Sweet Corn and Cheese Madeleines

Course: Cakes

Cuisine: French

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 30

Servings: madeleines

Calories: 109kcal

Author: Marvellina

Soft, buttery sweet corn and cheese madeleines with a delicate crumb and signature hump. A unique twist on the French classic—easy, elegant, and irresistible. All the tips you need to get a signature hump without resting the batter.

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US Customary - Metric

Ingredients

100 g eggs about 2 large, room temperature
Pinch of salt
80 g sugar
10 g honey
12 g milk
90 g cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
106 g unsalted butter melted, plus more for coating the pan
80 g sweet corn kernels fresh or thawed frozen; avoid canned
20 g shredded cheese I use combination of sharp and white cheddar

Instructions

Preheat the oven:

Preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C) for conventional oven for at least 10 minutes. For convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F (15 C).

Prepare the pan:

Grease your madeleine pan very well, even if it’s non-stick. I melt some butter and then brush on the well of the pan, dust with some flour. Tap off any excess. Then chill the pan in the freezer while you prepare the batter

Prepare the cake batter:

Melt butter and let it cool down to lukewarm before you add into the cake batter
In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, milk, honey, and salt just until the sugar dissolves. You shouldn't feel or hear the sugar grains anymore when you whisk. You don't need to whip up too much air into the batter. Add the melted butter and whisk again until the mixture is homogenous
Sift in cake flour and baking powder, then gently fold to combine.
The batter should feel thick, especially as the butter continues to cool down and my ambient temperature is 70 F at the time I made this.
Gently fold in the sweet corn kernels and cheese.
I prefer to transfer the batter into a piping bag. It's easier to dispense the batter neatly that way. You can also use a large ziplock bag and cut one of the corners, large enough so the corn and cheese can go through, about 3/4-1 inch wide.
Otherwise, you can also use a spoon to spoon the batter into the prepared molds, filling each about 3/4 full only, which is about one tablespoon. You don't need to even out the batter. It will even out itself as the butter melts in the oven. It is important not to overfill the mold. This can prevent the bump/hump from rising

If you choose to chill the batter:

If you want to get an even dramatic hump, I recommend piping or spoon the batter into the prepared pan and then chill the whole pan in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour is sufficient. This way, you don't have to battle with piping or transferring a "stiff" batter into the pan
But if you plan to chill the batter and bake the next day, then don't pipe or spoon the batter ahead into the pan. Just cover the batter and chill for up to 24 hours and then let the batter sit at room temperature for a bit if it gets too hard (because of the cold butter). Then pipe or spoon it into the prepared chilled pan

Baking:

Place the pan in the oven middle rack and bake for 5 minutes. Then without opening the oven's door, reduce the temperature to 375 F (190 C) for conventional oven. For convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F/15 C and bake for another 5-6 minutes or until golden brown with a nice hump. When you lightly press on the cake, it springs up lightly and no longer feels wet if you stick a toothpick into the hump to test for doneness
If you don't have pans to bake all 16 (I can only bake 12 at a time), increase the oven temperature back up again. Just wait until the pan has cooled down. I know it's a bit of inconvenient, but it is to ensure we get nice humps.
Clean off any residue on the pan if any, and brush with melted butter again and dust with flour and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes and pipe or spoon the batter like what you've done before and proceed with baking

Cooling and unmolding:

Remove the madeleines from the oven, then use a toothpick or an offset spatula to gently release the edge immediately.
Turn each madeleine on its side to cool immediately. This way the hot steam is not trapped, which prevent the cake from becoming soggy at the bottom. If you put them straight on the cooling rack, the madeleines are still soft and the grid of the cooling rack may be imprinted on the cake (more of a cosmetic issue, doesn't ruin the taste or anything)
After about 10 minutes, transfer to cooling rack to let them cool down completely

Serving:

Serve the madeleines when they have cooled down to room temperature. You will love the crisp shell and the soft fluffy hump on the other side

Nutrition