Testing, testing.... battle of the madeleines

Spécialité Locale Madeleines, £2.69 for 400g

An article in The Telegraph called cupcakes the new cocaine. Personally I am addicted to the shell-shaped French cakelets called madeleines. I have tried making them but they are not as good as the bought ones, which is perverse as homemade cakes usually taste better! These are the best brands on sale in the UK, other substandard brands can be oily and taste foul. I first came across madeleines while studying Proust when I was 16. Madeleines were easy to find in Italy, but proved a bit more of a challenge when I moved to England. Now they are sold in most supermarkets, so I don't have to hit the deli trail or take advantage of continental trips.

Bonne Maman La Madeleine, £2.39 for 225g

Here is the reference in Proust, skip this if you  want to read the review:
II 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, me ravisai. Elle envoya chercher un de ces gâteaux courts et dodus appelés Petites Madeleines qui semblent 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."


The bit I like most about this excerpt (if you can't read French you will find a translation here) is the last sentence where he describes the experience of eating a madeleine as a delicious pleasure. As you can see from the price/weight ration, the first product is the cheapest. Bonne Maman's madeleines are individually wrapped inside the bag but it feels like excessive packaging that bumps up the retail price. They are both moist, melt in your mouth and delicately fragranced. But the winner is, surprisingly, Spécialité Locale Madeleines, a truly local speciality in my books. These are sold in most supermarkets - you will find them in the cake aisle in Sainsbury's next to the finger madeleines. I can't specify the reason why I prefer them, they do have an extra je ne sai quoi.... (and are great value!).