So these vanilla muffins is what we call madalenas in Spanish or madalenes in Catalan. Kids grow up eating them and after many years of failed attempts I finally came across a recipe that is close to the ones you can buy in bakeries and supermarkets in Spain and I grew up eating (maybe even better than the ones in the supermarkets).
The recipe is from no other than Carme Ruscalleda, a Michelin star chef based near Barcelona (Spain). It’s from her book La magia de la cuina (The kitchen’s magic) which I’m not sure it’s translated into English, but it’s a great book with many simple delicious recipes. So anyway, after having the book sitting in my kitchen for a long time, I decided to try the vanilla muffins (madalenas) (which by the way, I have to confess that her original recipe does not call for vanilla…) and we absolutely loved them! They don’t last more than two days…
These muffins are originally from France and the French call them madeleines. They are in the shape of a shell and made with butter (hello France…). According to her book, in Spain they became popular in a round shape and the butter was substituted by olive oil.
These vanilla muffins are very easy to make and the results is magnificent! Totally worth making them!