Daring Bakers Creative Challenge.. 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.

Traditionally, Tuiles, Known in French for 'tiles' are thin, crisp almond cookies with lacy texture that are gently molded over a rolling pin or arched form while they are still warm. Once set, their shape resembles the curved French roofing tiles for which they're named.
The Dutch angle: traditionally this batter was used to bake flat round cookies on 31st December, representing the year unfold. On New Years day however, the same batter was used but this day they were presented to well-wishers shaped as cigars and filled with whipped cream, symbolizing the New Year that's about to roll on. And of course the batter is sometimes called tulip-paste....
Other than the traditional curved shape, there are various other shapes that can be adapted. Here are few.. The stencil which you'll be using needs to be very thin. This helps the cookie to stay thin and crisp.
And for me it took just 6 minutes of baking time. Its quick and any number of batches can be baked in no time. And luckily, the batter can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week so the cookies can easily be made on demand.

So here is the recipe..

Preparation time: Batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes
Baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Softened butter (not melted but soft)
1/2 cup 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)
1/2 cup Sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Method:

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) , 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.

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. Bake the shapes 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. 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.




Storage: Best served the day its made, especially in humid climates. Storage of them should be airtight, and if not used the same day, should be used within a couple of days.

Hope you enjoyed :)