With Valentine’s Day literally around the corner, we couldn’t help but come up with some recipe themed for the day. Not that we celebrate it in any way, but you know it better than we do, that’s what the people want. So the people do get these lovely Red Velvet Madeleines with white chocolate that are easy to make and take barely any time at all. And you can decorate them in so many ways, you will be too busy choosing which way to go for.

As I mentioned, we don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, and even our parents are not too into the festivities. So it has never been a thing really for us, but we know some people do enjoy celebrating the day of love. So the recipe had to reflect the colour of the day, red! And these red velvet Madeleines are so lovely, yummy and just the right size of sweet nothings you and your lover need. And if there is no loved one, then don’t fret – I will be making a fresh batch and not share with anyone at all.

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The best red velvet madeleines with white chocolate

What are madeleines?

I wrote before about madeleines for Jenny’s blog, where we shared these lemon & raspberry madeleines. But just in case you didn’t know, madeleines are small sponge cakes with a very distinctive shell shape on one side of them. This shape comes from the traditional mould pan they are baked into. The traditional madeleine is originally from Commercy and Liverdun, two small communities in the Lorraine region. And you might even recall the In Search Of Lost Time passage by Marcel Proust. The very classic bit where Proust uses madeleines as an involuntary memory of his childhood in Combray.

What is la madeleine de Proust?

Funny enough, I am sure we all agree we sometimes have a moment where we feel like a certain smell, taste or object even reminds us of something else completely. And that, my friends, is commonly known as la madeleine de Proust, or Proust’s Syndrome. It is described as an object, smell or taste of something that reminds us of something from the past, just like in the passage above.

Are madeleines easy to make?

Despite what everyone on the internet says, madeleines are actually not hard to make. I wouldn’t say they are a walk in the park, of course, as some little notes need to be made. But, if you do follow the recipe, you’ll be able to enjoy some of the best red Velvet Madeleines you’ll ever get your paws on. So get your mixer out, grab that madeleine pan that has been gathering dust forever and start baking!

What ingredients do I need to make these red velvet madeleines?

I love just how simple these red velvet madeleines are and how easy they are to make. Of course, we have not used the cream cheese glaze or frosting everyone seems to love (me included), but we replaced it with white chocolate for ease. But back to the ingredients we go. First off is unsalted butter, of the best quality as usual. Then you will need flour and baking powder, salt, honey and vanilla extract. The eggs – fresh, and large! – but also milk and red food colouring gel.

We have opted not to use cocoa powder but food coloring only because we did not have any on hand, but it appears in a lot of recipes if you check the internet. So easy ingredients, all widely available. And just a bar of white chocolate to decorate!

How do I make them?

First of all, you will need to melt the butter in a small pot and set it aside to cool down slightly. Then you’ll need to get to your standing mixer, where you will beat the eggs and sugar until they are light and fluffy. You will now add the salt, honey, melted butter and vanilla extract and combine. It’s now time to add the flour and the baking powder to beat them in quickly, for a minute or just enough for the flour to be fully incorporated but not overmix the batter. Because the overmixed batter is a bad thing over here in madeleines’ land!

Finally, you can mix the warm milk and colouring gel before adding it to the batter gradually. Fold it in by hand using a spatula, again not to overmix the batter. Then it needs to rest, so place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours before baking, or even overnight. Once you are ready to bake, you will grease your madeleine pan and fill it with batter leaving a bit of a gap on top, so as not to overflow it.

And how do I bake them?

Heat up the oven to 180°C and bake the madeleines for 10 minutes, or until the madeleines are cooked through but not darkened too much. Let them cool down fully in the mould, then transfer them to a cooling rack or wire rack to decorate.

Melt the chocolate, then you can either drizzle it on top of your madeleines or, if you want to cover them on their back, just fill the mould with some melted chocolate, spread it across it and place the madeleine in it. Let it cool completely and be careful when unmoulding it!