There are a few classics a serious baker must absolutely master. For the serious Francophile baker — or the baker with a literary interest — the list of classics most certainly includes a madeleine.
Famous for being a cookie of the extremely well-read (I am convinced that only literature professors have actually read Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time”), the madeleine involuntarily transports Proust’s narrator back to an essential, emotional memory.
Those of us who have seen the Pixar film “Ratatouille” get the gist: It’s what happens to the grumpy food critic when he tastes the peasant food of his youth.
Literature or not, the madeleine is a great cookie. Inexpensive madeleine pans are easy to find, and with one, you can learn to master the signature bump that separates the pretenders from the serious madeleines. I like combining herbs and vanilla to give the cookie a delicate depth, worthy of Proust himself.
Chris Wilkins has been a professional baker for 12 years. He is a two-time James Beard Award nominee and the founder and co-owner of Root Baking Co. and Pizza Jeans. Submit your baking questions to bakebetterajc@gmail.com.
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