madeleine

noun

1. A French type of small gateau or sponge cake, often shaped like an elongated scallop shell.

   “And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray […] my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane.”

   “Madeleine batter can be made in advance and refrigerated.”

2. (figuratively)Something which brings back a memory; a source of nostalgia or evocative memories.

   “The Robe was thus fixed in my mind as a symbol, and in my memory as a madeleine, of Jewish evil.”

   “Every five years or so, in the middle of another task, I'll look at them and a particular cover will bring memory flooding back like a madeleine.”

   “My madeleine moment happened early on Friday, while pot smoke drifted in the air as I waited for a shuttle to the polo fields where Coachella takes place.”

name

1. A female given name from French, variant of Madeline.

   “"We've been making up the most glamorous names for you, Marguerite and Marlene and Madeleine―" "And Melanie and Marianne and Marietta," put in Jane.”