Although there is some mystery surrounding the cake\u2019s origins, it\u2019s commonly agreed that the madeleine originated in Commercy, in the Lorraine region of France.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Who came up with the recipe is less clear, but the most popular story dates<\/strong> back to the 1700s<\/strong>, when a woman named Madeleine stood in as the last-minute pastry chef for a dinner held by the Duke of Lorraine. Under pressure to think of something to bake, Madeleine decided on her grandmother\u2019s cake recipe. It was such a hit that the duke then named the cakes after her.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When King Louis XV visited Lorraine in 1755, madeleines won him over as well. In fact, he loved them so much that he gave them to his wife, Marie, who introduced them to the French court at Versailles<\/strong>. And of course, once they were popular with royalty, then everyone else also wanted a bite.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The cake achieved a new level of fame in the 1920s, when Marcel Proust spoke about them in his book \u201cIn Search of Lost Time.\u201d He waxes poetically about how the cake, dipped in his cup of tisane<\/em> (herbal tea), reminded him of his childhood, when his aunt L\u00e9onie used to give him a bite of her madeleine every Sunday morning. It\u2019s a reference which has now made its way into modern French culture as the expression, \u201cWhat is your madeleine de Proust<\/em>?\u201d<\/strong>\u2014or in other words, which food reminds you of your childhood?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n