Easy Homemade LADYFINGERS
If you have signed up for my online no-melt ICE-CREAM class, you would know how important these lady fingers are!
Ladyfingers, are simply finger-shaped light and airy sponge cakes or biscuits. It is an important ingredient needed in order to make so many desserts like the popular tiramisu and trifle.
By the way have you tried my BEST VANILLA SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE , or my PERFECT AND EASIEST MERINGUE COOKIES?
Making this simple recipe isn’t rocket-science. The main ingredients in ladyfingers are eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla extract. The eggs yolks and whites are separated.
WHY I USED CAKE FLOUR AS AGAINST ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
Cake flour is the best to use for a light and airy texture, since the gluten content is less. Although you can use your regular all-purpose flour but it won’t be as airy and light as mine.
If you have access to cake flour in malls near you, good and fine. But if not simply make yours.
MAKING CAKE FLOUR:
HOW LONG CAN LADY FINGERS STAY?
Lady fingers are best eaten the day they are baked or place them in a ziplock bag, place parchment paper in-between each layer and freeze for up to a month!
WHY WE PIPE OUT THE BATTER
I used a pastry bag to squeeze the ladyfinger batter into precise strips that are 3-4 inches long and a 1/2-inch wide. This allows the biscuit have a uniform shape. If they are larger, they will not have the correct texture or appearance after baking. The appearance and texture are very important.
SEE STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO HERE : Easy Homemade LADYFINGERS Recipe
To Make:
- Preheat oven to 350°C.
- Get two mixing bowls. One large one and a smaller one.
- Add little vinegar or lemon/lime juice to the large bowl (about a teaspoon). Then use a clean kitchen towel or a tea towel to wipe the bowl clean. (This eliminates any form of grease in the bowl). Also clean your hand mixer’s beater.
- Separate the egg white from the egg yolks as shown in the video; placing your egg whites into the larger bowl. ( Make sure there are no egg yolks in the egg white bow. If not you won’t have a soft peak).
- On a medium speed, whip the egg white till slightly foamy, then add your granulated sugar in 3 batches; whisking well between each batch.
- After the last batch, whisk till it forms a soft peak just like when making meringues. (One way to know if your egg white is at soft peak, turn your mixing bowl upside down. If the egg whites doesn’t shake or move then, viola, you have achieved your soft peak! 😊).
- Next add in your vanilla extract or flavor and whisk to combine for about 1-2 seconds.
- Then add in your egg yolks in 2 batches whisking well between each batch.
- Next, sieve in your cake flour. And fold it well into the egg white batter using a spatula. DON’T USE YOUR MIXER. (You don’t want to over mix your batter. Under-folding your batter will leave lumps in it; and over-folding will make the batter runny and deflate air incorporated into the batter when whisking the egg whites. So you just want to strike a balance and fold accurately. To me, this is the only technical part of the recipe and of cause, piping!)
- Get your oven tray, place your parchment paper/baking paper on it. (Don’t grease the oven tray).
- Pour your batter into a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle tip.
- Next, pipe out a finger-like shape about 3 – 4 inches long. (Once you’ve gotten your 3 – 4 inches long piped fingers and about to stop pulling, pull the tip back to the top of the fingers and stop applying pressure to your piping bag. This gives you a perfect shape.) Then sieve icing sugar or powdered sugar on the piped batter. (I lost that clip while editing the video 🤦. DON’T MISS THIS STEP).
- Remember to space your your piping to give room to the lady fingers to bake.
- Place in your preheated oven and bake for 8 – 15 minutes. OR until lady fingers are firm but slightly golden brown and still soft when pressed.
- Remove from oven tray, tap the tray on a flat surface slightly, and slide the parchment paper on a rack and allow the biscuits cool for a minute. Then peel the parchment paper away from them. (If you leave them to completely cool before removing, they will stick to the paper. When removing make sure you are peeling the parchment paper from the cookies and not the cookies from the parchment paper. This prevents the cookies from breaking.)
Eat plain; or dust some icing sugar on it before serving; or use in making other dessert recipes; or just freeze them up until later.
Enjoy!
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[…] FRENCH MERINGUE: It is made by combining sugar and egg white and beating until a stiff peak occurs. Just like these meringue cookies and my EASY LADYFINGERS COOKIES RECIPE. […]
[…] will affect the outcome of the frosting. If you have watched my PERFECT MERINGUE COOKIES RECIPE and LADYFINGER RECIPE, you will know what I […]