Orange Glazed Madeleines (Just like at Blé Sucré bakery in Paris)

Back when I was still pregnant with Zac, we went on a patisserie tour around Paris and set out to try Paris' most famous pastries. Out of all the incredible and decadent things we tasted, the orange-glazed madeleines, from the tiny off-the-beaten-path bakery known as Blé Sucré, were my absolute favourite.

And yesterday I finally got around to try making them myself.

They were just as good as I remembered them... light & buttery with a crisp sugar coating and a hint of orange. Absolutely dee-licious!

I ate three this morning with my coffee without fully realizing...

and then I realized how dangerous they were, so I sent them away with my husband to give away at  work!

(ok full disclosure, I didn't give them all away... I couldn't bring myself to do that!)

Read on for the recipe...

Orange-Glazed Madeleines

I got the recipe from this instructional video given by the chef at Blé Sucré, Fabrice le Bourdat.... so it's definitely the real deal! I've adapted the method slightly to simplify things, without compromising the end product :)

Ingredients (makes about 40 madeleines - this is a lot of madeleines! Consider halving the recipe!)

6 whole eggs

300 g of sugar

110 g of cold milk

375 g of flour

15 g of baking powder

410 g of butter, melted  (that's a lot of butter! This explains why they are so freaking delicious!)

Orange Glaze:

200 g of sugar

57 g of freshly squeezed orange juice

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Then add the sugar and whisk vigorously! Alternatively, this entire recipe can be done using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
• Then  add the flour, baking powder and whisk…
• Add the melted butter and whisk. 
• Place the dough into a pastry bag (or a large high quality ziplock bag), and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
• Butter the madeleine molds lightly (too much butter in the crevice grooves will keep the batter from seeping into the crevices which give the back of the madeleines that wonderful scallop shape). 
• Generously flour the entire mold, and then slam it sideways onto a counter surface to remove excess flour.
• Remove the dough from the fridge. If you used a ziplock bag, snip one lower corner of the bag so that you can squeeze the dough out into the madeleine molds. Pipe and fill each mold, starting in the middle and working outwards. Do not fill the mold completely to the edges. The dough will spread out and fill the mold nicely as it bakes, and will grow considerably. 
• Place the molds on a baking sheet and bake at 445°F  (middle rack) for six minutes. Turn the tray around and then bake another 5 minutes. 
• As soon as they are done, take them out and immediately slam the mold sideways to remove the madeleines. Place them individually on a cooling rack, and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile make the orange glaze. Use a mixer or whisk to blend the orange juice and sugar. 
• Once the madeleines are at room temperature, dip the top of the madeleine surface into the orange glaze mixture, and set them aside on a rack sitting on a baking sheet to catch the drippings.
• Place the rack and baking sheet of glazed madeleines into the oven for about 1 minute, watching for the glaze “bubbling” on the edges – indicating they are ready to remove and cool (I always skip this last step completely).

Enjoy!!