{"id":8249,"date":"2026-10-19T15:17:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T06:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8249"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:49:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:49:15","slug":"madeleine","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/madeleine\/","title":{"rendered":"Madeleine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One side is marked with radiating grooves, while the other swells into a rounded hump. The madeleine is a French cake made by baking a batter of eggs, sugar, flour and butter in small molds. It is known as a specialty of Commercy and Liverdun in the Lorraine region, and it spread through sales at railway stations. It also appears in a scene from a literary work in which taste and aroma bring memories of the past back to life.<\/p>\n

\n\"Shell-shaped\n
Madeleines from Commercy (February 4, 2007; location unknown). The grooved side and the swelling on the opposite side are visible. Photo: myself (Bernard Lepr\u00eatre) \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 2.5<\/a>. Original-size image obtained. No alterations to the content and no cropping made by us.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The Grooves of the Mold and the Swelling at the Center<\/h2>\n

The shell pattern is the impression the grooves of the mold leave on the batter during baking. As the cake bakes, the center rises; the side in contact with the mold takes on grooves, and the opposite side forms a rounded hump. The shape also changes depending on the dimensions of the mold, the amount of batter used, and how the batter is rested. Lemon and orange-blossom scents have been handed down in Commercy, and some modern professional recipes (recettes: ingredient proportions and method) finish the cakes by dipping part of each one in chocolate after baking.<\/p>\n

\n\"Japanese\n
A Japanese madeleine in a round, fluted shape (date and location unknown). Unlike the shell-shaped kind, it is baked in a flat form. Photo: Syced \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC0<\/a>. Reduced-size version from Commons obtained. Released under CC0 by the photographer. No alterations to the content and no cropping made by us.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

A Batter Made with Whole Eggs and Melted Butter<\/h2>\n

Whereas a typical financier<\/a> is built around egg whites, almonds and browned butter, the madeleine uses a whole-egg batter. Beyond the outward shape, whether gold bar or seashell, the way egg yolks, nuts and fat are handled changes the aroma and texture.<\/p>\n

In a modern lemon-flavored recipe from Valrhona, zest is grated into the sugar, which is then combined with whole eggs, honey and cream; melted butter is added after the flour and leavening agent, and the batter is refrigerated overnight. Because the citrus peel is first worked into the sugar, the aroma comes through differently than when only juice is added later.<\/p>\n

In a recipe using pralin\u00e9, milk and nut paste are mixed together vigorously, a little at a time, melted butter is then added, and this mixture is folded into the batter of eggs and flour. This recipe calls for 12 hours of refrigeration. The two recipes also differ in baking temperature and time. The mixing method and baking conditions are adjusted to suit how honey, cream, milk and nuts are used.<\/p>\n

The madeleines of Paris Ogawaken in Shimbashi and Meguro are made with marzipan, honey, eggs and butter. An almond-and-sugar paste is added, and the cakes are crafted to bring out the aroma of honey and butter.<\/p>\n

A Warmed and Mixed Batter Recorded in an 1815 Cookbook<\/h2>\n

In the method described in Car\u00eame’s Le P\u00e2tissier royal parisien, published in 1815, citron peel is rubbed against sugar, and whole eggs and egg yolks, flour and liquor are combined. Each mold is brushed one by one with clarified butter, the rest of the butter is mixed into the batter, and the batter is set over low heat and taken off the heat once it reaches a flowing consistency. Unlike the modern method of refrigerating overnight, this procedure warms the batter so that the fat blends in.<\/p>\n

The same book also includes variations with raisins, pistachios and candied citron, as well as a method of coating one side with icing. Some are even hollowed out from the underside and filled with nuts and apricot marmalade, or with chocolate or vanilla cream. In the 19th century, too, a wide variety of madeleines were made, with different flavorings or with fillings inside.<\/p>\n

\n\"A\n
A plate of homemade madeleines (July 8, 2019; location unknown). Several small cakes have rounded humps. Photo: FredRbl \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Original-size image obtained. No alterations to the content and no cropping made by us.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The 1755 Record and the Legends of Two Madeleines<\/h2>\n

Menon’s Les Soupers de la cour, from 1755, includes a “g\u00e2teau \u00e0 la Madeleine.” It is made by working together flour, butter, whole eggs, sugar, citrus and other ingredients, then shaping the dough into small pieces and coating them with icing; it neither specifies a shell-shaped mold nor describes any person from Commercy. Although the name is the same, the description of its form differs from that of the later shell-shaped cake.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there is a famous legend set at the court of Stanislas, Duke of Lorraine, around 1755. As the story goes, the steward and the pastry cook quarreled at a dinner, and the cook left, taking the dessert with him; a young servant, Madeleine Paulmier, hurriedly baked her grandmother’s little cakes, and the duke named them after her.<\/p>\n

In another version reported by a bakery and pastry trade paper, Stanislas revives the cakes of Madeleine Simonin, who had served Cardinal de Retz a century earlier. The version in which Paulmier bakes on the spot and saves the day and the version in which Simonin’s cakes from the previous century were revived differ in when the cakes came about and in how they reached the court. Both the Paulmier and the Simonin stories have been handed down as legends of the madeleine’s birth.<\/p>\n

Commercy Madeleines Spread by Rail<\/h2>\n

It was the railway that set Commercy madeleines spreading to other regions. According to the town’s historical overview, the Paris\u2013Strasbourg line opened in 1852, and sales were permitted on the platform at Commercy station. During stops of a few minutes, madeleines were sold through open train windows and carried with passengers to distant places. Station sales continued until the mid-20th century.<\/p>\n

Liverdun, also in Lorraine, has its own separate history of production and packaging. An exhibition by the regional library traces local production back to 1870 and states that boxes depicting a woman painted by the Nancy artist Jean Scherbeck later became a hallmark. In addition to plain, there are mirabelle and bergamot flavors, and the madeleine has been carried on as a specialty in Liverdun, separately from Commercy.<\/p>\n

Memory Revived by Taste and Aroma, as Depicted by Proust<\/h2>\n

In Swann’s Way (Du c\u00f4t\u00e9 de chez Swann), the first volume of Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, published in 1913, the taste of a madeleine dipped in tea brings back to the narrator the Combray of his childhood. What he recalls is the small piece he was once given by his Aunt L\u00e9onie. A memory that had not returned at the mere sight of the cake revives through its taste and aroma, and expands into the sensations of the town and of daily life.<\/p>\n

This scene was not written with a madeleine from the start. Drafts from 1907\u20131909 also passed through versions with old bread, toast and biscotte. The small cake that Proust chose in the course of rewriting became a symbol of memory that revives, prompted by taste or aroma, even without any conscious effort to recall.<\/p>\n

The British Madeleine, Coated in Jam and Coconut<\/h2>\n

The British madeleine of the same name is tall and shows no shell grooves. For Prue Leith’s English madeleines, soft butter and sugar are creamed together, whole eggs, self-raising flour and vanilla are added, and the cakes are baked in deep dariole molds. Once cooled, they are trimmed flat and stood on their wide end; warmed cherry jam is spread over the sides and top, they are coated in desiccated coconut, and a glac\u00e9 cherry is placed on top. Although it shares its name with the French madeleine, it is a cake that differs in the shape of the mold and in the ingredients covering its surface.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Menon<\/strong>: An 18th-century French cookbook author. He recorded the “g\u00e2teau \u00e0 la Madeleine” in Les Soupers de la cour, published in 1755.<\/p>

Stanislas \/ Madeleine Paulmier \/ Madeleine Simonin<\/strong>: The former King of Poland who became Duke of Lorraine, and two women who appear in differing legends about the origin of the small cake bearing that name.<\/p>

Cardinal de Retz<\/strong>: Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Paul de Gondi, a 17th-century politician and cleric. He appears in another origin story associated with Commercy.<\/p>

Car\u00eame<\/strong>: A 19th-century French chef and pastry cook. Author of Le P\u00e2tissier royal parisien.<\/p>

Citron<\/strong>: A citrus fruit with a thick, fragrant peel.<\/p>

Clarified butter<\/strong>: Butter from which the water and milk solids have been separated, leaving mainly the butterfat. It differs from browned butter.<\/p>

Prue Leith<\/strong>: A British writer who shares cooking and baking knowledge. Her English madeleine recipe is published through a television program.<\/p>

Dariole mold<\/strong>: A small, deep mold that is wide at the top and tapers slightly toward the bottom.<\/p>

Pralin\u00e9<\/strong>: A confectionery ingredient made by processing nuts and sugar. Some recipes mix an almond and hazelnut paste into the batter.<\/p>

Browned butter<\/strong>: Butter heated until its milk solids color and give off aroma. An ingredient of the financier used here for comparison.<\/p>

Commercy \/ Liverdun<\/strong>: Towns in the Lorraine region of northeastern France. Both are known for making madeleines.<\/p>

Jean Scherbeck<\/strong>: A painter from Nancy who painted the woman pictured on the Liverdun madeleine boxes.<\/p>

Mirabelle \/ bergamot<\/strong>: The former is a small yellow plum, and the latter is a fragrant citrus fruit. Both are also used as flavors for the region’s madeleines.<\/p>

Combray \/ Aunt L\u00e9onie<\/strong>: The childhood setting of Swann’s Way, and the character who gives the madeleine. Combray is distinct from Commercy, the town where madeleines are made.<\/p>

Marcel Proust<\/strong>: The author of In Search of Lost Time. He used the madeleine in a scene where sensation and memory are linked.<\/p>

Paris Ogawaken<\/strong>: A confectionery shop in Shimbashi and Meguro. This article discusses the madeleine, as published by the shop, made with marzipan, honey, eggs and butter.<\/p>

Marzipan<\/strong>: A paste-like ingredient made by kneading almonds and sugar together. It is added to batters or shaped and used for decoration.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. \n

    Les Nouvelles de la Boulangerie-P\u00e2tisserie Fran\u00e7aise, \u201cLa madeleine\u201d<\/a> \u2014 A 2016 trade-paper article. The storyline of the “cook leaves at dinner” version and the earlier Simonin version, and the claim that station sales were authorized in 1874. No primary records are included.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  2. \n

    Bimikyushin, \u201cMadeleine\u201d<\/a> \u2014 A transcription of the relevant recipe from Menon’s 1755 publication and a comparison with Car\u00eame (1815). The linked Gallica original returned a 403 error, so the relevant page was not viewed this time. The author’s inference about transmission through the court is not adopted.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  3. \n

    La Madeleine de Commercy \u2013 Ville de Commercy<\/a> \u2014 The 1852 railway, sales through train windows, lemon\/blossom scents.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  4. \n

    Madeleines | Valrhona Chocolate<\/a> \u2014 Milk\/fat mixing in the two recipes, overnight\/12-hour refrigeration, the baking conditions for each, chocolate finish.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  5. \n

    Financiers and chocolate cream dip | callebaut.com<\/a> \u2014 Differences in the financier formula.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  6. \n

    Exposition Les Madeleine c\u00e9l\u00e8bres \u2013 Ville de Commercy<\/a> \u2014 The Paulmier legend.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  7. \n

    Limedia, \u201cL\u2019histoire des c\u00e9l\u00e8bres gourmandises lorraines\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Liverdun 1870 \/ boxes \/ flavors.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  8. \n

    Les mod\u00e8les de Marcel Proust dans les collections du d\u00e9partement des Manuscrits | BnF – Site institutionnel<\/a> \u2014 The literary scene and sensory memory.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  9. \n

    A. Car\u00eame, Le p\u00e2tissier royal parisien, 1815, tome I, pp. 157\u2013160<\/a> \u2014 Citrus-peel aroma worked into sugar, whole eggs and egg yolks, a batter blended with clarified butter over low heat, and variants with raisins, pistachios, peel or icing, as well as hollowed-out, filled variants.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  10. \n

    Prue Leith English Madeleines \u2013 The Great British Bake Off<\/a> \u2014 Mold-baked cakes with creamed butter, whole eggs and leavening; dariole molds and unmolding upside down; decoration with cherry jam, coconut and cherries.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  11. \n

    Biblioth\u00e8que nationale de France, \u201cMarcel Proust. La fabrique de l\u2019\u0153uvre\u201d exhibition press kit (2022), p. 14<\/a> \u2014 Tea, Aunt L\u00e9onie, childhood Combray; the change from bread to madeleine in the 1907\u20131909 drafts.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  12. Editorial Notes<\/h2><\/li>

  13. The two invention legends of Paulmier and Simonin are not treated as inventions proven by court records from 1755. The people and dates are retained in the text, and the stories are described as legends.<\/p><\/li>

  14. Paris Ogawaken, \u201cMadeleine\u201d official product description<\/a> \u2014 Actually read: product description 96\u201398, the headings with the product name and shop name, and the Meguro workshop at 54 in the baked goods list. Prices, shelf life and reviews are not used for the method or history. Generalization to all Japanese madeleines; the originator of the Japanese flat style or the period when it became widespread; identification with Ogawaken shops of other lineages.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The madeleine is a small French baked cake that bears the grooves of a seashell. Golden-brown edges and a soft center, the ridges from the mold and the swelling on its back: a single palm-sized cake shows many different faces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6392,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Madeleine","subtitle":"The shell mold and its swelling, and the story of Commercy","topics":"Shell mold \/ Whole eggs and butter \/ Commercy traditions","country":"France","show_toc":true,"ingredients":[],"texture":[],"occasion":[],"method":["baked"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[151],"class_list":["post-8249","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":[8870,8876,8886,8936,8931],"sweetlore_related_faqs":[8216,8220,8234,8215],"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"manual","sweetlore_related_articles":[8248,8250,8251,8254,8255,8257,8258,8259]},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t