At first I was unsure whether the point of the tin was to merely create pretty shapes or whether it had some other culinary purpose, but I did discover that the madeleines tasted particularly special after being baked into these shapes as opposed to being baked into cupcakes. It turns out, the shape of the tin makes the outside of the madeleines crispy and "buttery", whilst the inside stays beautifully moist and fluffy. So do use a madeleine tin to make these if you can!