Pistachio Madeleines with Pistachio Ganache
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These Pistachio Madeleines with Pistachio Ganache are for pistachio lovers! Soft, moist, buttery madeleines are flavored with freshly ground pistachios, topped with crunchy roasted pistachios, and filled with sweet, smooth, nutty pistachio ganache.
I’d like you to meet your new favorite madeleine flavor, Pistachio Madeleines with Pistachio Ganache. It is naturally bright green and loaded with nutty pistachio flavor.
These madeleines are the definition of triple pistachios in one little treat! Soft, moist, buttery little sponge cakes get the subtly sweet and nutty flavor from the freshly ground pistachios added to the batter. They are then topped with roasted pistachios for extra crunch and pistachio flavor.
These pistachio madeleines taste good as they are. But to make them a little bit extra, you can coat them with white chocolate shells just like in my Pistachio Madeleines with White Chocolate Shell recipe or fill these little cakes with silky pistachio white chocolate ganache like in this recipe.
These Pistachio Madeleines with Pistachio Ganache are the perfect anytime treat! I love to enjoy these little treats with a cup of tea or coffee.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Triple pistachio flavor. These little treats are packed with nutty pistachio flavor inside and out!
- Texture contrast. Soft, tender, moist little cakes topped with crunchy roasted pistachios and filled with silky smooth ganache.
- Easy to make. These Pistachio Madeleines with Pistachio Ganache look fancy and complicated to make, but they are actually very easy to make as long as you have the ingredients.
Components and Ingredients
Pistachio Madeleines
- Unsalted butter. Using high-quality butter in madeleines is simply essential, even more so as the butter is what brings the flavor to them. For the best result, use European-style butter which has less water, higher fat content, and richer flavor. It will really make a difference here.
- Eggs. Make sure you use room-temperature eggs because they blend more evenly in batters.
- Castor sugar. You can also replace it with granulated sugar. I used castor sugar because it blends more easily than granulated sugar.
- Vanilla extract. To enhance the flavor.
- Cake flour. Cake flour is ideal for baked goods with a tender texture due to its low gluten content. You can also use all-purpose flour to substitute cake flour.
- Baking powder. It is an ingredient responsible for forming the madeleine’s hump.
- Pistachios. Use ground pistachios for the batter and roughly chopped pistachios for the topping.
Pistachio Ganache
- Pistachio paste. You can buy ready-made pistachio paste from the supermarket or online. Alternatively, you can make pistachio paste from scratch. This involves blending pistachios until they form a paste, but I prefer to buy ready-made paste as it saves time.
- White chocolate. Use good quality white chocolate for the ganache as it will affect the taste and texture.
- Heavy cream. Use full-fat heavy cream for the best results. You need a high-fat percentage to allow the ganache to come together and have a smooth texture.
- Pistachios. Chopped roasted pistachios to cover the ganache in the madeleines.
Choosing Madeleines Pan
You need one or two madeleine pans to make the signature scallop shape of the madeleines. Consider these things when you buy the madeleine pans:
- Shape. Madeleines are traditionally baked in shell-shaped molds, and the concave, shallow shape directs the batter upwards as the madeleines bake.
- Cavity depth. You want to be sure that the wells are deep enough to produce madeleines with that distinctive hump they are known for.
- Material. You can find different madeleine molds made from metal or silicone. I strongly recommend metal pans. They are great for their excellent heat transfer. In addition, choose a non-stick pan so that the madeleines can be released easily from the pan.
Chill Your Batter to Get the Humps
The batter must be refrigerated for at least 1 hour or overnight. The purpose of this is to chill the batter which also thickens it. This is what creates the signature hump on the madeleines – the shock of the heat hitting the cold batter, and the thicker batter which allows the cake to rise faster.
For the best result, I recommend refrigerating for 2 hours or more. The longer they are chilled, the taller the humps.
How to Fill the Madeleines
You need to make holes in the humps of madeleines using a seed remover tool, small paring knife, or round piping tip about 0.6-inch/1.5 cm in diameter and two-thirds of the way down. Pipe the ganache inside the holes until it seeps out from the holes. Cover the holes with roughly chopped pistachios.
Baking Tips
- Temperature matters. Make sure you use room temperature eggs and slightly warm melted butter as written in the recipe.
- Rest and chill the dough. To get the signature madeleine humps.
- Don’t overfill the molds. You should fill them about 80-90% full for the best result.
- Keep an eye on them as they bake. Madeleines are quick to bake. You only need 10-12 minutes to have them risen and golden brown
- Chill the ganache. Chill for at least 2 hours, if not overnight. It should thicken as it cools down. If you make this ganache in advance and it is too firm to scoop right out of the fridge, let the bowl sit at room temperature a bit until it softens to a pipeable consistency.
Storage
As madeleines are such small cakes, they can become dry relatively fast. Madeleine should be enjoyed as close to baking them as possible for the best result. They can though be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.
More Madeleine Recipes
- Vanilla Madeleines
- Lemon Poppy Seed Madeleines
- Pandan Coconut Madeleines
- Lemon Madeleines
- Rose Madeleines
- Black Sesame Madeleines
- Chocolate Madeleines
- Tiramisu Madeleines
Pistachio Madeleines with Pistachio Ganache
Ingredients
Pistachio Madeleines
- 7 tbsp (100 gr) unsalted butter, melted, at 40-50°C
- 2 (100 gr) eggs
- 7 tbsp (90 gr) castor sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (85 gr) cake flour
- 3 tbsp (25 gr) roasted shelled pistachios
- 1 tsp (4 gr) baking powder
- 3 tbsp (25 gr) raw pistachios, roughly chopped
Pistachio Ganache Filling
- 1/3 cup (60 gr) white chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp (30 gr) pistachio paste
- 3 tbsp (25 gr) roasted shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
Instructions
Pistachio Ganache Filling
- Add chopped white chocolate and heavy whipping cream in a small heat-proof bowl. Place the bowl over but not touching simmering water in a saucepan (bain-marie). Stir until the white chocolate has melted.
- Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Add pistachio paste and stir until well incorporated.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill the ganache for at least 2 hours.
Pistachio Madeleines
- Grind roasted pistachios in a grinder or food processor into a fine powder. Don't over grind or they will become pistachio butter. Set aside,
- In a large bowl, add eggs, castor sugar, and vanilla extract. Using a whisk, mix them lightly for 3-4 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved.
- Sift in cake flour and baking powder. Add ground pistachios. Whisk until well combined.
- Add in melted butter and whisk until well incorporated.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 370F/190°C. Grease a non-stick madeleine pan with butter. If you are not using a non-stick pan, grease the pan with butter and dust the wells with flour lightly.
- Remove the batter from the fridge. Using a spatula, mix to loosen the batter and remove the air bubbles.
- Transfer the batter into a piping bag and pipe the batter into the molds until 80-90% full. You can also alternatively spoon the batter into the molds.
- Sprinkle roughly chopped raw pistachios on top.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they have risen and golden brown.
- Remove madeleines from the pan immediately. Cool completely.
Assemble
- Use a seed remover tool, small paring knife, or round piping tip to cut 0.6-inch/1.5 cm circles into the humps of the madeleines and create holes about two-thirds of the way down.
- Remove the ganache from the fridge and stir with a spatula to loosen it. If the ganache is too firm, you can leave it at room temperature until it softens a little bit.
- Transfer the ganache into a piping bag. Fill the holes you have created in the madeleines with ganache until it seeps out from the holes.
- Place roughly chopped roasted pistachios in a small bowl. Dip the ganache side of the madeleines into the pistachios to cover the holes.
So good with strong pistachio taste!