I know, I know. A gluten-free dessert recipe. Who really wants that? But it just had to be done.
As you probably know I’m not particularly special needs about my diet. (…Actually that’s a huge lie. I have a gourmet food-blog, HELLO delusional self). But! To be fair- as a rule I don’t follow much in the way of dietary restrictions (unless of course, you consider excessive Pain au Chocolat consumption a “restriction.”)
However! I have a close friend of mine who, for medical reasons, needs to keep a gluten-free diet. So I do what I can to try to make gluten-free (yet also palatable) baked goods whenever we’re having a potluck or dinner party or she needs a thank-you present for caring for our cats while we were in Europe for 2 weeks… And so as a result I’ve found myself entering the realm of bizarre flour-types and powdered nonsense, attempting to make sense of it all. 
Basically what I’ve decided is that it’s not worth it to obsess too much about flours because gluten-free people are typically so excited that you would even think of baking a gluten-free item that anything you create will make them jump for joy. However as gluten-eater I find it somewhat upsetting to have any sort of baked good that is dry, crumbly, and tasting oddly like fava beans (I’m talking about you, Bob’s Red Mill). Hence I have made small efforts to find a decently flavored and readily accessible all-purpose gluten-free flour: Trader Joe’s brand. (Also per my gluten free friend, Cup4Cup is an even better brand and can be located at Sur La Table).
Additionally, I think there are certain recipes that inherently are going to work better for gluten-free baking. It seems like recipes that involve something with a cake-like texture are going to perform better than a recipe for short-bread crust. You can almost always substitute gluten-free for regular flour in a cake recipe and expect a decent outcome.
Thus, basically what I’m saying is that armed with knowledge of easily accessible, non-funky tasting, gluten-free flour and the belief that I could basically make recipe exactly as written, I commenced with testing the famous Blé Sucré madeleine recipe.
And Oh. My. Word. You will forever be indebted to me if you decide to make this recipe.
Blé Sucré is a bakery in Paris that Dave and I visited a few months ago on our Europe vacation. I was, naturally, on a Proust-inspired mission to find the best madeleine in town. (Naturally). And armed with millennial-style googling skills and food-blogger-style dedication, Dave and I managed to locate such a pastry.
And wow. Just WOW.
Now I’m not overly impressed with madeleines I’ve had in the US; i.e. the ones served at the local Starbucks, for example. They’re not terrible, and certainly will satisfy my sweet tooth, but they’re more like firm vanilla pound cakes in a cute clam-shell shape. And this was somewhat my expectation in Paris as well… I assumed they would be good, but that I’d always truly prefer Pain au Chocolat. But now that I’ve tasted these pastries, I’ve begun to question everything I know to be true in this world… (and also Starbucks’ madeleines become completely disappointing when compared to the fluffy, buttery, perfectly puffed madeleines of Blé Sucré).
Taking things even further than I thought possible is the fact that the Blé Sucré madeleines are dunked in a light citrus glaze to make them even more decadent for a morning (or afternoon..or evening… or bedtime…) snack.
Gah!!! I. JUST. CAN’T. EVEN.
So upon my return home, I located and began attempting the Blé Sucré recipe. I’ve also failed at this recipe about 4x before realizing that you absolutely cannot use a dark (non-stick) madeleine pan and expect these to turn out correct. They will BURN, people. Gotta use tin for proper heat-conduction.
So the gluten-free recipe was the 5th test and was baked in my brand new TIN madeleine baking tray. And they turned out 100% perfect.
So I have no reason to not think that this recipe would work equally perfectly with regular flour, but since I have not personally confirmed this, I will not advertise it here. And thus, gluten-free is what you’re getting today. 
So I will end this post with- If you have a gluten-free friend take the time to make these for her.
She will think you’re an amazing baking-genius and you will both get to enjoy a delicious little madeleine pastry that tastes like it was straight from ovens of Paris.
Gluten Free Madeleines
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
That being said, make sure to generously butter and flour your tin to avoid sticking.
Well, they look spectacular! But I bet all the dead French pastry chefs are turning in their graves…
Hahahaha you are probably right… 0:-)
Ok I made these. Used Cup 4 Cup GF flour. Makes an amazing batter. Very silky. I used a dark non stick pan (because that’s what I bought before I checked.)and reduced the temp to 425. However, they baked up beautifully in 9 minutes. Darker on the bottom than I would like but no burning. I buttered and floured the pan but it really wasn’t necessary. My only problem was trying to squeeze it out of the bag as I am all thumbs. (You should have seen me try to learn to make stained glass-but I digress ) The batter is very stiff and kind of thick. But all in all fine. I ended up spooning it into the pan and there again I ran into a problem. I kept putting too much in each slot and as they are puffy they were over big. So I need to work on that. They are amazingly tasty and the texture is very nice. Almost custardy but thoroughly baked. Ok I just made the last batch smaller and they took about 8 min. I am not getting a nice pattern on the bottom though. Any suggestions? Also I crumpled up some foil in the bottom of a baking sheet and put them on that with the glaze instead of on racks. Worked fine. Next time I am going to try the top most rack to see if that helps with the browning on the bottom of the madeleine.
I’m not sure why the pattern isn’t coming out- I wonder if it’s because of buttering and flouring the non-stick pan? I’m pretty sure the extra darkness is due to the non-stick pan. If you get a regular tin one it doesn’t brown as much. But definitely keep us posted if you find a technique with the non-stick pan, since that’s what most people have!
Note to self: buy a madeleine mold. But a tin one. Only.
I’m so glad you posted these because I would have totally bought the wrong one and had madeleine disasters!
Yes! Tin is an absolute must!
I just made these and they taste great !!! I used coconut oil instead of butter. It didn’t take away from its taste. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much Karin! Love to have the feedback and am sooo happy you enjoyed them! 🙂
I tried these using the Namaste Gluten Free flour blend from Costco which has brown rice flour, tapioca starch, arrow root powder, sorghum flour and xanthan gum. It was an Epic fail! Trader Joes blend has brown rice flour, potato starch, rice flour and tapioca flour.
I believe the xanthan gum is the cause of the problem and possibly 1/2 tablespoon of baking powder is too much.
These puffed up like pillows and were soft and spongy when they cooled. They did not spread out in the pan either.
I’ve made regular madeleines many times with perfect results.
So I will try again with the TJs GF flour and see what happens. I would appreciate knowing if the baking powder measurement is correct. The flavor was good however. Thanks for the recipe.
Hey Teresa, Thanks for trying the recipe! I’d try it with the gluten free flour from Trader Joes and see what you think.. I have made these a couple times actually and so I think the measurements should all be correct including the baking powder amounts. They should puff up quite a bit and they are fairly soft, which is how the original ones are at Ble Sucre as well. Hope this helps!
I bought a mold to make these and didn’t see the note about tin until just now when I am prepping to make them. I have a non-stick mold. Any suggestions on how to alter the temperature? I have been gf for 2 years due to celiac disease, so I don’t even remember how gluten foods used to taste…I am not as concerned about them being exactly the same as the gluten version, I just don’t want burnt cookies!
Hey Stac… So I haven’t actually made this recipe successfully in a non-stick pan so I’m definitely not 100% confident in my recommendation. If I were in your shoes however, this is what I’d probably try- drop the temperature to 375 and take them out when they look set but not browned on top. They might not hump up quite as much. Rough estimated time maybe like 12-14 minutes? Check around 9 or 10 minutes just to be on the safe side though. If they turn out OK in the non-stick pan can you let me (and other readers) know what you did?
As a pastry chef, I can offer a tip for those trying to adjust temp bc of non-stick molds. First, it is the DARK COLOR of the mold that absorbs more heat, not the non-stick quality. Given that clarification, instead of preheating to a lower temp, like 375, try preheating to original temp, then immediately upon putting mold in oven, close door and drop temp to 375. This provides that all-important “oven spring” that will help them rise instead of spread, develop the iconic “pearl” on top, all while allowing the temperature to reduce gradually, preventing excess darkening.
This trick can also be used when baking muffins, etc, in which you desire a more pronounced dome. The intense initial heat helps the leavening agent do its thing before the heat sets the structure of the crumb, which ends the rising ability.
I’m going to try this in my silicon molds and see what happens!
Love your blog…I just discovered it this morning while perusing for GF recipes. Thanks!
Thanks so much for your help here Lisa!!!
Hi Sarah!
We recently discovered that my daughter is intolerant (wheat, wilk and refined sugar).
But I wanted to use my non-stick pan for madeleines 🙂 I found your recipe on Pinterest and I altered some things, so that it would be good for my daughter. And she liked it very much! 🙂
I put the altered recipe on my blog and made two links to your site. I hope that’s ok?
Greetings from Belgium,
Sofie
Absolutely! Thanks for citing my blog! Glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Hi I’ve just made these in my silicon Madeleine tray, (I’ve cooked gluten ones many times in these) they have come out perfect. I use a silicon tray which has a metal frame which make them cook perfectly every time. I’m not sure if you have the shop Lakeland in the U.S. But that’s where I bought mine from. Thank you for the recipe my son loves them!
This is the link to my tray:
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/19016/Lakeland-Silicone-Madeleine-Mould
Thanks for letting us know what worked for you! 🙂 This is great, thanks!
Hello! Just discovered this post. Have you ever made madeleines without baking powder, and instead, separating the eggs, beating up the egg whites, incorporating them into the batter, and using that to make them rise? A French gluten-free recipe that I found online (http://chefsansgluten.com/2014/01/09/madeleines-miel-citron-amande/) also uses baking powder.
However, I’ve always used beaten egg whites instead of baking powder. The recipe that I use is from this book (which was originally written in French): http://www.cookingbythebook.com/cookbook-reviews/tbt-cookbook-review-monets-table-by-claire-jones/
In any case, my main concern here was what kind of flour to use, so many thanks for the Trader Joe’s tip. I also appreciated your thoughts on using nonstick pans. I’ve had the same experience as you. My original madeleine pan is a tin one that I found in a secondhand store, and it works quite well.
Heey very interesting blog!
Hi just wonder is 1.5 cup of flour is same as 1 1/2 cup of flour just want to to make it sure before I will try it?
Yes it is!