A true celebration of strawberry flavor, these buttery, tender cakes are sandwiched around strawberry-infused filling and thin layer of strawberry preserves.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a madeleine pan.
To make the dough: Place the confectioners’ sugar and freeze-dried strawberries in the bowl of a food processor. Process the mixture, pulsing occasionally, until powdered. Whisk the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any chunks or stray seeds.
Mix the sugar, salt, baking powder, and butter until smooth. Scrape the bowl, then mix in the vanilla, flour, and egg.
Press a level tablespoonful of dough into each well of the pan, using wet fingers to press it up the sides and leaving a well in the center.
Bake the madeleines for 8 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned on the edges (watch carefully; they overcook rapidly once the edges begin to brown). Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer to a rack to finish cooling completely. Continue baking until all of the dough is used.
To make the filling: Process the freeze-dried strawberries and confectioners’ sugar until powdered and whisk through a strainer. Add the butter and stir at low speed until the mixture is cohesive; add the milk (or cream) a teaspoon at a time, adding enough to make the filling spreadable.
To assemble: Spread 2 teaspoons of filling on the bottom of half the madeleines; spread a teaspoon of preserves on the bottom of the remaining madeleines. Sandwich the jam-topped and filling-topped madeleines together. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Store madeleines, well wrapped, for a couple of days at room temperature; freeze for longer storage.
