Madeleines

These seashell-shaped French tea cakes were a customary addition to the afternoon tea tray at Downton and were kept in biscuit jars by the beds of Mary, Edith, and Sybil for late-night snacking. They were also a favorite of Matthew whose middle-class upbringing showed when, on his first visit to Downton, he loaded up his plate with the small, delicate cakelike madeleines.