I know, the pastry rage from France is macaroons [aka macarons] with colorful shops springing up on every block and at every farmers market. Who can resist the crunch and sweetness?
But there is another classic French cookie that must not be forgotten and that, in its way, is equally magnificent. Madeleines are a hundred years older and oh so different in concept. This is a sponge cake, baked in that iconic sea-shell baking tray — although the treats come from Madeleine Paulmier, a pastry chef in Commercy, a town in land-locked Lorraine.
These are tea cakes, soft yet resistant to the bite. Filled with exceptional flavors that only French butter and eggs can offer. This is the first cookbook from Barbara Feldman Morse and on these pages her inspired love for madeleines appears in every recipe.
She offers two basic recipes: the sponge cake classic requiring multiple bowl and a one-bowl technique she developed to let her speedily produce the cookies by the hundreds. Suzen and I are classicists — yes, I can read Latin — so we go with the multi-bowl method.
There are over 60 recipes in this book, some classic, and some American-inspired that might make a French head spin just a bit: Lox, Cream Cheese and Red Onion? Now that could be a winner in Brooklyn.
Here are the main chapters and some representative recipes to stir your appetite:
Not Just Plain Vanilla: Classic Vanilla, Dulce de Leche, Pina Colada, Eggnog
Morning Madeleines: those Lox, Cream Cheese and Red Onion gems plus Pumpkin Spice, Banana Pecan, and Peanut Butter and Jelly
Dark and Delux Chocolate: Dark Chocolate Espresso, Chocolate Chunk Grand Marnier, and Rocky Road
Fruit and Nuts: Peaches and Cream, Maple Syrup, Lemon Drop
Savory and Appetizer: Fresh Dill and Feta, Crabby, and Caramelized Onion and Asiago
Indulgent: Cheesecake, Bananas Foster, and Mudslide
Suzen and I have made the Classic Vanilla and felt ourselves transported back to a Paris sidewalk. It’s a perfect recipe: easy to follow, delightful to smell in the oven, and delectable from the first bite to the last. There are treats here to give you a year of experimenting. You could actually wear out your madeleine pan!
You know, madeleines are actually related to potato chips. You can’t eat just one. Thanks to Madeleines from Barbara, you can eat many and have each one be oh so distinctive. For your next dinner party, you can serve madeleine appetizers then surprise your guests at the end with dessert tray of chocolate delights. Plus that Dulce de Leche one, too! You can’t not do that one. You just can’t.