What Makes a Madeleine

Madeleines are small French sponge cakes baked in a tin of shell-shaped moulds, which gives them their pretty scalloped backs. The batter is a light Genoise style, leaning on well-whisked eggs and sugar for lift rather than lots of raising agent, so a thorough whisk to the ribbon stage matters. Grease the moulds well so the shells release cleanly. They are small and bake quickly, and because there is little to hide a dry crumb, a minute or two too long in the oven leaves them dry rather than soft. Take them out while still tender and pale gold for the best texture.