I had never considered baking with lavender until fairly recently. It's not an ingredient that I was accustomed to. We took a trip to a lavender farm on our vacation in Michigan, and the smell was soooo phenomenal! I was familiar with the use of lavender in sachets and soaps, but it was the lavender sugar cookies they were selling that drew me in. I'd like to say that they were also phenomenal (eh, I'm a baking snob), but I can say that they inspired me to push my personal boundaries with a new ingredient. For my first lavender bake: Lemon Lavender Madeleines!
These Lemon Lavender Madeleines are delicately-flavored lavender and vanilla cakes with a sweet-tart lemon glaze. The lemon and the lavender complement each other so well! This recipe definitely feels like spring to me.
As for when to serve these...breakfast? Brunch? Dessert? I say all of the above. 🙂
You'll want to make sure that you're using culinary lavender, since other lavenders aren't meant to be eaten and could have been sprayed with harmful chemicals. I bought my lavender [here], but I have a trip to a local lavender farm planned soon and I can't wait! 🙂
If you decide to sprinkle additional lavender on the madeleines after glazing, do so sparingly! Too much lavender can be a bad thing. You don't want it to seem like you're eating soap! 😀
If you're in the market for a madeleine pan, this is the one that I use [here]. It's a standard size madeleine pan. If you choose to make mini madeleines you'll need to reduce the baking time.
These little gems mix up easily, bake up quickly, and still have that "wow" factor. There's just a certain elegance about these little shell-shaped cakes. There is no elegance in me eating four of them in one sitting, however. Oh well. 😀
Other posts you may like:
Strawberry Lavender Pound Cake
Recipe adapted from Cooking with Books (link here).
Lemon Lavender Madeleines
Ingredients
Lavender Madeleines:
- ⅔ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon lavender (see note)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Lemon Glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
For Madeleines:
- Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a standard-size madeleine pan (see note) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt). Whisk to combine, and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine sugar and lavender (see note). With a measuring cup or the back of a spoon, crush the lavender into the sugar. Add the vanilla extract, eggs, and melted butter. Whisk to combine.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir to combine. Fill each well in the madeleine pan about ¾ full.
- Bake until madeleines are lightly golden, 10-12 minutes. Allow madeleines to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For Glaze:
- Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir until smooth.
- Dip each madeleine in the glaze, sprinkling with additional lavender, if desired. Allow glaze to set before serving.Enjoy!
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