Daring Baker January Challenge... the Tuille

In celebration of the Chinese New Year I chose to use my Tuille to make fortune cookies (you can go to this link to see how to shape them) and paired it with a rice pudding.

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) I made circles for the fortune cookies instead and got about 12 to 15 out of it 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. They are done... now to get the creative juices flowing. I made a rice pudding and strawberry sauce to go with it. The classic ACF plating has a chocolate component, a crisp, a creamy or smooth, a sauce and a fruit. I think I covered them all. LOL I could not decide on the container so here are both.


The coffee cup... and the egg cup... top view of egg cup

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….

Equipment that I used... make your own template from sturdy cardboard plates or other disposable plates, cups or bowls. They hold up for the job and you just throw them away when you are done. Seriously, since using a Silpat or Exopat I just won't use anything else. They are a little pricey but SO worth it when working with things that stick easily to the pan. It is so easy to clean up after using these, too. This is a small offset spatula... LOVE this tool!