Double Chocolate Madeleines

Double Chocolate Madeleines are an airy but indulgent treat. Chocolate madeleines dipped in melted chocolate add a little richness to your traditional madeleine recipe making these perfect as a light dessert. (They’re also excellent when dunked into a warm cup of coffee.)

I’ve loved madeleines for a long time. Not only are they delicious, but they easily fit into many situations – want a sweet breakfast? Grab a madeleine. A light dessert? Grab a madeleine. Afternoon tea? …you get it. 

Thanks to cocoa in the batter, and a melted dark chocolate coating, this chocolate-dipped madeleine recipe is a slightly more indulgent take on the little cake that could. (There’s even a light orange flavor add to the batter to a add a touch of acidity to the recipe.)

this recipe

What are chocolate-dipped madeleines

A somewhat modern take on madeleines, these madeleines are given a chocolate flavor with cocoa powder in the batter, and then dipped in melted chocolate to add a decadent chocolate coating.

These cake-like treats can be consumed as a sweet snack or a dessert. Chocolate madeleines in particular, pair especially well with a cup of coffee. 

Something I like to do at home is prepare the batter in advance, leaving the batter to chill overnight. Then I can quickly get the madeleines baked and served as a sweet breakfast treat. (I did say they pair well with a cup of coffee!)

Ingredients

For the chocolate madeleine

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Cocoa powder
• Large eggs, room temperature
• Granulated white sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Maple syrup
• Orange zest
• Orange juice
• Unsalted butter, melted

For the chocolate dip

• Powdered sugar
• Unsalted butter, melted
• Unsweetened or semisweet chocolate, melted

How to make Double Chocolate Madeleines

To make the chocolate madeleines

Begin preparing your madeleine pans by coating the wells with butter. Add a light dusting of flour and tap out any excess. Place the prepared pan in the freezer for at least 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F (180 degrees C). 

Prepare your dry ingredients. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa into a large bowl.

Prepare your wet ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, maple syrup, orange zest, and juice. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and mix using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until no lumps remain. Add the melted butter, stir until a smooth batter is formed. Cover the bowl and chill for an hour.

Fill each well of the madeleine pan with approximately one tablespoon of batter. Once filled, gently tap the pan on the counter to help the batter settle into the madeleine molds.

Bake for eight minutes, until the edges just begin to pull away from the pan. You’ll probably be able to smell the chocolate-y goodness from your oven! 

Remove the baked chocolate madeleines from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack for a few minutes. Gently nudge the cooled madeleines out of the pan (you can an offset spatula if your madeleines are being difficult). Set them aside on the rack to finish cooling. Repeat the process using any remaining batter.

To prepare the chocolate dip

In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, melted butter, and melted chocolate together to form a chocolate glaze.

Final assembly

Dip the madeleines into the chocolate glaze. Let the madeleines cool on a wire rack until the chocolate sets. Enjoy!

Tips

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What cocoa powder to use

As this is a chocolate Madeleine recipe, much of the madeleine cake’s flavor comes from cocoa powder. With this in mind, I recommend using the best cocoa power available to you. Dutch process cocoa powder is great, and has a rich chocolate flavor. However, be careful not to use a hot cocoa mix or hot chocolate mix as these powder mixes include more than just cocoa powder!

What kind of pan to use

There are generally two types of madeleine pan available: metal pans (these can be further split into light and dark metal madeleine pans), and silicone pans. Both types are perfectly fine to use for this recipe.

If you don’t have a madeleine pan, these can be baked in mini-cupcake pans. The quintessential madeleine shape will be missing, and I’ve found the resulting cakes tend to be a little more dense.

Chill for best results

Madeleines bake best from chilled so make sure to keep your prepared madeleine pan in the freezer until it’s time to add the batter. It’s for this same reason that I suggest chilling the batter prior to baking it. (You can alternatively spoon the batter into the Madeleine molds and then chill the pan with the batter in it.)

Don’t overfill the mold

There’s always a temptation to stuff the madeleine molds full of batter in order to get bigger madeleines. The way to go here is to fill the wells until they’re only 70-80% full.

What to do with leftover batter

Any leftover batter can be covered and chilled the fridge while your madeleines bake. Once the first batch is done, simply bake a second batch using the leftover batter.

Variation ideas

Thanks to the inclusion of the dip, there are plenty of easy variations for this recipe. 

Sprinkles. Make these madeleines more colorful by adding sprinkles (or crushed candy cane) over the chocolate glaze. 

Nuts. Want more of a crunch? Add some crushed pistachios to the chocolate glaze.  

Chocoholic. Want even more chocolate? Dip the (already) chocolate-dipped Madeleine into some mini chocolate chips.

A different glaze. The easiest option for changing the glaze is simply switching it into a different type of chocolate. Instead of dark chocolate, try using white chocolate or ruby chocolate for dipping the madeleines into. 

A zesty option. If you’re looking to introduce some more complex flavor to the chocolate and orange madeleine mix, try swapping out the orange juice and/or zest for a different citrusy option. Chocolate orange madeleines are my personal preference!