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College of Humanities
Humanities Cookbook

Cézanne’s Still Life Madeleines

Madeleines are popular scalloped shell-shaped French butter cakes. There is debate about where they first came from. Some say madeleines were created in the eighteenth century, by a young girl named Madeleine. It is said that Madeleine had a pastry shop but only knew how to make her grandmother’s butter cake recipe.

One day King Louis XV visited the Lorraine region, and when he visited Madeleine's shop, she presented him with the cakes. King Louis took the madeleines back to Versailles, and they were soon beloved by the French court. French artist Paul Cézanne included madeleines in his Still Life with Basket of Apples since they were a classic French food by his time.

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By: Professor Elliott Wise

Comparative Arts & Letters Faculty

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Ingredients

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1 cupAll-purpose flour
1/2 cupAlmond flour
1/2 teaspoonBaking powder
1/4 pound (1 stick)Unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cupSugar
1/4 cupHoney
1 tablespoonVanilla extract
1 tablespoonOrange blossom water
-Zest of one orange
4Large eggs

Makes 8 dozen cookies.

*If you do not have a madeleine mold and do not want to invest in buying one, try making them in a muffin tin. This will fundamentally alter the most iconic aspect of a madeleine cookie—its distinctive shell shape—but it certainly is an alternative.

*To recreate Paul Cézanne’s Still Life with Basket of Apples, stack some madeleines on a plate and place it on a wooden table beside a green Martinelli’s bottle, a basket, and an assortment of green, yellow, and red apples spilling onto a white cloth. If you want to go all out, you can chop your table in half and then glue it back together again with one half pushed back into space and lifted at a higher angle than the other half. Personally, I do not think the heightened authenticity of the resulting photo justifies the damage to your table, but do as you please.

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Steps

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Combine the flours, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Using a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer, beat the butter on high speed until soft and creamy, about 1 minute. Slowly add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating continuously on high speed. It should take 5 to 10 minutes to add the sugar. The mixture should be light, fluffy, and a creamy white color. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the honey, vanilla, orange blossom water, and orange zest. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add the eggs, one at a time. Be sure each egg is completely incorporated and scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the next one.

Add the flour mixture to the batter in thirds, beating on low speed until just incorporated. Cover the batter and chill it for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Adjust the rack to the center of the oven. Madeleines are notorious for sticking to the molds. Silicone molds work best, but if you are using a standard metal mold, make sure to grease it very well. You can brush the molds (either standard size or mini) with melted butter and then dust them lightly with flour. Or you can rub a little softened butter over the mold, spray it with cooking spray, and dust it with flour.

Carefully spoon the chilled batter into the madeleine pan, filling each shell three-quarters full. Repeat until all the batter has been used. Bake for 10 minutes for mini madeleines, for about 15 minutes for standard madeleines, or until they are golden brown and firm to the touch. The madeleines are best served warm from the oven but can be stored, wrapped airtight, at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.