Madeleine Tea Cakes: A Lesson in Life

Years before relocating to Paris I worked in restaurants. The most notable being Ristorante Ecco (now closed) in San Francisco's hip South Park area which was one of the top ten Italian restaurants for years (anyone remember it?). I worked as Garde Manger preparing hot and cold appetizers, gourmet salads, and assembling all the desserts during service.

Easily this was a job meant for several people but I managed. One day our pastry chef quit. She was also working for the famous restaurant, Stars, in SF and couldn't handle both. I was asked to take her place while continuing with my Garde Manger position since we had a small cooking staff and none of the other Chef's had any extra prep time. Baking for the first time in a restaurant was a total nightmare. Thank God Italian desserts are much simpler than French ones!

I made every costly mistake in the book. Including not tempering the eggs right for our Creme Brulée, using bread flour for a cake that required all-purpose flour (the bins weren't labeled – how was I to know?), cooking cheesecake until it wasn't jiggly in the center and not letting it set afterwards, wasting over ten kilos of Valronna chocolate because I didn't temper it right – oh the list is endless!

There were many nights when the servers would tell the clientele that we were "sold out" of a particular dessert because I messed it up during the day and didn't have time to go back and re-bake it. I learned the hard way without the aid of a fancy cooking school education how to bake. And I did get really good.

Fast forward to Summer of Paris 2005. I decided to go to cooking school and relearn all the things I had done wrong. I started my education at Le Cordon Bleu with a basic pastry class. I thought I was going to be best in class due to my vast experience in desserts. I was sure that no one would equal my skill, speed, or artistic creativity. I was wrong.

Parisian desserts are a science. They are not "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" like Italian desserts. On our first day we were given scales to weigh ingredients as opposed to the traditional measuring cups, a full case of knives and pastry utensils, and an enormous notebook with recipes covering every famous French pastry and cake that you can imagine.

Our first recipes included several tried and true French tea cakes and biscuits – the Madeleine included. I whizzed through the first recipes faster than anyone in the class. My pastry skills and muscle memory seemed to come back naturally. Even the teachers were impressed. And then came the Madeleines.

I whipped through the simple recipe – maybe too fast – and waited for the rest of the class to catch up so we could put our little cakes in the oven at the same time. When the oven buzzer went off I was excited to see my shell-like cakes with the traditional little bump on the other side (a phenomena that no one can explain, but signifies a well baked Madeleine).

I was even more excited to taste their buttery spongy-ness. Our beloved pastry chef took out the cakes and stacked them on the cooling racks. One looked particularly horrible. The Madeleines had puffed up too much and formed one cake over the whole tray and the ingredients seperated.

I remember thinking, "Oh, I'm sooooo glad those aren't mine. How embarrasing." and then when I couldn't identify my cakes as any of the other perfect golden brown delicacies, I went nervously to see whose name was on the ugly batch.

Yup, they were mine. The chef came over to me and said in broken English, "Zheese ahre yourz?" with a look that can only be compared to one who has seen the Grim Reaper in person.

"I guess so." I replied, close to tears. He then proceeded to quiz me on how I made them and if I had measured everything perfectly. I assured him that I had. "Zhees happens you know, with zhis biscuit and no one knowz why" he comforted me. He popped one in his mouth and told me they tasted excellent. They did taste good at least.

I have made these several times since and I haven't had the same problem. Most likely, I rested the batter longer than every one else's in an extremely hot classroom and perhaps I wasn't as exact with my measurements as I should have been.

This little cake taught me some lessons: there is no place for ego in the kitchen, be exact when baking a recipe for the first time, learn from your mistakes. Madeleines are a specialty of the northeastern French town, Commercy. They are baked in shell-shaped molds and often served with tea.

Bonne Chance!

Madeleine Tea Cakes

(makes 2 dozen large madeleines)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 big pinch salt

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons honey

4 eggs

Grated zest of 1 lemon (or orange)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 3 pinches of vanilla powder

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 Madeleine molds, pastry bag and plain tip

Butter and flour madeleine molds by brushing with softened butter and then flour. Tap out extra flour.

Sift dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl cream eggs and sugar with whisk or electric mixer, until light yellow and creamy. Add honey and lemon zest and beat until blended. Beat in the melted butter just to incorporate. Don't overmix. Let rest for 10-15 minutes covered with saran wrap. Meanwhile set oven to 400˚F.

Pipe batter with pastry bag and tip into madeleine molds about 2/3's full (about 2 T). Bake for 5 minutes at 400˚F then reduce heat to 350˚F minutes and cook about five minutes more until golden. Cool. Eat and enjoy!

Comments

[Sharmini]

Hi, I've been quietly following your blog for a while and have been thoroughly enjoying each and every one of your stories about working in the restaurant. You've got me hooked!

And boy, do these madeleines look great! Would it be possible to share the original weights of the ingredients. Unfortunately I'm more used to baking with weights, and the American cup system just has me completely befuddled.

Thank you! And thanks for sharing.

[sfgirl]

you even make me want to work in a restaurant...or at least hang out in the kitchen as unglamorous as it sounds i'm having fun reading your successes. thank you for sharing!

[Ms. Glaze]

Hi Sharmini, I will definately get those measurements to you. Give me a few days because I'm traveling and I don't have my utensils handy to do accurate conversions!

Merci Sfgirl – I like to think that all success is glamourous ;-)

[thebizofknowledge]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. These little cakes look so good and simple. I've gotten to the age where those other heavy, frosted, sickly sweet confections no longer have the same appeal they once did.

[thebizofknowledge]

I stumbled upon this site as I was in the process of doing some online research. Italian desserts, delicious though they are, are not to be compared to French ones. And not many people can make them. You're right, it's a science!

[Mark]

Hi once more. You might remember me from my French lessons in a bookshop. I was wondering... I really like these cakes but what exactly do you mean by 1 3/4 baking poser?? Is that cups of?? Grams? Lorryloads? And what are poser or is that powder? And is cake flour what we call self-raising in England? Oh yeah, I've one final question for you. I've never been able to find out what zucchinis are. Is that what we call courgettes by any chance? Sometimes I really think it's true, when they say, that America and England are divided by a common language. Yet sometimes we're a lot closer than you might think. In my part of England, Suffolk, we have a few US airforce bases and the other day I overheard some young kids squabbling over whose turn it was to go on the teetertotter. I thought, "Wow." Because that's almost exactly what we call it in East Anglia -- teeterma'tawter. The rest of England just call it a plain old seesaw. Anyway, best of luck to you back at the old grindstone and may your waistline not rejoice too much...

[l.millet]

Wow, I love your blog!

One question. Last year I bought a scale and measure everything now -result: fewer mistakes!

But what of eggs? Yes, they are graded different sizes, med, large, jumbo but when I open a box -they are all different! What do you do about eggs when the recipe is so delicate?

[lavender]

I'm so glad that I've found your blog! Just love you telling us so many stories behind these Paris restaurants. Keep up with your excellent job!!!

I love baking, been taking baking courses and a big fan of French food. Hopefully I can visit Paris in this coming October.

Good luck with your culinary work at Paris.

[Pam]

I've been testing madeleine cookies recipes over the last couple of days now. I want to include them as wedding favors when I start my wedding cake business. I stumbled across your site today and made them. They were so easy to make and undoubtedly the best madeleines I have ever tasted! Thank you for the recipe!

[Andrew]

Love your blog! I am actually in the process of applying for Le Cordon Bleu Paris, for the Basic Cuisine cert program. I don't know what to expect... but reading your blog has given me a glimpse into how life will be like to be a student there. Thanks so much for putting your awesome experiences into these blog entries. Good luck with your culinary career!

[Lee]

L love your madeleine. Would it be possible to get the measurements in metrics ? Thank you very much.

[LEE]

I have requested earlier for metric measurement of your lovely madeleine, but you must be busy.

Please help if you can. Thanks.

[Jenny Lillibridge]

Please, what is baking poser?? I found it in a recipe for an egg puff recipe and don't know if it is baking soda/powder or something else. Thanks.

[Jenny Lillibridge]

Please, what is baking poser?? I found it in a recipe for an egg puff recipe and don't know if it is baking soda/powder or something else. Thanks.

[Sharon]

What is "baking poser"

[Ms. Glaze]

must be 'powder', sorry!

[Ms. Glaze]

Sorry, Try 1 3/4 T baking powder. Baking poser, how stupid of me!

[LEE]

Kindly share the measurements in metric please as I have tried the recipe without success.

[Fausto Pacheco]

Hi AMy, I gonna be at Le Cordon Bleu London, to take the Pastry Course in Intensive schedule, I would like to ask ypu some advice, because reading your posts, I starting to realize that will be very very intensive.

Best Regards

[kim emerson]

I see in your recipe, "baking poser". What's baking poser? All I can guess is it's a typo for baking powder. Thanks

[Kira Newman]

Hello,

I am a journalism student in Paris writing an article on the Cordon Bleu. I was wondering if you'd be willing to answer a question - when you were at the Cordon Bleu, did you feel constrained by the focus on French rather than other cuisine?

Hope to hear from you,
Kira

[red ribbon bakeshop]

this is new to me thanks for the recipe of Madeleine Tea Cakes.

-missey

[hellen]

dear，i'm a marketing student,rencently we have a project about French food, we decided write something about Madeleine. we are all foriengers and no idear about French Food Culture, would you tell me which brand or store is the most famous Madeleine brand? thx a million.

[Wags! :)]

thanks so much for the recipe!! im doing a project in my honors french class and were making french pastries, and i cant wait to try to make these!! :) i was just wondering if you knew a store where i might be able to find the right kind of pan to bake them in to get the aquitted bumps on top? THANKS!

[Jordan 1]

cake is a nice dessert, but it's easy to get fat, so try to eat less...

[Flowers Tea]

Thanks a lot for sharing this wonderful tea cake of yours.

~Cindy

[marijuana detox]

o asked me to share my recipe for the delicious buttery famous French Madeleine tea cake and Kathryn who was my cooking partner in pastry at Le Cordon Bleu. I'm sure that Claire had no idea her request would bring up a plethora of memories... but, well, food is t