January DB Challenge: Tuiles

Thank you Daring Bakers! Thank you so much for choosing a recipe that I could actually make with my toaster oven!! Yes, I'm still mourning the loss of my old oven, and awaiting my new oven's triumphant entrance sometime in mid-February. I didn't make my tuiles with chocolate swirls; partly because I was lazy and partly because it would have just added to the hectic-ness of only being able to make 2 tuiles at a time in my tiny oven. But anyways, here goes...

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

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

Tuiles

Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (I didn't make butterflies, just a couple random shapes)Preparation time: batter 10 minutes, waiting time: 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

Ingredients:

- 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 tbsp cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice (I didn't use this, instead I added 1/2 tbsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tbsp powdered ginger)

Prepare: Butter/spray to grease baking sheet. Preheat Oven: 180C / 350F

Method:

1. Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste (I added my cinnamon and ginger here!). 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.

2. 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).

3. 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. (If doing cocoa swirls) 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. (I didn't use the cocoa swirls, but I did top my tuiles with a sprinkling of sesame seeds before baking)

4. 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

This challenge was pretty simple, and a lot of fun! I was a bit skeptical of how the tuiles would turn out. I vaguely remember a past failed attempt to make a tuile-like fortune-cookie, and it ended up a disaster. But my silly fears were proven wrong, as this recipe was a hit! Although the batter looks like it contains an abnormally large proportion of butter, it's this butter that is necessary for the spreading and molding of this thin and crisp cookie.

Since the challenge seemed easy, the hosts said that we should pair our tuiles with a "light" sort of dessert/food. I decided to make a Coconut-milk Panna Cotta with Gingered-Pineapple Puree... see recipe below.

Coconut-milk Panna Cotta with Gingered-Pineapple Puree

Ingredients:

- 1 cup coconut milk, from can

- 1 packet gelatin

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla

Method:

1. Prepare molds (I used shot cups and a couple cocktail glasses) by greasing them with oil so that the panna cotta can more easily slide out. Note: If you are eating it right out of the glass, then don't bother greasing it.

2. In a small pot, combine the coconut milk and sugar. Bring mixture to a boil, then bring back down to medium heat.

3. Add in the gelatin and vanilla, stirring to combine well.

4. Remove pot from heat and pour into prepared glasses.

5. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Unmold panna cotta and top with pineapple puree (recipe follows). Decorate with tuile (recipe above).

Pineapple Puree

1. Drain 1 can of crushed pineapple of juices (reserve for something else!! drink it?!).

2. Add in 2 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp ground ginger.

3. Place mixture in blender and pulse until pureed.

The panna cotta was a tasty light snack. I had never tried making it before, it looked like it was a daunting challenge. Everytime I saw a panna cotta picture it always looked so elegant and flawless... and I thought to myself, "Hmmm... I will probably mess that up". But if you grease the molds well, then you should have no trouble taking out these beauties... so go and give it a try!