28/09/2021
Madeleine au Chocolat
“She sent for one of those short, plump cakes called Petites Madeleines that look like they were molded into the grooved valve of a scallop. And soon, mechanically, overwhelmed by the gloomy day and the prospect of a sad tomorrow, I brought to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had let a piece of madeleine soften. But the moment the mingled sip of the cake crumbs touched my palate, I flinched, aware of what was going on inside me. A delicious pleasure had invaded me, isolated, without the notion of its cause. – Marcel Proust
These shell-shaped cakes were created by a young servant named Madeleine Paulmier in the kitchen of King Stanislas during the reception in the Duchy of Lorraine in1755. The King appreciated the cakes so much that he sent a package to his daughter Marie, wife of Louis XV. Marie fell under the spell of these cakes and decided to name them Madeleine, in homage to the one who had created them.
Nowadays these cakes come in different shapes and are eaten as a snack or with friends, dipped in a bowl of hot chocolate. The madeleines are always a delight for young and old alike.
