The world is yours... with 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.

I was overjoyed when I saw that the new DB challenge for this month was a one-step, one-day recipe. Very straight forward but oh so tasty! And the world is yours with tuiles cookies, you can make ANYTHING you want. It's a genius little thing really.

I'm going to be rather short today, feeling a little under the weather... metaphorically and literally after receiving 30 cm of snow yesterday. I decided I was going to officially declare myself snowed in today.

Making tuiles was really fun and very educational. I think tuiles are one of the basics in the pastry world and it's an essential really. I shaped the tuiles into a spoon and paired them with a chocolate cup of strawberry mousse prepared following last month’s challenge recipe. I still have to work on my chocolate cup making skills but I'll get there. To get the spoon shape, I used a spoon template and once they were baked, I gently pressed them in between two little spoons until they held there shape. They cool down very quickly so you have to move fast.



Here are all the recipes you need to create this sea of deliciousness. Ok, back to bed... I think I’ll watch a movie. I think I’ll go for Sex and the City...

Tuiles
¼ cup softened butter (not melted but soft)
½ cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour
1 tbsp cocoa powderor food coloring of choice to decorate (optional, I didn't use)
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Preheat oven at 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 or 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 of your choice 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 your tuile if desired.

Bake in a preheated oven 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 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.


Strawberry Mousse
2 medium-sized egg yolks
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup whipping cream
200g strawberry puree
1/2 cup granulated sugar
36g water
2.5 gelatin leaves or 2+1/4 tsp powdered gelatin
3 medium-sized egg whites

Beat the egg yolks with the cornstarch until thick, white and fluffy.
Heat the cream in a medium saucepan and once hot, pour a small amount over the egg yolks while whisking vigorously.

Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the rest of the cream in the saucepan; add the strawberry puree and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens considerably, at least 3-5 minutes. Let cool to lukewarm temperature.

Make an Italian Meringue: Cook the sugar and water on medium heat until temperature reaches 244°F (118°C) when measured with a candy thermometer. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, test the temperature by dipping the tip of a knife into the syrup then into a bowl of ice water. If it forms a soft ball, you’ve reached the proper temperature.

Beat the egg whites until foamy. Pour the sugar syrup into the whites in a thin stream while continuing to whisk vigorously (preferably with a mixer for sufficient speed). Whisk/beat until cool (approximately 5 minutes). The meringue should be thick and glossy.

Soften the gelatin in cold water and melt in a small saucepan with 1 tsp of water OR melt in the microwave for 1 second (do not boil).
Put the melted gelatin in a mixing bowl and, while whisking vigorously, pour the lukewarm strawberry cream over the gelatin.

Carefully blend the Italian meringue into the strawberry mixture. I also added a few drops of pink food coloring to get a nicer, brighter shade of pink. Spoon into chocolate cups and serve.