The Daring Bakers: Tuiles

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This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Baking Soda 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.

Last night I was perusing food blogs and came across a recipe from a past Daring Bakers challenge…Oh No!!  I forgot about the challenge!!  What’s a girl to do?  I can’t miss another challenge since I missed the Yule Log in December.  I checked the site and realized that I still had another 48 hours or so to post.  A sigh of relief.  Also, I had all the ingredients required.  So, this afternoon I began the challenge of the tuile.

The challenge required some type of tuile cookie paired with something light.  There were various batters recipes given, even a savory one!

I chose to make the plain tuile and piped some chocolate flavored batter onto a few of the cookies.  I didn’t make a stencil.  I just traced some circles onto the back of the parchment.  

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I also free-handed a few hearts, stars and ovals.  I had some strawberries and bluberries on hand, so I made a quick salad with the fruit and some vanilla sugar.

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tuile4The combination of the cookie and fruit was lovely.  A little whipped cream would have made it extra special…but would have defeated the purpose of a lighter and healthier dessert.

I like these sweet, crisp cookies as a garnish or a way to deliver another sweet treat.  I plan to make the savory ones next time.

Here is the recipe!

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 / 2.1/4 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.