Thursday, January 29, 2009

Tuiles from the Daring Bakers

This month the Daring Bakers Kitchen set us a lighter challenge than those we have grown accustomed to in the last few months of 2008. It's the ultra light French cookies known as Tuiles!! 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.

Despite it being an unusually busy time of the year, I really was very excited about this challenge. And was even happier when I saw that a savoury version had been added. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, and so just the thought of a savoury alternative made me happy, more so as I knew that I would not really have the time to hunt for alternative recipes this month. The Savory Tuile recipe provided via DBK is from Thomas Keller The French Laundry Cookbook.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (65 grams/2.1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt (= 2/3 teaspoon table salt)
8 tablespoons (114 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

Method:
  1. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth and mayonnaise-like in texture.
  2. Using a stiff spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps.
  3. Transfer the batter to a smaller container, as it will be easier to work with. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil.
  4. Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets. There should not be any holes in the batter.
  5. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds. Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat.
  6. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point. Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door. This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round. If you are right-handed, you will want the pointed end on your left and the open end on your right. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge (at about 7 o'clock on a clock face) of the cornet.
  7. Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remain on the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.
  8. When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even.
  9. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so. Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels. Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.
I followed this recipe but I have to say that it did not work too well for me. For one, the batter consistency was not as I would expect to make Tuiles! Secondly, the oven baked Tuiles did not take a shape very well. They are more on the crisp side and broke rather readily. I tried several batches. Above are the ones I managed to save!! And finally, the taste just did not sit well on our palette :( Maybe I'll try the sweet cookie next time. Hoping for better luck then!!

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5 comments:

  1. Love the black specks on top! :)

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  2. Beautiful job!

    Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

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  3. Tuiles with sesame seeds looks lovely!!

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  4. Nice contrast between the pale cookie and the dark seeds. Pretty.

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  5. Sorry they didn't really work out for you. They still look great with the black sesame seeds.

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