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Friday, February 1, 2013

Ladyfingers, Ooh La La!

One of my favorite desserts is tiramisu. The first time I wanted to make it, I looked around for the ladyfingers and couldn't find any! Granted it's been a while since that first time and even though I live near the not-big-city, I'm sure they have them now. However that first time I decided that I could make my own. Ever since, that's the way I prefer to do it.

This recipe came from joyofbaking.com. I don't have the exact link but I'm sure you could find it if you did a search.


Ladyfingers

1/2 c. flour
(the original recipe calls for cake flour but I just used regular flour)
3 egg yolks, room temperature
2 Tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 egg whites, room temperature
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
3 Tbsp white sugar
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper.


In electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and 2 Tbsp sugar on high speed for 5 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick and pale yellow. Beat in the vanilla.


Sift the flour over the batter but do not fold in.


In a new bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.


Gradually add the 3 Tbsp sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.


Stiff peaks!


Fold the whites into the egg yolk mixture in three additions.


Mix only until incorporated.


You can use a pastry bag, or for a quicker solution, just snip the corner off of a gallon ziploc bag.


Transfer the batter to a pastry bag.


Pipe ladyfinger-sized wafers at least 3 inches long on the parchment paper.


Once you've piped all the cookies, sprinkle the powdered sugar on top if you'd like. I didn't because I knew I'd be using them in tiramisu.


Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the ladyfingers are firm but barely browned and are still spongy when touched. Place parchment paper on wire rack for a few minutes, then remove ladyfingers while still warm. Ladyfingers get stale if not used immediately or soaked in liquid, so freeze them if you want to store them.




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