Voilà!! Can you smell them? O la la!! You may have noticed that there are a couple (or so) missing from the bottom row...Well! Il faut qu'on les goûter!!  Délicieux!! Naturellement. 

They came out quite beautifully and they have wafted their delicious aroma throughout the house! This is David Lebovitz's version, which, I imagine, I cannot post here; however, I can say that the recipe works beautifully and his lemon glaze makes them even more scrumptious and moist! 

I actually found three recipes, all quite different. This one uses a bit of baking powder, added, as Mr. Lebovitz says, "for those who must have a hump." These did rise quite a bit (baked at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes) and did not flatten out after cooling; so, they do have quite a nice "hump," and are delightfully light and fluffy.

Tomorrow I am going to try Julia Child's recipe, which she claims to be the original recipe from the Commercy bakery, where Proust got his madeleines. This recipe is nearly the same but has no baking powder, and the eggs are not beaten for 5 minutes; she also adds vanilla and lemon juice. In the photo in her book (p241), The Way to Cook, the batter appears to be more like a dough and is not chilled in the refrigerator. I imagine they will be a bit denser and I think I will like the addition of vanilla as well. Hers are baked in a cooler oven at 375 deg., for 15 minutes.

The third recipe is from Rosso and Lukins' The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook (p109) and it titled "Scented Madeleines." Theirs is also roughly the same as the previous two, but with the addition of almond paste, almond extract and orange-flower water. They also use baking powder and refrigerate the dough. Baking temp is 400 deg.

So, I will post again Sunday evening, with photos of the other two versions and a discussion of that incredibly beautiful evocation of his childhood memory.

À dimanche!

-Michel