I always thought Julia Child was being a bit of a food snob when she would carry on about store bought ladyfingers being unsuitable for Charlotte Malakoff or anything else.
"Oh sure, packaged ladyfingers are an abomination" I'd think, and laugh.
Today, I made Julia Child's recipe for ladyfingers and I must admit, they are far superior to the packaged variety. Honestly, they hardly seem to be the same thing at all and it seems unfair to try and compare.
What I find so special about these is how the tops are dusted with confectioner's sugar prior to baking. This creates the most wonderful, crackly top that makes these cookies stand out. The outsides were crisp, while the insides were tender. Really, a remarkable cookie that I can now imagine all sorts of uses for.
The recipe will make 24-30 4 inch ladyfingers. Mine were much longer and as a result I only got fourteen. I'm not that skilled with the pastry bag, so I might have lost some of the batter there as well. They did spread a bit, which would indicate my batter was a bit wetter than it should have been (I seem to have a habit of over beating my egg whites, but this time I suppose they could have used a bit more). Still, they were by no means a 'flop" and everyone was quite impressed with them.
For the filling I cooked and strained some apricot preserves and then put it through a sieve and cooked it down until it thickened. For the chocolate I simply melted 2 ounces of bittersweet and spread it on the ladyfingers. I thought about making a buttercream, but thought better of it. These ladyfingers made a light dessert with just enough sweetness from the chocolate and jam to be satisfying without the heaviness of buttercream.
Because you need to turn the sheets upside down to knock off the sugar (the ladyfingers really do stay put) you'll need to butter and flour the pans. This will seem like a trial to the "parchment dependent", I'm sure, but I don't really see any other way.
Get everything measured and set before you begin baking and it will be a breeze.
You Will Need:
Butter and flour for preparing baking sheets
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a sieve
For the batter:
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon caster sugar
2/3 cup sifted cake flour returned to sieve or sifter
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. with the racks in the upper third and centre positions.
Assemble your pastry bag with the round 1/2 inch tip.
Gradually beat the 1/2 cup caster sugar into the egg yolks. Add the vanilla and keep beating until it is pale yellow and forms a ribbon.
Beat the egg whites and salt together until soft peaks are formed. Sprinkle on the tablespoon of sugar and keep beating until it is stiff peaks.
Scoop 1/4 of the egg whites out and place over the egg yolk mixture. Sift 1/4 of the flour over and fold very carefully until partially blended. Do not obsess about mixing it completely as it will deflate the batter. Repeat the process two more times until all parts are incorporated.
Scoop the batter into the pastry bag and make fingers about 4 inches long. Space them about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with the confectioners sugar to a coating of 1/16 thickness. Turn the sheet over and gently tap to remove excess sugar.
Bake the ladyfingers in the middle and upper third racks for about 20 minutes or until they are very pale brown under the sugar coating. They should be dry inside, but not over dry. Remove and cool completely on racks before filling as desired.
