Do you have zeal for tuiles?

It is ironic that what appears to be the simplest of tasks turns into a laborious challenge. That was the big lesson I learned attempting January’s Daring Bakers Challenge.

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.

They also supplied a recipe for savory tuiles from Thomas Keller from the French Laundry and his cookbook of the same name. I ended up trying the basic sweet and savory recipes. (Scroll down for recipes and food porn.)  

Upon first hearing about the challenge I was non-pulsed about it. The batter is simple enough to get together, although some DBs had some trouble. Some found that the butter actually separated from the batter when adding the egg whites in the sweet recipe. Audax Artifex solved this problem, “The next time I added the egg whites in very small batches and used a spatula all the while – no problem.” So I guess when the recipe say to add the egg whites “gradually” they really mean it.

If my troubles with this challenge were as such I would be counting myself lucky, but alas, no. My trouble came when I attempted to actually shape the tuiles, but let’s start at the beginning. Unlike many of the DB challenges there was quite an allowance for freedom and creativity. While strict adherence to the actual cookie recipe was expected, the field was wide open when it came to shaping and pairing. For some reason I had raspberries on the mind, I think it was due The Art and Soul of Baking and its drool-worthy picture of a raspberry soufflé. Instead of soufflé though I thought a nice mousse would be a good pairing for the sweet tuiles. For the savory I decided on a salmon mousse.

Now it took some time to discover the right recipes for the mousses. All the while I kept having this nagging feeling that the simplicity of this recipe was deceptive. I don’t claim any powers of clairvoyance but I did seem to have an “ides of march” foreboding about actually attempting this recipe. So much so that I kept putting it off.

Other small things came up, like finding ingredients, then constantly eating batches of raspberry mousse while waiting to find said ingredients. Sesame seeds for the savory tuiles were difficult to come by. I ended up finally finding them in the grocery store closest to my house because it was the last place I looked, go figure.

Another thing that preoccupied my mind in this challenge was the shaping. How the heck was I going to do it? With comments about how if bakers ever wanted to embark on a life of crime they could do so, since after shaping the tuiles their fingerprints had been burned off…..needless to say I was intimidated. Andreas from Delta Kitchen was kind enough to provide a link to a great post by a woman who actually cooked all the recipes in the French Laundry Cookbook at home. The post includes a video where Thomas Keller himself shows you how to shape cornets. The video would be more helpful if you actually have cornet molds, which I don’t. So I spent a lot of the month looking around the house for things that I could use to mold my tuiles.

The only things I found were an extremely large pastry tip that I bought to make the Cardinal Slice recipe from Baking with Julia, which I’ve just never gotten around to. You’ll never believe where I got this nice metal…pole I guess, that I used to create little rolled shapes….an old printer that I took apart about a year ago. Thankfully I kept the parts

Shaping these things was the trickiest thing to get the hang of. The savory tuiles were much easier to shape than the sweet. I think that was probably due to the extra butter. I do want to mention that all of the people on the DB boards are truly the salt-of-the-earth. Everyone was super helpful with ideas and info. For instance, Cupcake Muffin gave everyone a super resource in this post on making the same savory cornets we were attempting. Check it out for some great pics as well as instruction.

If you ever want to give these a try there are a few things to keep in mind during the shaping process. First, contrary to what some DBs have said, you can spread these too thin. I did, and had some trouble with them browning too quickly. The first thing I used as a template was made out of the cardboard from a gift box which was waaaay too thin. Using the cardboard from a standard USPS shipping box turned out to be the perfect thickness for me. I spread the batter just under the line of the cardboard.

Second, don’t bake them all the way through. Here’s why…

The only way you’d be able to properly shape a tuile that has really started to brown is by giving yourself second degree burns inside your oven. I baked the tuiles for maybe six minutes. Basically I was looking for only a hint of browning on the edges. Here’s a hint…

Third, keep your oven door open letting the tuiles stay exposed to the heat as much as possible. It doesn’t take much for these babies to cool down and once they have they’re practically set in stone. So don’t touch the tuiles until you are positive that you’re ready to shape. I know some DBs had success softening them up in the oven to reshape, but I didn’t. Check out inventive use of printer parts…

Once you’ve shaped the tuile you’ll need to put it back in the oven. You want them to get a bit more brown. I never could get a consistent all-over color with the sweet. I’m not sure why. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them.

Again the savory were much easier to work with. The only trouble I had here was not with the tuiles but with the mousse. I didn’t end up making it. I had everything ready with some ingredients already mixed, opened up my smoked salmon and peeeehew! Bad salmon. TOTALLY sucked. I still have to return it to my store because there’s no reason for that to have been bad. So no salmon mousse for my savory tuiles…

Despite the blow with the salmon mousse that was not I gave some Philly cream cheese a go and this is what remain after about five minutes of munching…

Here’s the recipes:

Sweet tuiles:
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 / 2.3 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 baking sheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. If you’d like to color your shapes a bit, mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa or food coloring 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 your cookies.

Bake in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown (don’t forget to check my lengthy instructions about baking and shaping that I outlined previously in this post.) 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. I strongly recommend you start by baking them one at a time until you get the hang of it.

Raspberry Mousse:
Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion

3 cups (one 12-ounce bag) unsweetened frozen raspberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin (see note on this in instructions)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) cold water
1 cup (8 ounces) heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

Bring the frozen raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and press fruit through a fine strainer; discard the seeds and solids, reserving the purée. Set it aside to cool to room temperature. You should have at least 1 1/2 cups.

In a small heatproof bowl or measuring cup, combine the gelatin and cold water. One thing to note about the gelatin, this recipe actually came from another recipe for a cake where this was meant to be the filling. I found that using a full 1 1/2 teaspoons made the mousse a bit too tough, so I scaled it back each time I made it (which turned out to be a couple because I couldn’t stop eating it). I think that one teaspoon should suffice in making something that holds together, but not like actual jello. Unfortunately I didn’t realize this in my last batch of the mousse when I used less than a teaspoon which turned out to be too little gelatin to keep the mousse together, so go with a full teaspoon.

Let the mixture sit until all of the water has been absorbed (this only takes a minute or so). Whip the cream and confectioners sugar until soft peaks form; set it aside. Heat the gelatin-water mixture over low heat until it becomes a clear liquid. Stir this into the raspberry purée, then fold in the whipped cream. Refrigerate mousse for about 90 minutes, to let it set up.

Savory tuiles/cornets:
From Thomas Keller’s the French Laundry Cookbook

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

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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. 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’m not including the salmon mousse recipe because I didn’t end up making it and can’t vouch that it’s a decent recipe.

After an insane amount of work, here’s some of what I ended up with….

Tagged as: Daring Bakers, MacGyver Baking Tip, Oops!, Raspberries, Recipe!, Savory