These Gluten-Free Vegan Madeleines are moist and fluffy, and just as delicious as the traditional version! They're crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, refined sugar free and come together in one bowl. They're simple and elegant and great for dessert, a snack, parties, Christmas or afternoon tea!
At first I was unsure whether the point of the tin was to merely create pretty shapes or whether it had some other culinary purpose, but I did discover that the madeleines tasted particularly special after being baked into these shapes as opposed to being baked into cupcakes.
It turns out, the shape of the tin makes the outside of the madeleines crispy and "buttery", whilst the inside stays beautifully moist and fluffy. So do use a madeleine tin to make these if you can!
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Mix together all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Tip: Use a measuring jug to measure out the plant-based milk.
- Transfer the batter into a madeleine tin.
Tip: Make sure to grease the tin with plenty of oil, to make the madeleines easier to remove after baking!
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Transfer to a cooling rack to leave them to cool.
Substitutions you can make
- You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
- You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
- You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
- You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground walnuts.
- For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds.
- You can use plain flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you're not gluten-free.
Flavour substitutions
- You can replace the lemon zest/juice with orange zest/juice.
- You can add chocolate chips.
- You can add dried cranberries.
- You can add fresh or frozen fruit, such as raspberries or blueberries - for this you can use my Raspberry Madeleines recipe!
- You can dip them in melted dark chocolate.
How long do these Madeleines keep for?
These Madeleines taste best when fresh, but keep covered in the fridge for a couple of days.
More gluten-free vegan baking recipes
- Red Velvet Cake
- Chocolate Truffle Cake
- Tropical Carrot Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Cherry Bakewell Cake
- Black Forest Cake
- Coffee Walnut Cake
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I'd really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Watch how to make this recipe
Gluten-Free Vegan Madeleines
Ingredients
- 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 120 ml (½ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 75 g (⅔ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
- 75 g (⅔ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if not using any other oil).
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the lemon juice, lemon zest, maple syrup, vanilla and ground almonds.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it's looking too dry.
- Transfer mixture into a madeleine tin - make sure to grease the tin with plenty of oil, to make the madeleines easier to remove after baking!
- Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Once out the oven, remove from the tin and transfer onto a wire rack to cool.
- Tastes best when fresh, but keep covered in the fridge for a couple of days.
Video
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog - thank you.
Thomas
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing Rhian! 💚🌱
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much!
Luisana
This recipie is so good! I love that they are not overly sweet so they pair really good with tea or even ice cream. My only issue is that I can't get them to be crispy on the outside, I even left them a couple of minutes after the skewer came clean and still nor crispy. Is there some recommendations you might have?
P.s.- I did use a Madeline tin and followed the recipe exactly as described and even made a second batch with agave and still not crispy.
Rhian Williams
Thank you! Sorry to hear that. What type of gluten-free flour did you use? Did you leave them to cool on a wire rack?
Melissa
Holy cow these were PHENOMENAL. I just stumbled upon Rhian's Recipes and gave it a try for a vegan friend. I used regular flour and added a dash of salt. Straight out of the oven (and with a little sugar sprinkled on afterward), this was one of the most delicious things I've ever had THANK YOU SO MUCH RHIAN I love you
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!
Tas
Can regular castor sugar be used in place of liquid sweetener
Rhian Williams
Yes!
shushma
Hi Rhian
i tried your madeleine receipt today but despite cooking for about 20 minutes the cake was still not cooked, could it be because l used juvela flour?
Rhian Williams
Yes I think so! It's best to stick with the flours in the recipe.