Pistachio Madeleines with White Chocolate Shell
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Soft, moist, buttery Pistachio Madeleines are flavored with freshly ground pistachios, with crunchy chopped pistachios on one side and crisp white chocolate shells on the other side.
I just can’t stop experimenting with new madeleine recipes since I got my madeleine pan. Once I got the tricks to making perfectly humpy madeleines, I never looked back.
These Pistachio Madeleines with White Chocolate Shell were a lovely experiment. The pistachio madeleines get their flavor from the freshly ground pistachios in the batter. Before baking, I also top them with roughly chopped pistachios. They are good as they are, but to make them even better, they are coated with a thin layer of shell-shaped white chocolate.
Ingredients You Need
- 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.
- 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.
- White chocolate. To make the chocolate shell.
Choosing Madeleines Pan
You absolutely need one or two madeleines pans to make the signature scallop shape of the madeleines. You can find different madeleine molds made from metal or silicone. Metal pans are great for their excellent heat transfer. In addition, choose a non-stick pan so that the madeleines can release 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.
Baking Tips
- Temperature matters. Make sure you use room temperature eggs and slightly warm melted butter as written in the recipe.
- Rest 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.
- Keen 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
How to Make the Chocolate Shell
Make sure you have washed your madeleine pan thoroughly before making the chocolate shell. The grease can mess with the appearance of your chocolate coating.
You can use both compound or couverture chocolate for making the chocolate shell. Compound chocolate is a safer choice since it sets at room temperature without the need for tempering. If you use couverture chocolate, you need to temper it first before using or it will not set properly.
Fill each cavity of your pan halfway with melted chocolate. Place your madeleines into the tray gently and press them lightly until the melted chocolate comes to the edge of the molds.
Freeze them for 20-30 minutes until the chocolate is set. Once they are set, they will slide off easily. If they hardly come off, it means the chocolate is not fully set yet. You will need to freeze them for a longer time.
How to Serve Madeleines
Madeleines are best served warm, straight from the oven. You can make the batter ahead of time, then bake off fresh batches as needed.
If you plan to cover them with chocolate, make sure to bring them to room temperature after freezing and sliding them from the pan. Refrigerating madeleines will cause them to get hard. They are best enjoyed with a cup of tea.
More Madeleine Recipes
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp (100 gr) unsalted butter, melted at 40-50°C
- 2 (100 gr) eggs, room temperature
- 7 tbsp (90 gr) castor sugar
- 2/3 cup (85 gr) cake flour
- 1 tsp (4 gr) baking powder
- 3 tbsp (25 gr) roasted shelled pistachios
Toppings
- 1/4 cup (35 gr) raw pistachios, roughly chopped
- 2/3 cup (125 gr) white chocolate, melted
Instructions
- Grind roasted pistachios in a grinder or food processor into a fine powder. Don't over mix or they will become pistachio butter. You can sift them and continue blending the bits of nuts for finely ground pistachios. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add eggs and castor sugar. 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 pistachios on top.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they have risen and golden brown.
- Remove madeleines from the pan immediately. Cool completely.
- Using a clean madeleine pan, add about 1 tbsp melted chocolate into each cavity of the pan. Press the madeleines into the white chocolate gently until the chocolate shows up on the edges of the molds.
- Freeze for 20-30 minutes or until the white chocolate is set. They should slide off easily. If not, freeze for another 5-10 minutes until they come off.
Loveeeeed this recipe.
Thank you for the review Xavier
This recipe looks delicious and I would like to try it out, but I have a question. You mentioned that they are best served warm, but to make the chocolate cover, they need to be freezed. Do you warm them up again after you’ve done the chocolate cover? Thank you!
If you plan to make the madeleines without the chocolate cover, they are best served warm fresh from the oven. However, if they are covered with chocolate, leave them at room temperature after freezing. Don’t warm them up or the chocolate will melt.
Thank you for the comment. I have updated my post to explain this.
Hi Jaja. I bought a shell mold and I want to make Madelines exactly according to your recipe. It will be my first time making Madelines. Tell me, please, do I measure 100 grams of eggs with or without the shell? Thank you
Hi Dragana, you need to measure 100 grams of eggs without the shell.
Should the pistachios be ground to a powder or just a very fine chop? Thank you!
Hi Rita,
For the batter, you need to grind roasted pistachios into a fine powder. For the topping, I used roughly chopped raw pistsachios.
Hi there! I tried your recipe, it tastes really good, but they didn’t come out as pretty as they should be. I have a feeling it’s because of my pans. If you don’t mind, can you let me know where did you get the baking pan that you are using? Thanks for sharing your recipes..
Hi Neliza, I used Chefmade WK9849 for the madeleine pan. I hope this information helps.