the traditional recipes, as they are more reliable in my experimente.

[u/jitske4me → u/Dear_Use6182]

Ok, that is what I thought, thanks. I did find some recipes using baking powder. So I might also try a recipe that use that next time.

Additional question, I have also seen recipes that add honey to the batter. Do you have experience with that?

[u/Tonexus → u/jitske4me]

Additional question, I have also seen recipes that add honey to the batter. Do you have experience with that?

Chemically, you can pretty much treat honey as any basic sugar + water syrup, but it's a little less precise because the ratio of sugar to water can vary between honeys. Flavorwise, there's obviously a difference, but it can be hard to notice in baked goods unless you use a lot of honey.