A book that I borrowed from the library featured a selection of food writings throughout history, including a small excerpt from Marcel Proust on madeleines from 1913. It was a particularly endearing post on the petite French cakes and how warming they were with a cup of tea.
It was a heady thought, reading words from the great Proust on something as mundane as madeleines. I happen to mention this to a fellow baker and she offered me a madeleine pan to borrow over the holidays. I could not recall eating a madeleine, let alone making them. I had, however, recently read a post on Vanilla Garlic on Chocolate Lime Madeleines.
The recipe was simple enough: chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, salt, and lime zest. The results were delectable, light little cakes with a wonderful hint of lime. I was quite pleased, so I also whipped out a batch with white chocolate instead of dark. The results were slightly different in texture, much more moist than the dark chocolate (probably due to the high fat content in white chocolate).
The process of baking and serving the madeleines was wonderful, and it built up my confidence in the kitchen. The little cakes were also a perfect compliment to a cup of hot cocoa after a long walk in the snow with the dogs.
