Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Butterfly Tuiles with Lemon Mousse











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.

Happy New Year to all my Daring Baker friends.

Finally 28th January 2009 arrived and I realized that I had to do my Tuiles today or else would be in deep trouble. A work-loaded early 2009 kept me so busy that I had absolutely no time to do my challenge.

I got ready all the ingredients needed and was surprised and how easy it was; till the baking process began. I made a stencil of a butterfly from cardboard and when out of the oven all that the butterflies did was crumble. Finally the last 4 or 5 turned alright after some really panicky start. I kept them on a rolling-pin to dry and was quite pleased with the results.

I made a Lemon mousse, topped it with kiwi and made my giant butterfly sit on it. The next time am going to try smaller butterflies or maybe make curls and twirl them around a knitting needle.

This challenge did not take up too much of my time and I realized that if I was not a Daring Baker; even in my wildest dream I would not be making Tuiles. Thanks Daring Bakers – you gave me an opportunity to do something new and exciting. Looking forward to the February challenge with anticipation.

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.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….