Tuiles with the Daring Bakers

I've learned my lesson. I really have! I should not wait until the day before its due to bake up the monthly Daring Baker's Challenge. Although I have done so successfully in the past, it's just not worth it in the end. Also- I should use the forum for inspiration. Because I'll admit that I wasn't super duper excited by the thought of making tuiles, but browsing through all the other baker's posts today made me realize how much I missed out! What fantastic and easy creations you've come up with! I think the problem stems from my fixation on making tuile cups that I would fill with ice cream and top with some delicious chocolate sauce (like this one) so when I managed to crack every tuile in sight, I kinda just gave in and let the evil baking spirits win. It just wasn't meant to be! At least not last night.

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 chose to do the simple tuile recipe and it was indeed very simply. Kinda just mix up your ingredients until they are nice and homogeneous. The recipe says to put your dough and buttered pan in the fridge for about 15 minutes to firm up. I actually left mine in the fridge overnight and should have let the dough heat up a bit. ..


It was a bit temperamental... I also should not have added the chocolate powder to my dough! Having not read the recipe through (doh!), I didn't realize the powder was supposed to be added to a small batch of the dough to use as embellishments on the tuile- which would have been lovely! But in my case, the chocolate kinda diluted any flavor and made for a very "meh" cookie.



Pop these babies in the oven for about 5-10 minutes until they are brown around the edges. Once you remove them from the oven, quickly start shaping the cookies.

Might have left mine in too long.. but it's hard to tell when the cookies are already brown! They did not really want to bend any which way.

After two failed batches and my oven turning off about 3 times during the process, I had to give in. Here is the lone survivor- slightly crinkled and not very tasty :(

At least he's on a pretty blue plate! right? right?!

Anyway, here's the recipe- which I solemnly swear to try again once the evil spirits have vacated my kitchen!

Tuile

From “The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique 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 / 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 baking sheet 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….