https://players.brightcove.net/5344802162001/1cMNiwC9oQ_default/index.html?videoId=6067544910001

So much of the success of a pastry depends on proper timing. In [Chef Dominique’s opinion](https://www.masterclass.com/classes/dominique-ansel-teaches-french-pastry-fundamentals/chapters/mini-madeleines/preview), the perfect example of this is the madeleine, the exquisite small French cake that elicited the most often-referenced memory recall in modern literature. 

Chef Dominique Ansel’s Classic Mini Madeleines Recipe: How to Make French Butter Cakes

 So we have eggs, so we're going to add the eggs one at a time with all the dry ingredients. Just incorporate a little bit and add one more egg. Before you mix everything together, make sure you leave your eggs at room temperature. It will have to combine everything together. So right here, there's no real way to mess up anything. If you mix all your dry ingredients and you add the eggs, you won't have any lumps. You won't have anything going on. And once you're done mixing, you'll have this thick paste, and the flour should be fully dissolved. This texture is slightly gooey, and everything is combined together. So that's looking good right now. And then we'll just make sure that everything is dissolved here with the brown sugar and honey and add everything at once in the batter. And then just with a whisk incorporate everything very well. We're going to emulsify the butter in the madeleine butter. So that's a very quick and easy recipe. So once everything is incorporated, you have a sort of liquidy batter and don't worry too much about it at this point. This is going to set in the fridge and once it's cooled down overnight is going to be a little thicker. It takes about 12 to 24 hours to rest so always make it the day before. And once you have the batter, you can keep it for a few days. And whenever you feel like eating fresh baked madeleines, you can always pack them and put them in the oven.

Marcel Proust immortalized madeleines in his appropriately titled novel *In Search of Lost Time*—tasting one of the tiny cakes brought back a rush of memories from his childhood, virtually transporting him to his past life. 

For Proust, it was the taste of the warm cake—not the mere sight of it—that triggered his sense memory, and he was the first writer to capture this ethereal relationship among taste, time, and memory.
For many chefs, a French madeleine eaten immediately after it comes out of the oven, still piping hot, buttery and golden brown, is the only way it should be appreciated. 
                    
Time is an essential ingredient in Chef Dominique’s madeleines. As such, he only makes them fresh to order in his bakeries (reassuring impatient customers that the time it takes the little cakes to bake is the same as the wait for a latte). 

When you bite into a fresh madeleine, he explains, that last puff of steam escapes and it’s as if “it’s taking its last breath.” Madeleines that are cooled on a cooling rack have lost their magic. Thus, it is imperative to make and serve the madeleines in quick succession. 

The small hump that appears on top of the madeleines is called the “pearl.” This hump is characteristic of madeleine, in much the same way a crease on the top of a loaf or poundcake is iconic.

This hump is achieved through two variables. 

1. First, the baking powder in the batter gives rise to the center of the madeleine when the heat of the oven hits the pan. 
2. Second, the shape of the mini madeleine pan itself promotes doming on top of the cake, since it sits on a non-level, convex surface.


Chef Dominique’s recipe makes the process for making these small sponge cakes seamless and easy.

1. First, you make the batter and allow it to rest for 12 hours, or overnight, so the baking powder in the batter has time to relax, which will, in turn, give the cake its characteristic light, spongy texture and not that of a dense, crumbly cake.
2. Secondly, because the batter only takes 4 minutes to bake, you can prep the mold, pipe the batter, and bake the madeleines in the same amount of time it takes to clear the dishes at the table and ready your guests for a delightful dessert.       

When making the batter for madeleine cookies, it is important to have all your ingredients be at room temperature so they will combine more easily. 

1. __The most important of these ingredients are the eggs__. Eggs are magical [emulsifiers, or binders](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-emulsification-and-how-does-it-work-plus-how-to-fix-broken-emulsions), that marry fat and liquid into a smooth mixture. If you’ve ever made mayo, you’ve seen how they bind the oil and lemon juice together to create a smooth sauce that won’t break. When you’re beating eggs into butter and sugar for a cake batter, this is another type of emulsion, binding the butter (fat) with the sugar (a liquid when heated). 
2. __For eggs to do their best job at binding, they need to be at room temperature__. Madeleine batter is made by mixing the eggs into the dry ingredients first (as opposed to mixing them into the liquid ingredients), so eggs will have a difficult time absorbing the flour if they are too cold. Cold eggs also have the possibility of re-solidifying the butter once it’s mixed into the dough, which would break the emulsion and result in a curdled, greasy dough.

So much of the success of a pastry depends on proper timing. In [Chef Dominique’s opinion](https://www.masterclass.com/classes/dominique-ansel-teaches-french-pastry-fundamentals/chapters/mini-madeleines/preview), the perfect example of this is the madeleine, the exquisite small French cake that elicited the most often-referenced memory recall in modern literature. 

Marcel Proust immortalized madeleines in his appropriately titled novel In Search of Lost Time—tasting one of the tiny cakes brought back a rush of memories from his childhood, virtually transporting him to his past life. For Proust, it was the taste of the warm cake—not the mere sight of it—that triggered his sense memory, and he was the first writer to capture this ethereal relationship among taste, time, and memory.

The Humble Origins of the Madeleine in French Literature 

For many chefs, a French madeleine eaten immediately after it comes out of the oven, still piping hot, buttery and golden brown, is the only way it should be appreciated. Time is an essential ingredient in Chef Dominique’s madeleines. As such, he only makes them fresh to order in his bakeries (reassuring impatient customers that the time it takes the little cakes to bake is the same as the wait for a latte). When you bite into a fresh madeleine, he explains, that last puff of steam escapes and it’s as if “it’s taking its last breath.” Madeleines that are cooled on a cooling rack have lost their magic. Thus, it is imperative to make and serve the madeleines in quick succession.

Why Are Madeleines Best Eaten Fresh?

The small hump that appears on top of the madeleines is called the “pearl.” This hump is characteristic of madeleine, in much the same way a crease on the top of a loaf or poundcake is iconic.This hump is achieved through two variables. <ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. First, the baking powder in the batter gives rise to the center of the madeleine when the heat of the oven hits the pan. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. Second, the shape of the mini madeleine pan itself promotes doming on top of the cake, since it sits on a non-level, convex surface. </li></ol>

How to Make a Classic Madeleine

Chef Dominique’s recipe makes the process for making these small sponge cakes seamless and easy.<ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. First, you make the batter and allow it to rest for 12 hours, or overnight, so the baking powder in the batter has time to relax, which will, in turn, give the cake its characteristic light, spongy texture and not that of a dense, crumbly cake. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. Secondly, because the batter only takes 4 minutes to bake, you can prep the mold, pipe the batter, and bake the madeleines in the same amount of time it takes to clear the dishes at the table and ready your guests for a delightful dessert. </li></ol>

How to Make Classic Madeleines in 2 Easy Steps

When making the batter for madeleine cookies, it is important to have all your ingredients be at room temperature so they will combine more easily. <ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. The most important of these ingredients are the eggs. Eggs are magical <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-emulsification-and-how-does-it-work-plus-how-to-fix-broken-emulsions' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-emulsification-and-how-does-it-work-plus-how-to-fix-broken-emulsions","linkCopy":"emulsifiers, or binders","category":null}'>emulsifiers, or binders</a>, that marry fat and liquid into a smooth mixture. If you’ve ever made mayo, you’ve seen how they bind the oil and lemon juice together to create a smooth sauce that won’t break. When you’re beating eggs into butter and sugar for a cake batter, this is another type of emulsion, binding the butter (fat) with the sugar (a liquid when heated). </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. For eggs to do their best job at binding, they need to be at room temperature. Madeleine batter is made by mixing the eggs into the dry ingredients first (as opposed to mixing them into the liquid ingredients), so eggs will have a difficult time absorbing the flour if they are too cold. Cold eggs also have the possibility of re-solidifying the butter once it’s mixed into the dough, which would break the emulsion and result in a curdled, greasy dough. </li></ol>

2 Tips for Making Perfect Madeleines

Chef Dominique Ansel’s Mini Madeleine Recipe 

So much of the success of a pastry depends on proper timing. In <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/classes/dominique-ansel-teaches-french-pastry-fundamentals/chapters/mini-madeleines/preview' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/classes/dominique-ansel-teaches-french-pastry-fundamentals/chapters/mini-madeleines/preview","linkCopy":"Chef Dominique’s opinion","category":null}'>Chef Dominique’s opinion</a>, the perfect example of this is the madeleine, the exquisite small French cake that elicited the most often-referenced memory recall in modern literature.

So much of the success of a pastry depends on proper timing. In Chef Dominique’s opinion (https://www.masterclass.com/classes/dominique-ansel-teaches-french-pastry-fundamentals/chapters/mini-madeleines/preview), the perfect example of this is the madeleine, the exquisite small French cake that elicited the most often-referenced memory recall in modern literature. 
