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plural madeleines
A French type of small gateau or sponge cake, often shaped like an elongated scallop shell. quotations examples
And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray […] my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane.
1981, Marcel Proust, CK Scott Moncrieff & Terence Kilmartin (translators), Swann's Way, Folio Society, published 2005, page 44
Madeleine batter can be made in advance and refrigerated.
2003, Emily Luchetti, A Passion for Desserts, Chronicle Books, page 20
(figuratively) Something which brings back a memory; a source of nostalgia or evocative memories. quotations examples
The Robe was thus fixed in my mind as a symbol, and in my memory as a madeleine, of Jewish evil.
2001, James Carroll, Constantine's Sword, Houghton-Mifflin, page 223
Every five years or so, in the middle of another task, I'll look at them and a particular cover will bring memory flooding back like a madeleine.
2005, Roger Ebert, Rogert Ebert's Movie Yearbook, page 784
My madeleine moment happened early on Friday, while pot smoke drifted in the air as I waited for a shuttle to the polo fields where Coachella takes place.
2022 April 27, Spencer Kornhaber, “Coachella Defeated My Cynicism About Music Festivals”, in The Atlantic