
Citrus Coconut Madeleines are one of our favorite treats: slightly sweet and flavored with lemon, orange and vanilla. In keeping with my recent post on why you should go grain-free, I’m sharing a tried-and-true, never-fail and cherished recipe: citrus coconut madeleines. I first fell in love with madeleines in a high school French class after reading Marcel Proust‘s Remembrance of Things Past.
These madeleines, like all madeleines, are best served with tea: take it with Earl Grey if you can tolerate caffeine or take it with my favorite – red tea. To make madeleines, you will, of course, need a madeleine pan. Alternatively, you can use any molded tin for a different shape.
| coconut citrus madeleines | Print |
- 6 Eggs from Pastured Hens
- ⅓ Cup Coconut Milk
- ½ Cup Wildflower Honey
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
- ½ Teaspoon Orange Extract (Orange Essential Oil in Sunflower Oil)
- ½ Teaspoon Lemon Extract (Lemon Essential Oil in Sunflower Oil)
- Zest of One Lemon
- ½ Teaspoon Aluminum-free Baking Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Unrefined Sea Salt
- ¾ Cup Coconut Flour
- Coconut oil to prepare the pan
- Preheat oven to 365 ° F. Please note that I live at an elevation of 10,000 ft, to compensate for the difference in altitude, you may need to decrease the temperature to 350 ° F.
- Grease your madeleine pan with coconut oil.
- Mix eggs, coconut milk and honey together with vanilla and citrus extracts.
- In a separate bowl, mix together coconut flour, salt, baking powder and lemon zest.
- Mix the egg, coconut and honey mixture with the dried ingredients taking care not to over-mix as coconut flour can soak up a lot of liquid.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the madeleines comes out clean.
- Allow them to cool, and serve with tea.

Wow! Thank you for inspiring me to go make something that doesn’t have grain or refined sugar!
Check out Julie’s last post: Choosing a Yogurt Starter (Part 3).
Sound and look yummy! I read it as eggs from “pasteurized hens” on first scan…yikes!
lol
Breeze
Check out Breeze’s last post: Lady Blue.
These sound amazing! Now to figure out where my madeleine pan is; it’s been a LONG time since I’ve used it! 🙂
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Thanks for posting this! I’ve been checking out coconut flour recipes with hopes of decreasing our carb & grain consumption.
Would you mind sharing how you preserve yogurt cheese? That sounds delicious!
Thanks!
Emily
Hi Emily –
I preserve yogurt cheese by straining the yogurt until it is very, very thick and can be rolled into little balls. Then I take those balls and put them in a mason jar and cover it with unrefined, extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of sea salt and add a few herbs: tarragon is nice or use whatever you have on hand. The yogurt is usually acidic enough, but the oil creates an anaerobic environment that preserves the cheese. This works well with homemade feta too.
Thanks! I will have to try this out soon. Can you substitute cow milk for the coconut milk? I don’t normally keep that on hand.
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Erica- I haven’t tried it that way, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. You just need liquid to make the batter so, really, any milk should work.
These look wonderful. I don’t have any pans that would work for this except a muffin tin – would that work?
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Shannon: I once used lemon oil only instead of orange and lemon and added some poppy seeds to the mix for lemon poppyseed muffins and it came out great. Just keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.
Hi Jenny – Looks like a good recipe you have created there. Thought maybe some of your readers would be interested to know just a little about the history of Madeleines (just click on my link). These little cakes are defintely best enjoyed with a cup of tea in the afternoon, but I’m not above giving them to my kids for breakfast. Happy blogging!
Ah les madeleines de Proust! And…Sans gluten!
I haven’t had madeleines in eons…I have to find a non non-stick/teflon pan first (which is can be tricky).
Thank you for posting this!
Check out Alchemille’s last post: Nourishing & Gluten Free Meal Planning.
I hope you enjoy them! I’m hoping to make a batch as soon as I can pick up some more honey. Yummy, yummy!
I love that you bake with coconut flour too! I will try to make a sugar-free version of these, perhaps replacing the honey with erythritol. Beautiful madeleines! I will be keeping up with your blog. 🙂
Could I use Lemon and orange juice in place of the essence do you think? I have trees bursting at the seams here! 🙂 what would you recommend?