One hundred years ago, on August 15, 1912, Julia Carolyn McWilliams was born in Pasadena, California. Baby Julia would grow up to be Julia Child, whose professional life would be dedicated to cuisine. With the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, she successfully brought the wonder of French cuisine to the United States. The first televised cooking series, The French Chef, premiered in 1963 and transformed Julia into America’s fist celebrity chef.
To honor Julia’s centennial, I baked madeleines (pronounced mad-lens). Madeleines are small, shell-shaped cakes flavored with vanilla and a hint of lemon. Uncomplicated and adorned with a sprinkle of confectioners’ sugar, madeleines are a tribute to the simple flavors of classic French cuisine.
These madeleines are adapted from the Traditional Madeleine recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours. Dorie Greenspan is a great cookbook author, and, coincidentally, authored Baking with Julia–the cookbook of recipes featured on the PBS series of the same name.
See the recipe, after the jump.
Taylor-Made Treats 