Meyer Lemon-Vanilla Madeleines

Our high-minded little selves are catching up on our Proust this week. (Okay, okay, so we're starting with just an excerpt.) This is due to the recent acquisition of our first-ever madeleine pan, a nonstick one, with a good starter recipe on the packaging.

So, honestly...how good could these little cakes be? Are they worthy of the very pretty paragraphs and endless modern-day references that they spawned? Yeah, well, they kind of are that good. They are mostly butter; it's impossible to go wrong there. They are light and spongy like cake but with the crunchy browned edges of a cookie. They take about two seconds to make. And they were so transporting that we devoured them all immediately, hence the pic of just the empty pan.

Meyer Lemon-Vanilla Madeleines

1/3 cup flour

1/8 tsp. baking powder

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 beaten egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla paste

small pieces of zest from one Meyer lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and brush the pan with a little canola oil. Whisk dry ingredients together, make a well, and then add butter, beaten egg, vanilla, and lemon zest. Fold until just mixed. Fill indentations in pan about 3/4 full. Bake for 10 minutes or until springy to the touch and slightly brown around the edges. They pop right out, and you can sift some powdered sugar over them once they cool a bit.