Donsuemor — Dipped Chocolate and Other — Madeleines

Bonnie: It’s funny how we trip over products that become our Bites.

Earlier this year, when in San Francisco to conduct a newbie networking seminar for the Fancy Food Show, I was standing in the New Product Showcase area, hoping to discover a product to consider for a Bite. I was looking into the glass cases displaying the new items when I almost fell over Michele Lanstra, assistant marketing manager for Donsuemor, who was about to put some of her company’s madeleines into the case.

“What do you have there?” I inquired.

“Chocolate-dipped chocolate madeleines,” she responded.

“May I see one?” I asked, which was my way of learning the ingredients before asking to try one.

Sugar, butter, flour, eggs, cocoa, cream… Ah, I thought, little moist cakes with a short — real-food — ingredient list. No preservatives. I liked that.

Michele and I chatted, then exchanged business cards, and I left with a sample of their new chocolate-dipped chocolate madeleines to try.

Obviously, after indulging in the delicate little chocolate-covered, chocolate shell-shaped cake, I reached out to Michele for samples of all her flavors for me and for my culinary offspring. Those include five flavors: traditional, dipped, chocolate, chocolate-dipped chocolate and lemon zest. I’m partial to the flavor of those last two. Either is a modest-calorie treat, with one lemon having 70 calories, one chocolate-dipped chocolate, 90. I prefer the latter at the end of a meal, the lemon with morning coffee.

If you have any extra (which is unlikely), freeze them within 10 days of purchase.

Sidebar: There are conflicting versions of the origin of the small cakes called madeleines, but all agree they are shell-shaped, baked in an eponymous pan and lighter than a pound cake.

Bryan: A day that will live in infamy. The arrival of the Donsuemor Madeleines was the worst offensive on my attempts at dietary restraint since the assault of the Sugabettens brownies of ‘08. Please don’t think I protest too much. I truly love the cavalcade of new and outrageous food products constantly gracing my doorstep. It’s just that sometimes the price I pay to bring our readers the best of what’s out there is high (in calories, that is). Of course, sometimes there are bad products, the ones we “take one for the team” on, and though we may silently (and collaboratively) protest, you’ll just never hear about those. Sometimes though, the good can be oh so bad… sometimes the products we receive are so good that receiving a marketing pack with two of every flavor is nothing but absolutely dangerous.

I’m not really a “watch my waist” kind of guy, but even I know I don’t need to be killing off three sleeves of madeleines in two days. But, damn, these are tasty! They are light, but they are rich, they are subtle but also lasting. Quite simply, they are delicious and packaged in five irresistible flavors — all to be enjoyed, in my humble opinion, slightly warmed and with milk.

Madeleines are a traditional confectionery from northeastern France; very small cakes with a distinctive shell-like shape and a flavor similar to pound cake. Traditional recipes will sometimes include finely ground almonds, but Donsuemor’s “Traditional” is simply sugar, butter, flour and eggs, combined to perfection. You can try the traditional dipped in chocolate or flavored with lemon zest for an extra bit of wow. The line also includes a chocolate-flavored version, plain or chocolate dipped as well. Enjoy Donsuemor Madeleines as a perfect after-dinner treat with a cup of coffee or tea…. They’re really a great choice for entertaining or just enjoying quietly on your own. At only 150 calories for two plain ones (not chocolate dipped), these delectables are a real winner from Donsuemor! (Just try not to eat the whole case at once.)

Eric: The day I received the package of the Donsuemor Madeleines, two thoughts went through my head: “How many can I eat before I realize I shouldn’t?” and, more importantly, “How do I hide them from my girlfriend?” The first question was answered rather quickly by the disappearance of nearly five of these delicious cakes, favoring the traditional versions over the indulgence of the chocolate-dipped varieties, although both left an indelible mark on my palette. Solving the answer to the second question was just as difficult as I imagined. My girlfriend, when it pertains to certain foods (i.e. cookies, pastries and muffins), has the nose of a bloodhound, and within a few minutes of entering the apartment, she was on the hunt. The madeleines didn’t stand a chance.

The unfortunate part of receiving the package was that both my girlfriend and I had just gotten out of our winter hibernation mode and had started with our first week of “getting in shape.” Needless to say, the madeleines were of no help. I decided that a good idea, instead of freezing the cakes (which is recommended within 10 days of buying them), would be to bring a few varieties into the office and use my co-workers as a focus group. This made the bloodhound very uneasy. As we sat at the dinner table, the box full of Donsuemor Madeleines (traditional, chocolate dipped, lemon zest) between us, it started to feel like a business negotiation. “All right,” I suggested. “I’ll leave one sachet of traditional chocolate dipped, and bring a traditional chocolate to work.” With a simple eyebrow raise from my girlfriend, I realized that this would be a difficult negotiation.

The next day, I brought the (allowed) variety of flavors for my office co-workers to taste. The chocolate dipped went first, quickly followed by the lemon zest, with the traditional chocolate rounding out the group. Honestly, I imagine that within five minutes, 10 people ate 15 madeleines. The only reaction was a quiet office with uniform smiles of satisfaction (so much so that we started receiving comments on the site from the test group even before we posted this Bite).

Without a doubt, madeleines now rank up there with my favorite desserts in this order:
1. Chocolate bread pudding
2. The infamous “jungle bar” brownie