These Vegan Gingerbread Madeleines are soft, tender and warmly spiced with ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. They're an easy festive vegan Christmas bake. Get the recipe below.
These Vegan Gingerbread Madeleines are a festive twist on the classic French madeleine. They have a distinctive shell shape and soft, tender crumb that you expect from a madeleine, but are flavoured with ginger, cinnamon and a little nutmeg for a delicious gingerbread-inspired treat!
Madeleines are traditionally baked in a special shell-shaped mould, which gives them their prettty ribbed edges and characteristic hump in the middle. Getting the hump is all about the termperatures of the oven and chilling the batter before baking, so don't skip time in the fridge!
These Vegan Madeleines are made without eggs or dairy, using butter, soy yogurt and soy milk instead. The result is a light and delicate little cake with crisp, golden edges and a beautifully soft centre. If you want to try my traditional Vegan Madeleines check out the recipe here. I've also got a Vegan Ghost Madeleines recipe.
This variety are perfect for Christmas baking, festive afternoon teas or simply enjoying with a cup of tea or coffee. If you're looking for an easy vegan Christmas recipe then these gingerbread madeleines are a lovely alternative to traditional gingerbread biscuits.
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Ingredients
To make these Vegan Gingerbread Madeleines you're going to need the following ingredients:
- Plan flour - this is the base of the madeleine batter and gives the cakes their soft, delicate texture.
- Baking powder - helps the madeleines rise and develop their characteristic hump.
- Ground cinnamon - adds a sweet, warming spice.
- Ground ginger - the main flavour in these gingerbread-inspired madeleines.
- Ground nutmeg - just a pinch adds extra warmth and depth.
- Salt - enhances all of the other flavours.
- Vegan butter - adds richness and helps create a tender crumb.
- Caster sugar - sweetens the madeleines.
- Soy yogurt - add moisture and helps replace some of the richness normally provided by eggs.
- Soy milk - loosens the batter and helps create a soft texture.
Step-by-step instructions
- Step 1: prepare the dry ingredients by sifting them together in a mixing bowl.
- Step 2: mix the wet ingredients until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
- Step 3: pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold until you have a smooth batter - but try not to over mix as this can make them tough rather than light and tender. Place the batter into the fridge to chill.
- Step 4: prepare the madeleine tin by brushing with melted butter while you pre-heat your oven.
- Step 5: fill the madeleine moulds with roughly a tablespoon of batter. Do not flatten the batter out!
- Step 6: Bake in the oven on a high heat until the humps form then turn down the oven for the remained of the cooking time.
- Step 7: once the baked madeleines have cooled a little, transfer to a wire rack and dust with icing sugar. They are then ready to serve!
Hint: don't skip the chilling stage and don't flatten out the batter when filling the mould. The combination of cold batter and a very hot oven is what creates the hump. If the batter is warm or spread too thinly in the mould you may end up with flat madeleines.
Substitutions
If you need to, you can make some of the following swaps. But, baking is a science and I recommend sticking to the original ingredients list so far as possible!
- Vegan butter: you can use your favourite block-style vegan butter but margarine will do if you can't get vegan butter.
- Soy yogurt: this can be replaced with any other unsweetened plant-based yogurt such as oat or coconut yogurt but thicker yogurts may produce a slightly different texture and different varieties may alter the flavour.
- Soy milk: use another plant milk if you prefer. Oat milk or almond milk would both work well.
Variations
Put your own spin on this recipe with one of these variations:
- Orange gingerbread madeleines: add the finely grated zest of an orange to the wet ingredients for a more fruity flavour.
- Chocolate dipped gingerbread madeleines: skip the icing sugar and dip the maddeleines in dark chocolate when they are cooled to add a chocolate element.
Equipment
You will need some "specialist" equipment for this recipe. You will need:
- Madeleine tin
- Mixing bowl
- Jug
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Pastry brush
- Sieve
- Cooling rack
Storage
Vegan Gingerbread Madeleines are best eaten on the day they are baked.
If you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
You can also freeze the madeleines for up to 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
The hump is created by the combination of chilled batter and a hot oven. The sudden change in temperature encourages the batter to rise quickly in the centre.
The batter may not have been cold enough when they went into the oven. Or the oven wasn't hot enough. You may also have spread the batter too thinly in the tin.
Make sure the madeleine tin is thoroughly greased with the melted butter before adding the batter. Allowing the cakes to cool for a few minutes before removing them also helps them release more cleanly.
The recipe
Vegan Gingerbread Madeleines
Equipment
- Madeleine tin
- Mixing bowl
- Jug
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Pastry brush
- sieve
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 150 g plain flour
- 1¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch salt
- 110 g vegan butter melted
- 100 g caster sugar
- 100 g soy yogurt
- 50 ml soy milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220°C / 428°F / Gas Mark 7.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt into a mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 100g melted vegan butter, the caster sugar, soy yogurt and soy milk until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold until just combined.
- Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Melt the remaining 10g vegan butter and brush the madeleine tin thoroughly with it.
- Once the batter has chilled, spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of batter into each madeleine shell.
- Gently shape the batter into the shell without flattening it.
- Bake for approximately 4 minutes, until the madeleines have formed their characteristic humps and are golden around the edges.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 and bake for another 4 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Allow the madeleines to cool in the tin for 5–10 minutes. Removing them too soon and placing them directly onto a wire rack may leave indentations in the cakes.
- Carefully remove the madeleines from the tin and repeat with any remaining batter.
- Enjoy on the same day for the best texture.
Nutrition
Serving suggestions
Serve these Vegan Gingerbread Madeleines alongside a cup of tea or coffee. They also make a lovely addition to a festive afternoon tea!
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