Tuiles

 This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Tuiles have been on my baking to do list for years along with madelines, tiramisu, lady fingers, Scottish shortbread, macaroons and true English scones. I have been saving egg whites for years hoping to get around to tuiles but never did. I just love the look of these cookies – so simple yet sophisticated. The frugal French took what was probably a left over and made it into a wonderful cookie that can be shaped into whatever you can imagine. The tuile batter is the artists medium to do what they please. Just mind the the very hot cookies!

This month's challenge was a breeze - I used one bowl, my hand mixer, one pan with a silpat and a few things to shape with - voila. I paired my tuiles with a strawberry frozen yogurt recipe from David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop that was wonderfully tart and sweet! My family said they tasted like vanilla wafers!

Thanks to Karen at Bake My Day and Zorra at Zorra at 1x umrühren bitte for a great challenge.

Tuiles

Following is a recipe taken from a book called “The Chocolate Book”, written by Dutch master chef, Angélique Schmeinck.

Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)

60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar 

1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)

2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)

65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour

1 tablespoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice

Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Heat oven to 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. 

Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. 

Add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not over mix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. 

(This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. 

Press the stencil on the baking sheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. 

Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. 

Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown.

Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. 

These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again.

Thanks to Karen at Bake My Day and Zorra at Zorra at 1x umrühren bitte for a great challenge.