New from Donsuemor!
French Almond Cakes (upper right), or "financiers" as they are known in France, are elegant little cakes with the rich and nutty taste of almond. Soft and moist with crisp edges – a "Donsuemor signature" – these elegant treats are made with the finest quality, all natural ingredients.
Made following an original recipe from France, Donsuemor Madeleines are classic French teacakes, beautifully shaped like delicate seashells – soft and moist, with lightly crisp fluted edges and a rich, buttery flavor.
NEW from Donsuemor –
Rich Chocolate Madeleines
Donsuemor also makes these types of Madeleines –
Traditional Madeleines
Chocolate-Dipped Traditional Madeleines
Lemon Madeleines
Ideal ways to savor Donsuemor Madeleines --
Of course, eaten by themselves, perhaps warmed just a tad
Accompanied by your favorite tea or coffee drink
Presented with ice cream and fresh berries
Included as an ingredient in tiramisu or trifle
Served along side sliced peaches, pears and crème fraîche
Donsuemor Madeleines are available at --
Trader Joe’s, Northern California, Oregon and Washington
Peet’s Coffee and Tea, nationwide
Many Whole Foods Markets
Many Andronico’s Markets
Online
The exquisite flavor and texture of Donsuemor Madeleines are best retained by storing them in their original package. After opening, place these petite cakes in an airtight container. A glass jar displays them beautifully.
Madeleines have a literary pedigree. The French novelist Marcel Proust rhapsodized about these tiny delights in Du Côté de chez Swann (Swann’s Way): “Whence could it have come to me, this all-powerful joy?” He said that these “short, plump little cakes” awakened his fondest memories of childhood.
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Imagine the kind of alchemy that occurs when an inventor, tinkerer, and entrepreneur marries an artist, soprano and natural baker—and you’ll have a picture of Renaissance couple, Don and Susie Morris, founders of Donsuemor.
Don and Susie Morris married in 1968 and lived modestly, trying on various jobs, from pharmacy counter help to garden maintenance, until in 1973 Don and Susie and her sister Carole embarked on their first business venture, designing and hand-painting Renaissance-inspired dresses, in Berkeley, California. When fashions changed, it seemed like time to start another new business—making French Madeleines for the local charcuterie, Pig by the Tail in Berkeley.
While most Americans were unfamiliar with madeleines back in 1976, unless they had eaten them in France, the five dozen madeleines that Susie baked sold out each week. So she made a double batch, and that sold out, too. Don saw tremendous possibility in this delicious, unusual, and beautiful French teacake, so he thought, “Let's find more stores!”
Don merely had to open the box and the aroma would lead to a taste and then to a sale. His investment was not so much in money, but in his time, creative energy, direction, and clever ways of making inexpensive improvements. He called his style “pragma-tech,” not high-tech, or low-tech.
In 1984, when Donsuemor moved to its Emeryville location, Don bought the used oven from the famous Fat Apple’s in Berkeley, dismantled it there single-handedly, loaded it up in a rented truck, drove it to the new bakery and put it back together himself. Don made friends with various machinists and engineers who helped him design and build equipment and tools for specific tasks. Off-the-shelf bakery equipment was too generic, or simply would not work for Donsuemor’s specific needs. To this day, Donsuemor has much custom-made equipment.
“Don was alive and different, wacky and eccentric. It was his ability to think outside the box that made our madeleine production more efficient,” says Donsuemor CEO Susan Davis. “I frequently used the word ‘Donsense’ to describe the many ideas he would toss around during any given day. He would laugh when I told him he was making perfect ‘Donsense,’ but it was his ability to look at everything from 50 different directions that made him interesting and unique, and what made Donsuemor possible.”
Since Don’s death in 1997, Susie Morris, Susan Davis and Mike Meyers and a small staff of madeleine devotees have continued to carry on Don’s passion and zest for this little French tea cake called a madeleine. In early 2007, with Susie Morris, Susan Davis and Mike Meyers still at the helm, Donsuemor moved into a new 30,000 sq ft custom designed bakery in the Harbor Bay area of Alameda.
“The flavor and beauty of our product should make people feel both satisfied and spoiled,” says Davis. “A Donsuemor Madeleine brings the unique and authentic to our everyday lives.” |
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