Plain 18th-Century Pound Cake or Madeleines

This is my mother’s family recipe, which dates back to the end of the eighteenth century; its old-fashioned texture resembles the Gâteau à la Madeleine published by Menon in Les Petits Soupers de la Cour. Madeleine Paumier was the young girl who, in Commercy, presented the first known Madeleines to King Louis XV of France. You can, indeed, make delicious Madeleines with this cake batter. Bake them in the traditional shell molds well buttered and dusted with flour, in a 350°F oven to obtain