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

5.0
Judy
I can echo everything that has been said in the previous three reviews. The personalization of this entire trip was incredible and Emilie communicated quickly and completely, both in the planning of the trip and after we were in France. My husband and I were spending four weeks in France in celebration of our 50th anniversary. We were a little …
Natalie & Family
My husband was born in France and moved to Australia in 1970 when he was just 5. He went back for the last time in 1980 and had not returned since. In January 2017 I started to formulate an idea to surprise him with a trip back home. Being Australian, we love road trips but without his French language skills I felt a bit scared to start booking …
Joey
We found France Just For You on Trip Advisor as we were beginning our plans to visit France. All of the TA reviews raved about quality of service and planning by Emilie so we decided to have Emilie plan our 3 week trip to France. Now we know why all the reviews of France Just For You are "excellent". We spent time in Paris, Dijon area, Loire Valley …
Wendy & Ron
We could not be happier. When we first received the guide book and brochures, we thought we would not need them, but they were invaluable! Our first stay with Florence and Phil was especially memorable but really we cannot think of a highlight because it was all wonderful. We will certainly recommend your company to anyone we know travelling to …
Elle
Laura and Emilie planned such a professional, authentic and fantastic trip that it has become one of my favorite vacations! Excursions, accommodations, and suggested activities were flawless -- such that the only difficult decision for us was what to select from scrumptious French cuisine. I was hesitant at first to trust an unknown online trip …
Kelly
My husband and I just returned from a 9 day trip to Burgundy and Provence. We had fairly high expectations based on all the reviews we had read about France Just For You. I must say, the trip far exceeded those expectations and was such a memorable experience. The B&Bs recommended were right in line with what we were hoping and the hosts were …