These Vegan Easter Madeleines are the perfect sweet treat to make this Spring. A classic light vanilla sponge with crisp golden edges and a fluffy middle, topped with a decorative chocolate detail, and cute bunnies. How adorable are they!? And they are unbelievably Vegan, Egg-Free and Dairy-Free! Keep reading to learn how to make them.
Vegan Easter Madeleines
Easter baking is one of my favourite times of the year. I love getting creative with all the chicks, eggs and bunnies. Recently I was kindly gifted a madeleine tray from Le Creuset and this gave me an amazing idea to create easter bunny themed madeleines. I am obsessed with how they turned out!!! An airy and light vanilla sponge is topped with dairy-free white chocolate. I coloured the chocolate with pink food gel to create a cute easter effect.
Looking for more Easter recipes, check out my Vegan Lemon Sheet Cake, Vegan Carrot Cake Cookies, Easy Vegan Mini Egg Cookies and Vegan Carrot Cake. Find more of the BEST Easter recipes linked here.
What are Madeleine’s?
The madeleine is a traditional small cake, from the Lorraine region in northeastern France. Madeleines are a small, bite-sized sponge cakes with a distinctive elegant shell-like shape acquired from being baked in pans with shell-shaped depressions. They can be topped with a dusting of icing sugar or chocolate shell.
The traditional way of making madeleines is by using a genoise cake batter that is baked in a madeleine baking tin pan. This type of batter contains butter and eggs. However, my recipe takes on basic vanilla madeleine with a decorative twist with vegan & 100% plant based ingredients. The decoration is added into the pan, with a baked madeleine is placed on top, they’re then chilled and peeled away. The design is effective and is unbelievably simple to create. Great fun for the kids to make and decorate.
Why you’ll love my Madeleines:
Just one look at these vegan madeleines and you’ll be in love. If you want some in depth reasons on why you’ll absolutely love these little sponges, I’ve listed below:
- 100% vegan – this recipe doesn’t contain any animal derived ingredients!
- Super easy to make.
- Simple yet effective design, perfect for Easter / Spring.
- Light and airy in texture!
- Delicious vanilla flavour.
- No tricky technique.
- Perfectly shell shaped, with the classic and iconic ‘hump’ on the base.
- Super cute design.
- Made in a madeleine tin / pan for the classic look.
- They have a delicious white chocolate shell.
- Ready in under half an hour.
- Can be ready to bake in 10 minutes.
- Great served with a cup of tea or coffee!
Ingredients you’ll need for Vegan Easter Madeleines:
With less than 10 ingredients, I’ve listed all the ingredients you need to make these vegan madeleines below. Jot these down on your shopping list to pick up on your next shopping trip / grocery run. Full recipe and ingredient quantities are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- All-purpose / plain flour – Sieve the flour before use to remove any clumps.
- Baking powder – Helps gives the sponge a light, spongy and airy texture.
- Caster sugar – Use a fine, white sugar.
- Dairy-free milk – I personally use soya, but alternatives such as oat, almond and cashew work great too!
- Oil – Use a neutral flavoured oil. My personal favourite is sunflower oil.
- Apple cider vinegar.
- Vanilla extract – You can use vanilla extract or seeds from 1/2 a vanilla pod.
- Dairy-free white chocolate – Use a good quality vegan white chocolate which melts well. My personal favourite is the Sainsbury’s own brand free from white chocolate. You can of course use what is available to you, and one you enjoy!
- Pink and black food gel – Make sure to use food gel and not liquid food colour, as this can seize the chocolate. You want to use a small drop of food gel, my go-to is Rainbow Dust Pro Gel range! I use their pink and black for this recipe.
How to make Vegan Easter Madeleines
You’ll be surprised with how simple vegan madeleines are to make. They may look technical and difficult to make (this was my initial thought before I made them), but you’ll be pleasantly surprised! A key to the perfect French madeleines is the tin / pan. It’s the only way to get the characteristic shape. I use the Le Creuset Madeleine Pan, which I greased before using. It’s amazing!!!! You can find the full written recipe and method in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Batter
Mix the all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients. Pour wet into dry and fold to combine into a smooth, lump free batter.
- Piping
Transfer into a piping bag, snip off the tip. Pipe the batter into the greased madeleine tin, don’t over fill.
- Baking
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the madeleines are golden in colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Chocolate design
Melt the white chocolate. Transfer 3 tablespoons of melted chocolate into a piping bag, snip off the tip. Pipe bunny shapes into the madeleine mould. Chill to set. Colour the remaining chocolate pink then pour out over the white bunnies. Press a madeleine sponge on top.
- Final decoration
Remove the madeleines from the tin. Use left over pink chocolate to pipe on the bunny ears and nose. You can also colour some of the pink chocolate with black food gel and dab on two small dots for the eyes.
- Serve
Serve the madeleines with a tea or coffee and enjoy!
Vegan Madeleines FAQ
How do I prevent the madeleines sticking?
- To prevent the madeleines sticking to the pan, you’ll want to grease the tin with dairy-free butter. I like to use clean hands, and use my fingers to get the butter right into each grooves of the madeleine tin. This will ensures nothing sticks. The madeleines should slip out of the tin after baking.
What food colour to use?
- You want to use a food gel, NOT liquid food colour. Food colour will heavily effect the texture and consistency of the chocolate, causing it to seize, which makes it difficult to work with and to get the smooth, glossy appearance you want. It also doesn’t give the vibrant colour which food gels do. My go-to food gel is the Rainbow Dust Pro Gel range. All of their colours are suitable for vegans too!
Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
- Unfortunately this recipe is made and tested with gluten based flour. I am currently working on a gluten-free Madeleine recipe, so check back soon!
What white chocolate to use?
- To make the bunny shell design, you’ll want to use a dairy-free / vegan white chocolate. It’s always worth testing a few different white chocolate brands before using on your final bake. Some vegan white chocolate brands go grainy or even seize when melting when adding in a food colour. My favourite dairy-free white chocolates are supermarket own branded, such as Sainsburys Free From White Chocolate. I also love iChoc Vanilla and Moo Free White Baking Drops.
How to get the madeleines out the tin?
- Grease the tin with dairy-free butter before adding in batter. The madeleines will simply slip out of the moulds. An easy trick to remove them after adding the chocolate (as sometimes they may stick), I like to use a spoon, get under the madeleine and use a little pressure and they’ll just pop out.
How do I store them?
- These French madeleines are best served after they’ve cool down from baking. They are also best served just after the chocolate has set. However, you can store them in an airtight / sealed container for up to 3 days in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature before enjoying. To prevent them from sticking to each other, I recommend placing a piece of grease-proof paper in-between each madeleine.
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram , TikTok and Facebook! And if you want to pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Happy baking all!
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Vegan Easter Madeleines
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The CUTEST Vegan Easter Madeleines – Light & airy vanilla sponge is topped with a white chocolate ‘bunny’ shell. Easy to make for Easter.
Ingredients
Method (sponge)
- 120g of all-purpose / plain flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 70g of caster sugar
- 120ml of dairy-free milk (I use unsweetened soya)
- 40ml of sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Method (chocolate)
- 300g of dairy-free white chocolate
- Pink food gel
- Black food gel
Instructions
Method (sponge)
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan and grease a madeleine pan / tin with some dairy-free butter, making sure to get into the shell ‘grooves’.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and sugar. Whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the dairy-free milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Pour the wet into the dry and fold together to combine. Mix until there isn’t any flour showing, then stop.
- You can either transfer the batter into a piping bag, snip off the tip and pipe in the moulds or simply use a small spoon. Spoon/pipe the mixture into each madeleine shell. TIP: Don’t fill them completely full as they will rise when baking).
- Place into the middle of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Check after 10 to see how well they’re baking, they may need a few more minutes in the oven. Keep an eye on them to prevent from burning. You’ll know they’re ready when they’re a golden brown in colour and a toothpick/skewer inserted down the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool. As the tin was greased, the madeleines should slip right off the tin. Place on a wire rack.
- Clean the madeleine tin with a paper towel to remove any excess sponge or grease. Place into the freezer to prepare for the chocolate coating.
Method (chocolate)
- Fill a small saucepan 1/4 full with water and place on the hob over medium heat. Into a heatproof bowl, add the dairy-free white chocolate and place over the pan.This creates a bain-marie. Allow the chocolate to melt, stirring with a heat proof spatula. Remove from the heat.
- Transfer 2-3 tablespoons of the melted white chocolate into a piping bag and snip off the tip.
- Pipe bunny shapes into the madeleine mould (refer to video for reference). Place back into the freezer to set. You want the bunny design/shape to set before pouring on the coloured chocolate or it could mix together, and you wont see a visible shape.
- Colour the remaining chocolate with the pink food gel.
- Spoon 1/2 tablespoon amount of the pink chocolate into each madeleine mould, over the white bunny shape.
- Press a madeleine sponge on top whilst the chocolate is still loose, pressing down enough so that the chocolate coats the madeleine. Place into the fridge to set. This will take about half an hour.
- Save some of the pink chocolate for the ears and nose. Place this into a piping bag and snip off a small tip.
- Colour the left over chocolate with black food gel, transfer into a piping bag and snip off a small tip.
- Remove the madeleines from the tin, pipe on two black dots for the bunny eyes and the pink nose and bunny ears.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-12
- Category: Cakes and layer cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Excellent recipe, tastes just like non vegan madeleines, my colleagues loved them. Thanks
Author
Hello, aw thank you! I am sooo happy you and your colleagues enjoyed, they are definitely a go-to vegan madeleine recipe xx
I made these today and it was a major success! I was nervous about getting them out of the tin with the chocolate, but they popped right out. I even made flower and butterfly shapes along with the bunnies. My family thought I bought them from a bakery they were so good. Thanks for this one!