I haven’t eaten carbs in three weeks, and as a treat to myself for being such a good girl, I passed by Tous le Jours today and bought me some baked goodies.
Tous les Jours is a French Asian Bakery that just opened its first Philippine branch in SM North. I swear I was salivating the whole time I was inside the shop, looking at those tasty treats in agony (OA!). But of course, I only bought a baguette…
and these madeleines…
These little scallop-shaped French tea cakes were made famous by Marcel Proust in his book In Search of Lost Time:
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. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, something isolated, 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 me. … Whence did it come? What did it mean? How could I seize and apprehend it? … And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane. The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it. And all from my cup of tea.
—Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time
And what of these madeleines? Well, they were really tasty but a tad too sweet for me. But then again, I haven’t had sugar in three weeks so maybe my taste buds have become a little dull. As for Marcel Proust, I can totally understand where he was coming from. If these madeleines were toasted to perfection, then I would probably experience the same ‘exquisite pleasure’ as they would surely taste like the butter cookies of my childhood (think M.Y. San).
Lemon Madeleines (by Martha Stewart)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted, plus more for pans
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted (not self-rising)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons total)
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter two madeleine pans; set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
- Put eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest and juice in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes. Mix in butter. Using a spatula, fold flour mixture into egg mixture. Let rest 30 minutes.
- Pour batter into buttered pans, filling the molds 3/4 full. Bake cookies, rotating pans halfway through, until edges are crisp and golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Let cookies cool slightly in pans on wire racks. Invert, and unmold. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
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