Best Ever Spanish Magdalenas Recipe

It’s time to revolutionize your breakfasts. Say goodbye to the days when your breakfast was plain white toast or oatmeal.

We’ve prepared for you a simple recipe to innovate the most important meal of the day.

We are talking about nothing more and nothing less than the Spanish Magdalenas, one of the most popular dishes in the south of Spain for breakfast and one of the most famous Spanish desserts.

They are delicious and easy breakfast muffins, and anyone can follow this recipe step by step without any problems.

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Background of the Dish

Due to its name being so similar to the French dish known as madeleines, some people are confused with these dishes but they are somewhat different.

The Spanish Magdalenas were served centuries ago in Andalusian houses and received their name because a young woman named Magdalena gave cupcakes to the pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago when they arrived in the south of the country.

That made them spread throughout Spain, becoming the best breakfast muffins.

Their popularity is not only due to their taste, but they are also easy to make and simple to eat (we assure you, after eating one you could eat hundreds). 

Things You’ll Need for Spanish Magdalenas

To make these Spanish treats, it is recommended that you have a tray to make cupcakes, as it will make your job easier. 

Otherwise, you can use a double layer of cupcake liners and put all the muffins together in a bowl to prevent them from losing their shape.

Apart from that, to make this breakfast muffin recipe you only need a couple of ingredients that are easy to get and you can even make several changes if you don’t have some of them.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup (200 g) white sugar (plus a couple of tablespoons for dusting)
• 3/4 cup + 3 tablespoons (200 ml) vegetable oil
• 1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
• 2 3/4 cups (350g) flour
• 1 tablespoon (15g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 pinch of salt

How to Make Spanish Magdalenas – Step by Step Guide

1. To start making this magdalenas recipe you have to preheat the oven to 230ºC while you continue with the next steps.

2. Beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture rises in volume and takes on a pale yellow color, about 5 minutes. You can do it by hand but it is better with a hand mixer.

3. Then add the oil, milk, and lemon zest. Beat again for a few seconds until the mixture is homogeneous.

4. Now sift the flour together with the baking powder. Add these ingredients to the previous preparation along with a pinch of salt. Mix making enveloping movements with a spatula, from top to bottom, just until the flour is integrated.

5. Place the paper cups on the tray and fill them up to 2/3 full with batter. Sprinkle a little sugar over the top of each cupcake. Just a little, otherwise your cupcakes will be flat.

6. Put the tray in the oven and, at that moment, lower the temperature to 200 ºC. Bake the cupcakes for about 15 to 20 minutes. 

7. After that, insert a toothpick into one of the Spanish magdalenas and if it comes out clean, they are ready. 

8. For the final step, let the tray cool for a few minutes and once the Spanish sweets are lukewarm, transfer your homemade magdalenas to a rack so that they finish cooling there.

Substitution of Ingredients

Spanish Magdalenas are breakfast muffins, so they are usually sweet, but you can choose to innovate.

You can easily modify the ingredients, or change it to become a savory dish.

For example, follow the step-by-step as listed, but use olive oil, and instead of lemon zest or vanilla essence use other flavors. 

You can even cut pieces of cheese and ham and mix them with the dough.

In that case, we recommend you use more tablespoons of salt (3 in total) and keep the sugar in the same quantity since that gives volume to the cupcake.

The best thing about these Spanish magdalenas is that you can make them with whatever you want.

Add fruits, nuts, chocolate chips, or any other favorite ingredients and you’ll get a variety of muffins to dive into.

When it comes to breakfast, the Spanish love to eat desserts, and another recipe you can try is the soft ensaymada bread.

Tips on Serving Spanish Magdalenas

If you make this magdalena recipe then you can eat them at any time of the day, although of course, the best option is having muffins for breakfast.

Without a problem, they can be turned into easy Spanish desserts, you just have to buy frosting or whip whipped cream and use it to decorate the muffin on top. 

You can use sprinkles or even chocolate sauce to drizzle on top.

Of course, if you do this it will move away from the traditional Spanish desserts, but it will be something delicious and can even be used to replace cakes at parties.

Are you curious about which are the best Spanish breakfast foods? You can know for sure that the Spaniards like to eat dessert for breakfast.

You can also try making some authentic churros, Spanish french toast, easy Spanish crepes, or Spanish spongecake for breakfast.

If you don’t want a dessert for breakfast, you can also try the Spanish tomato toast.

How to Store Spanish Magdalenas

This is probably the best breakfast muffin recipe because if you follow it step by step, then you have the opportunity to keep them at room temperature for a couple of days or in the freezer for a longer amount of time.

By room temperature we mean that you can store them on a plate on the counter and cover it with plastic wrap or a clean plastic bag, that is a very good thing since it does not happen with all Spanish dessert recipes. It can be there for up to 3 days.

In case you want to store it in the freezer, then you should let the Spanish muffin come to room temperature after cooking it, then cover it with plastic wrap (you can cover them all together or individually).

For when you want to eat it, let it thaw the night before in the fridge.

Recipe Card: Spanish Magdalenas

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