Sugar Bowl Bakery Madeleines Inspire A Twist On Summer Shortcake

If you are a lover of French Madeleines, you may know Sugar Bowl Bakery. Sugar Bowl bakes five-million madeleines a day in their California and Georgia facilities, and ships them across the USA. I love the classic vanilla recipe with just a hint of lemon flavor.

But if you like flavors, they also make seasonal variations like pumpkin spice in the fall and lemon in the spring and the exotic summer guava madeleines.

Guava may sound like an unusual flavor choice but if you know the family behind Sugar Bowl Bakery, it makes sense. As Kevin Ly, pastry chef and director of research and development told me, “they have always been about quality ingredients, consistency and listening to both their wholesale and retail customers.” Their Pacific Northwest customers asked them to create a guava flavor because it has become so popular, and they worked it into their seasonal/summer madeleine line.

Sugar Bowl Bakery was founded in 1984 by five Vietnamese brothers. The Ly brothers immigrated to the US in 1979 and worked odd jobs to save money to buy a coffee shop in San Francisco.

The business that they purchased was known for coffee and baked goods, and they added Chinese and Vietnamese beef noodle soup in case the baked goods didn’t bring in enough revenue. The original business was called Sugar Bowl. They kept the name without a clue that it would become the perfect name for their future business.

Using French-inspired family recipes, they made sweets for the neighborhood community and they were so popular that they opened 5 additional Sugar Bowl coffee shops. Soon hotels and restaurants and big retail accounts like Costco were asking the brothers to bake for their customers. In 2010, they closed the retail coffee shops to focus on being a wholesale bakery.

Today, they are one of the largest minority-owned wholesale bakers in the country. Everything they make is just like you would make at home, only on a larger scale. The ingredients are simple, butter, eggs, sugar, etc.—all-natural, no chemicals or preservatives. Instead of using additives, they control the humidity level and wrap some of the items individually to extend the shelf life.

In addition to the Madeleines, they also make Palmiers, a.k.a. elephant ears, Brownie Bites and Duet Bites. The Duet Bites are the perfect combination of madeleines and brownies—think black and white cookie but cakey-brownie. They are so good, that when I moved and couldn’t find them at my local Costco, I made them myself from scratch. Later this year, the bakery will open an e-commence site selling direct to consumers but for now, if you can’t find them in your area, you can fill a mini muffin tin with half madeleine batter (recipe below) and half your favorite brownie batter. I promise you will love the end result.

The Ly brothers have never published their Sugar Bowl Madeleine recipe before and if you have followed a multi-step traditional French recipe, their streamlined recipe may surprise you. This is one madeleine recipe that is easy enough to make on the spur of the moment. The end result is sweet and delicate with a light lemon accent from the lemon zest.

When I took a bite, I realized that these madeleines might be the key to a better berry shortcake. I’ve made shortcakes with store-bought sponge cakes, homemade pound cake, cream biscuits and even pie crust, and the base is usually just an excuse to eat the berries and cream. I wanted to see if a madeleine berry “shortcake” would be an improvement.

I had some strawberries, blueberries and raspberries on hand, and I couldn’t help but try it out even though it was technically still breakfast time. I placed 2 madeleines on a plate, added the berries, and a touch of whipped cream. One bite and the next five confirmed that madeleines and berries are made for each other. This simple French-inspired shortcake is not only an improvement but the best berry shortcake that I’ve ever eaten!

Sugar Bowl Bakery Madeleines

Kevin Ly, one of sons of the founders, says he “graduated from high school and started baking.” At his father’s recommendation, he also studied baking and pastry arts at the CIA to get a formal education that could help the family business, and today he is the director of research and development. This is his home recipe for Sugar Bowl Bakery Madeleines.

1 Stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon more for prepping the pan

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

2/3 cup granulated white sugar

¼ cup distilled water

1 teaspoon best-quality vanilla extract

Zest of ½ Lemon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 370°F and prepare your Madeleine pan by brushing with melted butter or a neutral vegetable oil.

2. Melt butter in a microwave and allow to cool to room temperature.

3. In a small bowl, sift together flour and baking powder and set aside.

4. Place eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using a paddle attachment, mix the eggs and sugar for 1-2 minutes on speed 4. Add the water and mix to combine.

5. Add vanilla and zest and continue beating for another minute.

6. Fold in the flour mixture with the paddle attachment until just blended.

7. While the mixer is on low speed, drizzle the cooled butter over the batter and mix until fully incorporated. Do not over-mix.

8. Refrigerate batter for 30 minutes—this helps the flour hydrate and contributes to the signature hump on the top of the madeleine. Don’t worry if you don’t get the hump, they will still taste great!

9. Fill each Madeleine mold ¾ full with batter—I use a 1/4 cup dry measuring cup to do this or you could transfer the batter into a glass measuring cup with a lip.

10. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the edges are lightly golden brown.

11. Cool on a rack until room temperature and serve alone, or with berries and whipped cream.