december 12, 2002 - the french pastry school pastry school... · the madeleine’s origin to the...

“© 1994.2014 S.R.Canonne & J.A.Pfeiffer” The French Pastry School, L.L.C

Madeleines


What proves that even the smallest and simplest pastry can produce the greatest

enjoyment? The madeleine, a small sponge cake shaped like a rounded shell: it is

made with melted butter, flour, sugar, and eggs. The shell-like appearance with a

puffed center gets its shape from baking in oval, grooved molds. This shape

resembles the shell of scallops or Coquille St. Jacques.

The origin of the madeleine dates back well before Proust wrote about it in the early

1900s, but its exact origin is disputed. Some sources say Jean Avice, the pastry chef

for Prince Talleyrand in the 19th

century, developed the madeleine. Others attribute

the madeleine’s origin to the town of Commercy in the northeastern department of

Meuse in France. One legend tells the story that in 1755, the duke of the region,

Stanislas Leczynska, was visiting the castle and was served a delicious little cake

prepared by a girl named Madeleine. The duke’s daughter, Marie, from Versailles,

who was married to Louis XV, supposedly then popularized the recipe. Another

variation suggests that Marie’s own cook, named Madeleine, created the recipe.

The flavor of this petit four is complemented well by tea, such as an herbal tilleul, or

dried blossoms from the Linden Tree as described by Marcel Proust in Swann’s Way,

the first volume of the significant À la recherche du temps perdu, commonly

translated as Remembrance of Things Past. The slight lime flavor of the tilleul

infusion brings out the subtle lemon or orange flavor of the cake and is a common

breakfast or teatime treat in France. Proust noticed when eating a bite of a madeleine

with some tea that a “delicious pleasure invaded my senses.” Tasting the little cake

inspired revelatory feelings and a flood of memories from his childhood.

When preparing your own madeleines, remember a few key tips to produce the best

taste and texture. Do not over-whip the eggs; do so just until frothy. Fold the mixture

very delicately without over-folding. After baking, cover while they’re still hot so that

the steam keeps them moist and extends freshness. Once cooled and packaged,

madeleines can stay fresh for two to three days, but are best when eaten freshly

baked.


Importance of Scaling

You will notice that our recipes are measured in grams. This is not only the traditional

French way of measuring ingredients in pastry and baking but it is also the most

common practice among pastry chefs in general. In pastry, you have to be as exact as

possible, and measuring in grams allows you to do that even more so than with

ounces. For example, if a recipe calls for 4 grams of salt, that is equivalent to even

less than one fifth of an ounce! If you don’t already have one, you can find a digital

scale in many kitchen supply stores (or office supply stores), and they often measure

in grams as well as ounces.


Madeleines

Yield: 24

Ingredients:

Plugrá Butter 82% Fat, melted 80 g

Fresh Whole Eggs 75 g

Sucrose 85 g

Patisfrance Trimoline 25 g

The Spice House Fleur De Sel, finely

ground

1.5 g

Nielsen-Massey Bourbon Vanilla Bean

Paste

0.5 g

Fresh Lemon Zest, microplane 1 lemon

King Arthur Cake Flour, sifted 135 g

Baking Powder 5 g

Fresh Whole Milk 45 g

Total Weight 452 g

Method:

Melt the butter.

Mix the eggs and sucrose together until it reaches light ribbon stage.

Add the trimoline, salt, vanilla, and zest.

Add the sifted flour and baking powder.

Add the milk and tempered melted butter.

Let it mature for 12 hours in the refrigerator.

Fill pre-buttered madeleine molds and place them in the refrigerator for 30

minutes before baking.

Place chilled molds on a hot baking pan in a convection oven at 190°C/375ºF,

vent closed, for approximately 9 minutes.

Unmold while still hot.

Wrap the madeleines immediately when cool.


Mix the eggs and sucrose together until it reaches light ribbon stage. Add the

trimoline, salt, vanilla, and zest. Add the sifted flour and baking powder. Add the

milk and tempered melted butter.


Butter and flour the madeleine molds.


Pipe the mixture into pre-buttered madeleine molds.


Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking.


Place on a hot baking pan in a convection oven at 190°C/375ºF, vent closed.


Unmold while still hot.


This was adapted from an article originally published in Modern Baking 2008.


About The French Pastry School

The French Pastry School of Kennedy-King College at City Colleges of Chicago is

the premier international institution of pastry arts education. Superb instruction,

superior equipment, and top quality ingredients enable the co-founders, Chefs Jacquy

Pfeiffer and Sébastien Canonne, M.O.F., to uphold an exceptional educational facility

for all things sweet and baked. The French Pastry School’s team of award-winning

instructors has grown to a faculty of many renowned chefs, including Nicole

Bujewski, Patrick Doucet, Anthony Kosar, John Kraus, Sunny Lee, Eric Perez, and

Joel Reno; Master Baker, Jonathan Dendauw; United States Master Baker, Jeffrey

Hamelman; Master Cake Artist, Nicholas Lodge; World Baking Champion, Pierre

Zimmermann; and World Pastry Champions, Patrice Caillot and En-Ming Hsu.

The French Pastry School instructs over one thousand students and pastry

professionals in hands-on classes each year and offers three main programs: L’Art de

la Pâtisserie, a full-time 24-week pastry and baking certificate program; L’Art du

Gâteau, The Professional Cake Baking and Decorating Program, a full-time 16-week

certificate program; L’Art de la Boulangerie, an 8-week Artisanal Bread Baking

Course; and Continuing Education courses, 3- to 5-day long classes year-round for

professionals as well as food enthusiasts. Additionally, the Chef Instructors of The

French Pastry School lead demonstrations on the premises and around the country for

thousands more pastry professionals and enthusiasts.

The French Pastry School offers you the rare opportunity to learn the art of pastry in

an intimate setting, being personally mentored by masters in their field. Your skills

will be finely honed through hands-on practice and repeated exposure to the best

pastry techniques, tools, and ingredients. Our school is dedicated only to the art of

pastry, and it is our goal to be the finest pastry school in the United States, producing

the best-prepared professionals entering the industry.

The French Pastry School's programs are approved by the Illinois Community

College Board through Kennedy-King College at City Colleges of Chicago. Students

in our full-time certificate programs earn from 16 to 24 college credit hours.

december 12, 2002 - the french pastry school pastry school... · the madeleine’s origin to the...

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