This was my first time ever making madeleines. The thing with these little sponge cakes is that a special pan is required. Madeleines aren’t madeleines unless they’ve got that classic shell shape.

I picked up a pan a couple of months ago, and finally got to take it for a test drive with this recipe. I got lazy and didn’t butter the pan – a quick spray of Pam with Flour ensured they wouldn’t stick. Should I not have admitted that?

They aren’t hard to make – there are two tricky parts, though. The first is figuring out how much batter is exactly perfect for each mold. Trial and error and a variety of dishers is a great way to get perfect, uniform madeleines. Mine were not perfect or uniform by any measure.

The other tricky part is the baking time. These go from moist and delicious to dry in an instant. I checked mine and knew they needed a bit more time, but a minute more was too long. Thirty more seconds would have been fine. The flavor of these is terrific, though. Nice chocolate flavor with subtle malty undertones.

I’m interested in trying again – in particular because madeleines are so versatile and can be adapted for the season or occasion. Right now the lavender is in bloom and I’m dying to make a lavender-scented version.

For the recipe and to see how the other Baked Sunday Mornings bakers fared, head over to Baked Sunday Mornings.

• Malted Madeleines (Baked Elements, p. 123)