A small, shell-shaped sponge cake that is often dipped in tea or chocolate, famous from Marcel Proust's novel.
Named after Magdala in France or possibly after Madeleine Paulmier, a French cook. The cake became famously associated with French literature and sensory memory.
Proust's 'madeleine moment' is so powerful that philosophers and psychologists still use it to describe how a small sensory experience (taste, smell, touch) can suddenly unlock vivid childhood memories—proving that taste is literally a memory trigger.
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