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Madeleines are small French cakes (les gâteaux) in the shape of a shell, often eaten with a coffee (un café) in the morning or for afternoon tea (le goûter). They are believed to have come from Commercy in Lorraine in the late 18th Century.

A young (jeune) maid followed her grandmother's recipe and baked the cakes for King Stanislas at Commercy Castle (Château de Commercy).

You will need:

• 2 eggs (des œufs)
• 100g caster sugar (du sucre)
• 100g plain flour (de la farine)
• juice and zest of 1 lemon (du citron)
• ‎¾‎ tsp of baking powder (de la levure)
• 100g butter (du beurre), melted

You will need a baking tray. If you don't have a shell-shaped tray, use a standard cupcake baking tray instead.

Important note:

This recipe uses a hot oven so make sure you ask an adult to help you.

Method

1. Get an adult to preheat the oven (le four) to ‎‎200°‎C or gas mark 6.

2. Whisk (fouette) the eggs and sugar in a bowl until frothy, then add the baking powder, flour, lemon juice and zest.

3. Get an adult to melt the butter and add this.

4. Leave to stand for twenty (vingt) minutes, then pour the mixture (la pâte) into your tray, making twelve (douze) to sixteen (seize) cakes.

5. Bake (fais cuire) for eight (huit) to ten (dix) minutes.

6. Leave to cool down.

Click below to download the instructions