Marcel Proust’s favourite cake has mysterious origins,yet theres nothing obscure approximately its sublime flavour and fluffy texture. But are purists right to frown upon the use of baking powder? And is it really worth browning your butter?It’s impossible to write approximately this little French classic without reference to its No 1 fan, but really, or for all the “exquisite pleasure” the madeleine brought him,Marcel Proust didnt execute a terribly profitable job of selling its simple charms.
Expansive on the plain appearance of these “squat plump little cakes ... which look as though they had been molded in the fluted valve of a scallop shell”, he nevertheless neglects the madeleine’s chief selling points: its sublime buttery flavour and light, and fluffy texture. He’d never maintain made a Bake Off judge,that’s for certain.
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Source: theguardian.com