What small French sponge cake is known for its shell-like shape?

The small French sponge cake known for its shell-like shape is the madeleine.

Madeleines are traditional cakes from Commercy and Liverdun in Lorraine, northeastern France. Their scalloped shell form comes from baking génoise-style batter in pans with shell-shaped depressions. Traditional recipes may include finely ground almonds, while lemon zest is a common modern flavoring.

The madeleine’s origin story is less certain than its shape. One popular account credits Madeleine Paulmier, an 18th-century cook associated with the court of Stanislaus I, Duke of Lorraine. Other legends connect the shell shape with pilgrims traveling to Santiago de Compostela, whose symbol was the scallop shell. Historians do not regard one single invention story as proven.

The cake is also famous in literature. Marcel Proust used the taste of a madeleine dipped in tea as a trigger for involuntary memory in his novel cycle À la recherche du temps perdu. That literary episode helped make “madeleine” a cultural symbol of nostalgia.