The desire to cook madeleine cakes has not left me for a very long time. I will not say that from the very moment I first picked up Proust. Then, to be honest, it never crossed my mind. But when one day a recipe for these little cupcakes accidentally caught my eye (one of the innumerable options that exist today), a whole string of associations immediately surfaced in my memory, at the origins of which was a book I once read. The tangle of memories associated with her in my case, of course, was not as multilayered and psychological as the one that was unwound in the soul of the Proustian hero with the taste of the notorious cake. But I remembered this lingering feeling of immersion in the text, as if in measured sea waters, whispering, lulling, enveloping you from all sides - and this, in principle, was quite enough.
Modern madeleines are usually shaped like oblong shells. "... Cake shells, so brightly sensual, in strict and pious folds ... " Sounds erotic, right?
I was delighted to discover what scope for imagination this simple recipe provides.
You can add a spoonful of orange liqueur to the dough. Or lemon. Or, for example, blackcurrant. In the latter case, it’s good to add some corresponding berries. In general, a variety of alcohol is very good in such pastries. For example, the addition of rum is also practiced very widely.
Add cocoa or melted chocolate (at the same time reducing the amount of flour) - and we get chocolate madeleines.
We add some matcha tea (also reducing the amount of flour) - and we get green muffins.
We add violet syrup (I only have this exotic syrup, but I think you can use various others) - and we get madeleines with a completely incomparable aroma.
As soon as the cakes are ready, you can drink tea and reminisce. Or dreams of our future tenderness with you))) Will you take a step towards me to try these madeleines?))))