My most vivid memory of the things I learned during the 4 years of French literature has been these "petites madeleines" from Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time or À la recherche du temps perdu.  The most quoted passage is this one.

..No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, something isolated, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory – this new sensation having had on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me it was me. ... Whence did it come? What did it mean? How could I seize and apprehend it? ... And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane. The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it. And all from my cup of tea...wikipedia

And I'd like to also note the French version -- for old times sake ;)

Il y avait déjà bien des années que, de Combray, tout ce qui n’était pas le théâtre et le drame de mon coucher n’existait plus pour moi, quand un jour d’hiver, comme je rentrais à la maison, ma mère, voyant que j’avais froid, me proposa de me faire prendre, contre mon habitude, un peu de thé. Je refusai d’abord et, je ne sais pourquoi, je me ravisai. Elle envoya chercher un de ces gâteaux courts et dodus appelés Petites Madeleines qui semblaient avoir été moulés dans la valve rainurée d’une coquille de Saint-Jacques. Et bientôt, machinalement, accablé par la morne journée et la perspective d’un triste lendemain, je portai à mes lèvres une cuillerée du thé où j’avais laissé s’amollir un morceau de madeleine. Mais à l’instant même où la gorgée mêlée des miettes du gâteau toucha mon palais, je tressaillis, attentif à ce qui se passait d’extraordinaire en moi. Un plaisir délicieux m’avait envahi, isolé, sans la notion de sa cause. Il m’avait aussitôt rendu les vicissitudes de la vie indifférentes, ses désastres inoffensifs, sa brièveté illusoire, de la même façon qu’opère l’amour, en me remplissant d’une essence précieuse : ou plutôt cette essence n’était pas en moi, elle était moi. J’avais cessé de me sentir médiocre, contingent, mortel. D’où avait pu me venir cette puissante joie ? Je sentais qu’elle était liée au goût du thé et du gâteau, mais qu’elle le dépassait infiniment, ne devait pas être de même nature. D’où venait-elle ? Que signifiait-elle ? Où l’appréhender ? Je bois une seconde gorgée où je ne trouve rien de plus que dans la première, une troisième qui m’apporte un peu moins que la seconde. Il est temps que je m’arrête, la vertu du breuvage semble diminuer. Il est clair que la vérité que je cherche n’est pas en lui, mais en moi. Il l’y a éveillée, mais ne la connaît pas, et ne peut que répéter indéfiniment, avec de moins en moins de force, ce même témoignage que je ne sais pas interpréter et que je veux au moins pouvoir lui redemander et retrouver intact à ma disposition, tout à l’heure, pour un éclaircissement décisif. Je pose la tasse et me tourne vers mon esprit. C’est à lui de trouver la vérité. Mais comment ? Grave incertitude, toutes les fois que l’esprit se sent dépassé par lui-même ; quand lui, le chercheur, est tout ensemble le pays obscur où il doit chercher et où tout son bagage ne lui sera de rien. Chercher ? pas seulement : créer. Il est en face de quelque chose qui n’est pas encore et que seul il peut réaliser, puis faire entrer dans sa lumière. Du côté de chez Swann

 Anyway, I digress.

So, since the first time I tasted these heavenly scalloped-shaped cakes, I fell absolutely in love and they have been my favorite throughout the years.  Only until recently, that I mustered enough courage to even attempt to make them and I've been trying out several recipes (How to Make Classic French Madeleines by The Kitchn; Joyofcooking.com; and A Real Madeleine by Annemarie Conte), and finally came up with my adjustment that I like best.  So here goes...

My Classic Madeleines

(Makes about 24 - 28 Madeleines)

Ingredients:

160 g. of unsalted butter (1 stick and 3 Tbsp) melted and kept warm
2 large eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour +1 Tbsp, divided
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lemon zest

Instructions:

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and then keep it warm.

2. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugars with the paddle attachment at high speed until the mixture is thick and pale in color (about 5-8 minutes).


Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest (if using).

Then sift about one-third of the flour mixture over the whipped eggs and gently fold in, using a rubber spatula or whisk. Sift and fold in half of the remaining flour, and then sift and fold in the rest. (Do not over mix or the batter will deflate).



4. Then take about 1 cup (240 ml) of the batter and fold it into the warm melted butter. (This lightens the butter making it easier to fold into the batter.)



Then, with a spatula, gently fold the butter mixture completely into the egg batter.



Cover and refrigerate the batter overnight (can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days).



5. Prep the pans using a pastry brush, generously grease the molds of two - 12 - 3 1/2 inch (8.5 cm) Madeleine pans (preferably non stick) with very soft or melted butter. (Make sure the pans are well greased or the Madeleines will stick and be hard to remove.)



Then dust the molds with flour.


 Tap out the excess flour.


Freeze the pans overnight.

6. When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Drop a generous tablespoonful (can use an ice cream scoop) of the batter into the center of each prepared mold, leaving the batter mounded in the center. (This will result in the classic "humped or domed" appearance of the Madeleines.) - Do not over-fill the mold or madeleines will become flat.



7. Bake the Madeleines for about 8 - to 11 minutes. Check after 6-8 minutes and rotate pans (left to right, front to back).


Bake until the edges are golden brown and the centers spring back when lightly touched. (Do not overbake these cookies or they will be dry.)



8. Remove the pans from the oven and immediately tap each pan against the counter to release the Madeleines.



Place Madeleines on a wire rack to cool.



Best served immediately but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days or frozen for up to 1 month. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Adapted from the recipe by www.minimalistbaker.com

INGREDIENTS
1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) instant/fast acting yeast
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, divided
1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar, divided
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
2 3/4 - 3 1/4 cups flour (I used a ratio of 2/3 unbleached all purpose, 1/3 whole wheat flour)
1/2 - 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raw walnuts or pecans, crushed (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl, heat the milk and 3 Tbsp butter in the microwave in 30 sec increments until warm and melted (never reaching boiling). Let cool to 110 degrees, or the temperature of bath water. It should be warm but not too hot or it will kill the yeast.  
2. Sprinkle on yeast and let activate for 10 minutes. 
3. Then add 1 Tbsp sugar, salt and stir. 
4. Next add in 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana and stir.
5. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring as you go. The dough will be sticky. When it is too thick to stir, transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or so, adding flour as needed, until it forms a loose but still springy ball. Only use as much flour as it will take.
6. Rinse out your mixing bowl, coat it with canola or olive oil, and add your dough ball back in seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
   
   
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a long rectangle ~1/4 inch thick. Brush with 1/4 cup melted butter and top with 1/3 cup sugar (I used a little brown sugar mixed in with the cane sugar) and 1/2 - 1 Tbsp cinnamon (up to preference). Then add walnuts or pecan.
8. Slowly and tightly roll up the dough and situate seam side down. With a serrated knife or a string of floss, cut the dough into 1.5 - 2 inch sections and position in a well-buttered 8x8 square or comparable sized round pan (you should have about 10 rolls). 
9. Brush with remaining 1 Tbsp melted butter and sprinkle with a bit more sugar (brown or cane) and remaining walnuts.
10. Cover with plastic wrap and set on top of the oven to let rise again while you preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
11. Once the oven is hot, bake rolls for 28-35 minutes (mine took 40 minutes) or until slightly golden brown. 
12. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve warm.

ทาเนย กับ glaze ด้วยน้ำเชื่อม หรือแยม ตามใจชอบ หรือจะ ทาด้วย glaze แบบหวานเหมือนที่เค้าขายก็ได้

*For a simple glaze, melt 1 Tbsp butter and add to ~2 - 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Mix and gradually thin with milk 1 tsp at a time until pourable but still thick.