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What are Madeleine Pans?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Madeleine pans are baking pans specially designed for making madeleines, small French cakes with a classically scalloped shape. The pans can also be used to make other small shaped desserts, and while they are a specialty item, they can be quite useful. Many kitchen supply stores stock madeleine pans, often with nonstick coatings for convenience.

A madeleine pan looks like a baking sheet with a series of seashell shaped depressions punched into it. Batter for madeleines is ladled into the depressions, and during the baking process it will spread and puff up, creating a distinctive shell-shaped cake. Madeleines are often designed to be eaten like cookies, and they can be found at many formal teas and luncheons. They do not, strictly speaking, need to be shell shaped, but since this shape is traditional, it is the most common shape for madeleines.

Woman baking cookies
Woman baking cookies

It is believed that madeleines were named for Madeleine Palmier, who is said to have been a superb French pastry cook. Palmier apparently developed the small cakes, and the food became quite popular. The delicate little butter cakes were further popularized in the writings of Marcel Proust, a famous French author.

The batter for madeleines is essentially a sponge cake batter. As a result, the small cakes can be quite tenacious. For this reason, most bakers oil and flour their madeleine pans, to encourage the cakes to slip out once the baking process is complete. Many bakers also perfect a sharp rap to the counter to release the grip of madeleines on the pan. Modern non-stick cookware can also be used to make madeleine pans, although the batter may adhere anyway.

When selecting madeleine pans, look for sturdy pans which will stand up to some hard use. Even nonstick pans will have to be rapped to release the madeleines, so you should be able to bang the pan sharply against a counter without denting or distorting it. Some companies also make silicone madeleine pans, which are a novel solution to the sticking problem since they can be turned inside out to release the cakes. However, the madeleines may fail to develop their perfect crispy golden crust when baked in silicone, so you must decide how important that crust is to you. The pan should also be easy to wash, and ideally dishwasher safe, as the high powered jet of the dishwasher can get deep into the scallops of the pan and remove residue left from baking.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

Wisedly33

@Lostnfound -- I'll just stick with buying madelines from Starbucks, I guess, or have them made at a bakery. It's a cop-out I guess, but I'm not brave enough to try them! I admit they intimidate me.

Lostnfound

I've seen madeline pans for sale in kitchen supply stores. They're expensive little devils! I suppose it's because of their design. I would like to try madelines, but I've honestly never had a real need to make them.

I did see an episode of one of Martha Stewart's shows for PBS where she made madelines. Of course, she made it look easy, but I have a sneaking suspicion my madelines wouldn't turn out nearly as picture perfect. I would have to oil and flour those pans to a fare-thee-well to make sure they didn't stick, and I still don't have much confidence that they'd come out of the pan without any trouble.

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    • Woman baking cookies
      Woman baking cookies