It's Daring Baker time again! This month's challenge is Tuiles and was chosen by Karen aka Baking Soda of Bake My Day and Zorra aka Kochtopf of 1x umruehren bitte. They chose the Tuile recipe from The Chocolate Book by Angelique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Finest Desserts by Michel Roux. (This month's challenge feels so European! I feel more sophisticated just typing these names!) I liked the idea of this month's challenge - something light, served with something fruity - a nice break from all the buttery sugary sweetness from holiday baking. We were given a choice of batter recipe, our own creative idea for shapes, and we had to pair it with something light.
I made this recipe today, at the last minute as usual. They didn't turn out the way they are supposed to, but I think with some more practice, I'll get the results I should. My tuiles tasted good, but they weren't crispy. They ended up more rubbery - like a crepe. I think that maybe I mixed the batter too long - it was taking a long time to homogonize in my mixer. But the recipe was so easy to make, I'm sure to try it again.
I chose the Tuile recipe, so I will only post that one. The other recipes looked great too, and I'm sure you can find them on Karen or Zorra's blogs.
I made stencils from a cereal box, and I paired my tuiles with custard (made from a mix) and fresh strawberries and blackberries.
Tuiles from "The Chocolate Book" by Angelique Schmeinck
Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)
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 / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet
Oven: 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. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
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 bakingsheet 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 bakingsheet 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. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.
If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….
Alternative Baking:Either un-glutenize the batter given substituting the flour for any nut meal or oat flour, or as an alternative use one of other batters given by Karen and Zorra.
And as usual, please check out all the other amazing bakers on the Daring Baker Blogroll. They inspire me everyday with their creativity and talent!
My older taste tester didn't like the tuiles, but the younger one devoured her's with lots of "yum yum" sounds!
Overall, I enjoyed this challenge. I'll try them again soon - and I'll update this post when I do!
