The Madeleine is a little buttery cake that originates from Commercy and Liverdun in northeastern France. These areas are close to Verdun, where we are offering our new World War I history tours. The name 'Madeleine' came from the first name of the lady of Commercy, who invented this French-style mini-muffin.

Quick Video of Emilie making Madeleines

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ39449kSiM theme:dark color:red provider:youtube]

 

The famous French author Marcel Proust wrote a long nostalgic passage in 'Swann's Way' about his childhood memories of dunking his madeleine into a cup of tea and putting it into his mouth: “No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate, than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me.” 

These are simple, elegant little cakes, and this is my recipe for making 18 little Madeleines.

Madeleine cakes

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 100g flour
  • 100g melted butter
  • 1 table spoon of baking soda
  • 75g sugar
  • 3 teaspoons of milk
  • lemon zest
  • some orange blossom water

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F

Step 2: Start mixing the flour, baking soda and the eggs a little, followed shortly by the sugar, butter and milk, and continue to mix.

Step 3: Add the lemon zest and orange blossom water.

Step 4: Put the mixture in the molds and wait for 10 minutes before putting in the oven (an Amazon link in case you need the mold)

Step 5: Leave in the oven for about 8 minutes. Put a knife in a Madeleine to make sure it is cooked (the knife will come out clean when they are ready)

And finally... Boil the water for some tea, and enjoy your Madeleines just like Proust!

 

Bon Appétit!

 

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

Travelers Reviews

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Janet
We have traveled in Europe a dozen times. Our trip to France, the Loire Valley and Normandy was one of the very best. Their custom self-guided tours are based on places and activities that interest you. Emelie listened to what we wanted and created an itinerary that was just what we wanted as well as some suggestions for other things we might try …
Brigitte
We want to thank you and Guillaume for a wonderful itinerary and such amazing personalized attention. Every touch was added with so much special care and your willingness to answer all of my questions in such detail ahead of time was truly amazing. The guidebook and ‘care package’ you sent was so exciting and really helped us a lot with every day …
Roger
For my wife and me, Emilie planned three weeks of wonderful experiences. She was quick to respond to questions and crafted an itinerary which suited us. The selection of places to see, things to do, and where to eat were superb. Emilie added a charming personal touch. As it was our 30-year anniversary, she arranged for an accommodation to welcome …
Joel
We highly recommend Emilie’s services. She put together an excellent itinerary. She made all the arrangements and the guides she retained for us where top notch. The B&B accommodations were very good, the hosts were terrific and we enjoyed the other travelers we met at breakfast. We did two table d'hote dinners which were excellent and her …
Kris & Kristina
Thank you so much Emilie for all your hard work on our anniversary trip to St. Emilion and the Loire Valley! We had such a great time and everything you planned for us was just perfect. Having traveled to Paris and Nice many times, this was our first time exploring the countryside and we had a blast. We cannot thank you enough for everything! Kris …
Robert
From Bordeaux, Medoc wineries, Basque country of France and Spain, Carcassone, Dordogne, pre-historic caves, beautiful medieval towns and villages, switch-back mountain roads, sunshine, truffles, food & wine and gracious b&b hosts to final flight home, this was the trip of a lifetime! We drove over 3,200 kms with the help of our included gps and …