Madeleines

Madeleines are a cookie that have been famous from historical writings like the French novelist Marcel Proust (1871-1922), Remembrance of Things Past. 

"She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called 'petites madeleines,' which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim's shell. And soon, mechanically, weary after a dull day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate, a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, but individual, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory--this new sensation having had on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me, it was myself. I had ceased now to feel mediocre, accidental, mortal. Whence could it have come to me, this all-powerful joy? I was conscious that it was connected with the taste of tea and cake, but that it infinitely transcended those savours, could not, indeed, be of the same nature as theirs."


Madeleines are probably one of the most recognized of all of the tea cookies. The shape is very playful, as well as the light texture of it. Which makes a very versatile cookie for simple elegance. The only downside of the cookie is that it has a very short shelf life, so they are best made to order; best served within an hour or two of baking. For a bakery, this could be too labour intensive to make it worth it.

Butter, melted

Petits Four: Demi sec
Formula: yields approximately 20 cookies
This formula is from the Michel Suas Book Advanced Bread and Pastry, A Professional Approach, Pg. 472

81.63% Sugar, 92 g
12.24% Brown sugar, 16 g
0.41% Salt, 1.7 g
16.33% Honey, 21 g
110.20% Eggs, 115 g
100% Pastry flour, 129 g
2.86% Baking powder, 21 g
100% Butter  (82% fat, melted), 129 g
Total: 423.67%

Batter with flour, with butter

MOP:

• Sift the dry ingredients 
• Mix sugars, eggs, and salt. Lightly aerate until it changes colour.
• Sift flour over the top. Fold in by hand.
• Temper part of the batter into the butter. You want to do this because butter has a heavier density then whipped sugars and eggs. So if you do not temper it in then it will fall to the bottom of the bowl and will not mix well.
• Put the tempered part back into the main portion of the batter. Fold in.
• Pour into a lined tin and chill. You can hold the batter up to three or four days. You need to refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour (best, also best held over night). You want to hold the batter so that the gluten can rest and so it will be easier to pipe the batter.

• Treat the madeleine molds sparingly with melted, not hot, butter.
• Dust with flour, knock out the flour so that there is only a thin dusting, not a coating.
• Pipe the batter 2/3 of the way into the madeleine molds. 
• Bake, staged, at 390°F for 2 minutes. Then drop the oven to 340°F for 10-12 minutes. Until you have slight goldening, not browning.



Ben's madeleine,
slightly over baked

• Cool briefly and then gently knock out the cookies onto a clean parchment pan. If you leave the cookies in the pan too long it will make it hard to remove. 

• Cool the madeleine to touch.
• They are commonly dusted with powdered sugar using a dredger (you can simply make this by taking a cup filled with powdered sugar, put cheese cloth over the top, and secure it with a tight rubber band).