Madlenky v carry an irresistible French charm, as if they were touched up with a gentle romantic caress. This light sponge cake pastry takes the shape of an undulating seashell. With their charming exuberance of shape, delicate flavour and intoxicating aroma, madeleines have become an indispensable sweet delicacy not only in French cuisine.
Madeleines are best enjoyed fresh. It is said that they are at their tastiest exactly one hour after they come out of the oven, but we have to admit that we like them anytime. Fluffy, crispy and so wonderfully fragrant. The history of madlenieks is shrouded in mystery, which is why we can't say for sure who invented the recipe for these plump little cakes.
The most famous story, however, is from the 18th century. According to this legend, Madame Paulmier was serving at the court of Louis XV and during one of the feasts she unexpectedly had to prepare a quick dessert. She did not want to admit that she had forgotten dessert, so she quickly baked biscuits in an aspic tin.
Marcel Proust also loved Madeleines
Ode to the Mademoiselle by the famous French writer is familiar even to those who have never read his work The Search for Lost Time. The author illustrates the powerful influence of quite small things on our memories and emotions through the story of the Mademoiselle. A crumb of this delicious biscuit was enough to transport Marcel Proust to a distant childhood:
... my mother sent for one of those little plump cakes called madlenki that look like they've been shaped into a grooved shell. And soon, disheartened by the gloomy day and the prospect of a sad tomorrow, I lifted a teaspoonful of tea to my lips, in which I let a piece of madlenka soften. But at the same moment that the sip, mingled with the crumbs of cake, touched my palate, I jerked myself up and concentrated on the strange things that were happening inside me. A feeling of delicious pleasure washed over me, an isolated sensation with no conscious cause...
(Marcel Proust, The Search for Lost Time)
Fancy a fluffy biscuit? We will be happy to prepare them for you according to our traditional recipe. Just visit our restaurant or order a box of biscuits via our e-shop.
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