Baking madeleines without burning them

Question

I am making chestnut cream madeleines from almond flour. The recipe calls for baking at 320F/160C for 30 minutes, which almost burns the outside but leaves the inside baked.

I baked a second batch for 26 minutes, which leaves the outside a nice golden madeleine color, but the inside is underdone.

If I left them in the oven any longer, the outside would start to burn.

My goal is to get the outside and inside as correct and delicious as possible.

If I bake another batch, would I have more likelihood of success baking at a lower temperature for a longer period of time, or vice versa (high temp/shorter time)?

When I read recipes online, there is a wide variety of baking times and temperatures for this cake, and they use wheat flour, not almond. So I appreciate any advice relevant to baking with that type of flour.

Answer 1

If the insides aren't cooked when the outsides are, you're cooking too hot. Lower the baking temperature... try a batch at 300F for 30 minutes and test them. If that doesn't work, drop it another 15-20 F and extend the time a bit.

It's all a matter of getting the right balance between heat to cause browning and time to let the inside cook completely.