Daring Baker Challenge : Tuiles

The Daring Bakers are going light this month with tuiles. Tuiles are light, crisp cookies. Tuile in French means "tile" and they are called tuiles because the classic shape resembles a roof tile. Tuiles can be made into pretty much any shape. The Daring Bakers really got creative this month and I have seen butterflies, bowls, cigars, cones, and even flames! Seriously, make sure you check out the blogroll this month because the tuiles that have been created will knock your socks off!

The recipe was simple and the possiblities were endless. I was really happy to see that it wasn't an incredibly time consuming challenge (mostly because I didn't read the recipe until the 20th and I am crazy busy right now!), but I was bummed because I knew given the right circumstances that I would have really, really LOVED this challenge.

Here's a little tidbit of information about me... I like pretentious food. There, I said it. I love looking at a plate of food and seeing it decorated like a piece of art. I heart it! This month's challenge is definately one that can be made very fancy. Believe me... I have seen some of the amazing creations the Daring Bakers have come up with. But, I just didn't have the time this month to get fancy. I would like to think that I would've had an amazing 4 star restaurant creation that would wow a crowd, but I am still pleased with my pretty little creation that wowed my 3 year old!

I decided to shape the mine into a bowl and fill it with vanilla pudding. I drizzled melted cinnamon chips on top and then stuck a heart and star tuile on the top. It may not be the fanciest presentation, but it really was good!

The best part about this challenge is that you can do so many things with it! Sweet, savory, fancy, kid-friendly; whatever your heart desires! So, seriously, give it a try! It is an easy recipe to make and a very tasty treat!

Thank you to our wonderful hosts this month (Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf)! Even though I wasn't able to commit myself as much to this challenge as I would've liked, I still very much enjoyed it and I am looking forward to making tuiles again!

Tuiles

Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)

¼ cup softened butter

½ cup sifted confectioner’s sugar

1 sachet vanilla sugar 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 poon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice

Preheat oven to 350.

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 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 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. 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….

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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.