madeleine

n. a small, light French cake that is shaped like a seashell.

n. a small French sponge cake, typically baked in a shell-shaped mould and often flavoured with lemon or almond.

“We had tea and a fresh madeleine at the small bakery in Paris.”

“The pastry chef dusted each madeleine with icing sugar, highlighting the delicate ridges formed by the traditional scallop-shaped tin.”

n. something, like a smell or a sound, that suddenly makes you remember your past.

n. a sensory experience that triggers a sudden, intense burst of nostalgia or a long-forgotten memory.

“The smell of old books was a madeleine that took him back to his school days.”

“For the novelist, the sound of the distant foghorn acted as a madeleine, instantly transporting him back to the summers of his childhood.”

Literary