Madeleine...Found at Last!

After months of trolling the Brocantes and Vide Greniers earlier this year in France in search of an authentic, antique "Madeleine" baking tray, my dear husband also affectionately known as "Monsieur Honey" found just what he was looking for in a local shop while we were on vacation in Florida.

He probably could have bought one months ago in one our local shops if truth be told.

No it is not an original rusty, blackened tin one but this shiny new tray is Teflon coated and hopefully will provide a tasty treat just as the older versions did.

Madeleines are small scallop shaped cakes popular in France.

Msr. Honey wanted me to bake a batch of these sweet sponge cake treats immediately.

So now I was on the hunt for a recipe to try out this newest addition to our kitchen baking utensils.

I used the ever wonderful internet to search for the perfect recipe and was successful in finding many versions for these sweet tea time treats.

Funny thing happened during our last few days on our vacation, we were visiting friends and while preparing dinner one evening the television was on the Food Network channel.

"Giada at Home" was airing an episode titled "Cooking School Made Easy" where she was making her version of three French inspired desserts.

While training at the Cordon Bleu in Paris, Giada and her classmates had to do everything by hand with no mixing tools and no shortcuts allowed.

In this episode Giada simplifies the recipes for the home chef.

One the recipes happened to be for Madeleines...I have shared recipe in this post.

I was able to postpone the baking until we returned home and I was back in my own kitchen,

We arrived home from Florida on Monsieur's birthday and did not celebrate in any grand fashion.

As a treat for Monsieur Honey's birthday instead of "a cake with candles" I baked him a batch of Madeleines.

    Golden with crispy edges...hot from the oven.

    A light dusting of confectioners' sugar...

    Ready to enjoy! Maybe a little heavy with the sugar dusting...

There is quite a history behind the Madeleines, about who made the first one and so on...but it was the French author, Marcel Proust who wrote about this sweet cake treat in his autobiography ...

"A la recherche du temps perdu" or "Remembrance of Things Past".

He says the taste of the cake plunges the narrator into his childhood.

Proust's "Madeleine" has become a metaphor in France for anything that creates a vivid memory.

Is there anything that you eat or drink that brings on a vivid memory of your childhood? 

Here is the recipe ...

Honey-Almond Madeleines*

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentis

Prep time:                    8 min.

Inactive Prep Time:   15 min.

Cook Time:                15 min.

Level:                          Easy

Serves:                      12 madeleines

Ingredients:

Butter, for greasing moulds

All-purpose flour, for dusting

Batter:

2 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup yellow cake mix (recommended Betty Crocker Supermoist Butter Recipe)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Special equipment: 12 (3-inch) non stick Madeleine molds

Directions:

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Butter the molds liberally with butter.

Dust with flour and set aside.

Batter: 

In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy.

Add the cake mix, butter, honey, water, lemon zest, and almond extract.

Beat the ingredients on low speed for 30 seconds.

Increase speed to high and beat until batter is smooth about 2 minutes.

Spoon batter into the prepared molds.

Bake until the edges are golden and the center of the cookies spring back when touched, about 15 to 16 minutes.

Cool for 5 minutes.

Using a small rubber spatula, remove the madeleines and arrange scallop side up on a wire rack.

Cool for 15 minutes and serve.

*Copyright 2013 Television Food Network*

You can then sprinkle with sugar or serve plain.

For Monsieur Honey's Birthday...we dusted them with sugar, served with Devon English custard and some ice cream...my Monsieur comes by his name "Honey" not only as a term of endearment but because he loves to eat sweet desserts.

P.S. I made the recipe again this past weekend as a special treat for my visiting grandchildren, this time I used pure vanilla instead of almond extract...my little ones enjoyed them very much.