Makes 12 mac/e/eines

SERVING: Generallyserved with tea, madeleinesare good at any time of dayor night, with anything fromcoffee to Cognac. They area delight warm or at roomtemperature and even stillnice when they're slightlystaleand perfect fordunking.

STORING: You can makethe batter up to 2 daysahead and keep it coveredin the refrigerator, but oncebaked, madeleines are bestthe day they're baked.

Lemon Madeleines

M ADELEINES ARE THE NE PLUS ULTRA ofteacakes. Made with a but-1tery whole-egg sponge cake batter, spooned into shell-shaped molds!and baked until they turn golden on their shell side and grow a large bump OBJtheir bellies, madeleines have long been a touchstone sweet among patissiciand pastry lovers.

I don't know if the bosse, the "bump" or "hump," was as iconic in teighteenth centurythe time when madeleines were first madeas it itoday, but that dome has become the holy grail of madeleine bakers. And,l:everyone else, I'm a seeker. I'd been making madeleines almost forever athen, in one year, mine took a giant leap, thanks to tips from two of Paris'^most talented pastry chefs: Philippe Conticini of Patisserie des Reves;Fabrice Le Bourdat of Ble Sucre.

Philippe taught me to bake the chilled batter in a cold pan on a very 1baking sheetit mimics the heat of a baker's hearth oven, the way a piz;stone does. Because of this tiny but monumental tweak, my madeleineslwhich had always had respectable bumps, are now so bumpy they're in iger of rolling over from top-hump heaviness.

It was Fabrice who showed me how to glaze madeleines, accentuatingtldomes. It's true that the cakes are luscious unadorned and pretty with justidusting of confectioners' sugar, but they're almost jewel-like and even morelelegant when glazed.

Merci, mes cherspdtissiers.

FOR THE M A D E L E I N E S

2/3 cup (90 grams) all-purposeflour

1 teaspoon baking powder]A teaspoon fleur de sel or a

pinch of fine sea saltVs cup (67 grams) sugar

Finely grated zest of i lemon2 large eggs, at room

temperaturei tablespoon honeyi teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 stick (8 tablespoons;4 ounces; 113 grams)unsalted butter, meltedand still warm

2 tablespoons whole milkConfectioners' sugar, for

dusting (optional)

FOR THE GLAZE (OPTIONAL)i cup (120 grams)

confectioners' sugar, siftedAbout V4 cup (60 ml) freshly

squeezed lemon juice

TO MAKE THE M A D E L E I N E S : Whisk together the flour, baking powder asalt together in a small bowl; set aside.

Working in a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together'

212 BAKING CHEZ MOI

i thec

your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs and'energetically. You want the egg-sugar mixture to thicken ever so slightly apale just a little; this could take a couple of minutes (if you'd like, you