Madeleines.  That little French butter cake that most (non-French) people think of more as a cookie.  They have a classy, literary reputation, having served as Proust's muse in his famous Remembrance of Things Past.  Like most muses, however, madeleines appear to be simple but actually require a fair amount of patience and careful following of instructions.  In the end, though,  you are rewarded with a truly unique little cake, browned and crispy on the outside and spongy and soft on the inside.  A perfect accompaniment to your afternoon cup of tea.

Q: I was raised in Hong Kong and grew up eating desserts with Chinese and European/British influences. A lot of the cakes back home had this hard layer at the bottom, almost like a cardboard cake round, but edible. There was a thin jam brushed between the cake and the edible round. 

Some days you want a dessert that goes all out. Some days you want — scratch that, need — a rainbow sprinkle cake in your life. And The Cake Blog has an easy-to-follow tutorial to make it happen.

Q: I am having a dinner party for a friend this weekend who has requested an olive oil cake, but who cannot have lemon or orange juice. Is there a way to make this recipe without citrus? What is the purpose of citrus in an olive oil cake recipe?

Sent by Janelle

Sometimes magic happens in the oven and the cake that emerges has a crunchy, crackly top that takes it from good to great. But you don't have to rely on wishes or wizardry to make it happen — the blog Ideas in Food has a simple way to add a crackly, lacey top layer to any cake or quick bread.

I'm a sucker for an unfussy cake, the kind of cake that you can whip up in an hour or less without any extra trips to the grocery store, one that is special enough to serve to guests, but homey enough to not need a special occasion at all. This fragrant lemon cake — scattered with juicy blueberries and dolloped with soft lemon cream — is the perfect unfussy cake, just the thing to bring to a last-minute spring dinner party or to snack on with afternoon tea.

Looking for edible wafer paper? A cookie cutter in the shape of an anchor? How about cute cupcake liners, or even just a basic frosting starter kit? These five online stores have everything you could ever possibly want for fancy baking and decorating!

Q: Do I need to refrigerate cupcakes that are filled with homemade lemon curd? I'm finding very conflicting information online, and I don't want to make a bunch of people sick!

Sent by Morgan

Q: Help! I'm looking for ways to dress up a gluten-free vanilla cake. My girlfriend's birthday is this weekend and I picked up a package of Bob's Red Mill gluten-free vanilla cake mix (per great reviews), but need some help to dress it up a bit and make it beautiful and birthday-worthy. 

Q: Why is my cake so runny in the middle? I have been baking for a while, but every time I make a cake, the middle is always runny. I follow the recipes by every single word! I tried to bake them longer, I even doubled the time. But nothing works. The finish product tastes weird too. Really floury.

Sent by Dolores