Madeleines

A madeleine is a small, plump sponge cake, eaten like a cookie, often after dunking it in a cup of tea or coffee. No one is certain when madeleines first appeared, but one story dates their origin to the town of Commercy in Lorraine, later popularized at Versailles and then in Paris by Stanislas Leczinski, King of Poland and father-in-law of Louis XV. As the story goes, the cake was invented in 1755 during a feast given in Commercy by Leczinski at which a young servant named Madeleine cooked this traditional cake and saved the dinner. and once you taste them, you'll know why. The small, buttery French cakes, forever immortalized in Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, as a "little shell of cake, so generously sensual beneath the piety of its stern pleating", looking as though they had been moulded in the fluted valve of a scallop shell" are perfect for a Christmas tea party or paired with some gourmet tea to give as a holiday gift. You will need to have a madeleine pan for this recipe. Madeleines can be stored up to a week in an airtight container.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Brush the Madeleine molds with the softened butter. Dust with flour, then invert the mold to remove any excess of flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar and eggs and beat with a whisk until creamy.

Add the lemon zest, flour and baking powder, and vanilla and whisk until blended.

Beat in the softened butter and then the milk. Set the mixture aside for 10 minutes.

Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each mold to the rim. Bake the madeleines for 12 -15 minutes, until they feel springy to the touch.

Tap pan against hard surface to loosen cookies, then unmold onto a wire rack and let cool.