Daring Bakers: Tuiles

Its amazing how fast the month goes by. I thought I had plenty of time to get my Daring Bakers done. Of course, it was January 27th before I knew it and I had to get it done! I had to miss last month due to the holidays and didn't want to miss again. Thankfully, this month's selection of Tuiles wasn't too difficult so I was able to get in finished without too much rush. Plus, they seemed fairly light and light treats are what I'm looking for at the moment!

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.

I've never made tuiles before because they seem to delicate and something you find in a nice restaurant. The recipe I used (we were given a few options) appeared to be fairly easy and didn't make a huge amount of cookies. I still halved the recipe though...just in case I screwed it up!

We were supposed to shape the tuiles either by using a stencil pre baking or afterwards using our choice of item. I went with the post baking option because I don't have an off set spatula to spread the batter evenly. The batter pipped up nicely and spread in the oven to a round nice shape.

The problem I ran into with piping the tuiles was the thickness in which they came out after baking. While they spread to a nice shape, they were just a little to thick to shape into much without breaking. I was able to get the biggest one to hold a slight bowl shape though it cracked a tiny bit.

Along with the tuile, we were supposed to have something light. I am a strawberry lover so I filled my tuile 'bowl' with strawberries dusted simply with powdered sugar. Delicious! On their own, the tuiles came out quite spongy but with the fruit they were very tasty. They soaked up some of the strawberry juices and were very yum.

I'd love to try these again using a stencil or at least with the right kind of spatula! I'm sure they are even better when properly spread! For more tuiles (much prettier than mine!), check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

Thanks to our hosts, Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf for a nice challenge!

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

Recipe:
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 / 1/2 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 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. (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….