When I saw the Daring Bakers challenge this month, I was stoked!  As much as I enjoy the occasional time consuming multiple step dessert like last month, I knew this month would not be possible for such a feat.  These tuile cookies were just up my alley.  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 made several different shapes; long triangles that I shaped over a (washed) can, spirals that I shaped around a thin wooden spoon handle, spoons that I shaped on (obviously) spoons, and butterflies that I bent in half and set in a baking dish.  I served them with home made raspberry and mango sorbets.

For this plate, I piped a few thin lines of melted chocolate in a crisscross pattern.  After the chocolate set, I filled the center diamond with mango sauce that I slaved over.  By slaving over, I put a spoonful of sorbet into a ramekin, set it on the counter… and let it melt.  Voila… easiest mango sauce, ever.

Butterflies with chocolate tuile piped on wings…

Thin strips of tuile with a stripe of chocolate tuile batter. Shaped by twisting around a wooden spoon handle.

Every restaurant I’ve worked in has had tuiles as garnish on desserts, so I have had plenty of experience making them. One restaurant had a dessert that had not one but two tuile spirals on it.  By the time you finished making a batch of spirals, your fingers would be numb because you have to actually hold the hot cookie around a wooden dowel until it cooled.  Years later and I’m now just getting the feeling back into my fingertips!

I made my templates out of a cake box, which works well for one time use.  One restaurant I worked in would pull down the plastic sheeting that hangs in front of the walk in freezer whenever cutting a new template.  Those who have worked in restaurants know exactly what I’m referring to.  That is the perfect material for a tuile template.  Just the perfect thickness to yield a thin cookie, but not so thin it will be too fragile.  I wonder if the executive chef ever realized why the strips of plastic were dwindling…?  :P

The secret to a good tuile is spreading your batter very thin and evenly.  If they are not spread evenly, the thin spots cook faster than others and it usually gets brittle and you will curse repeatedly… like a sailor… when trying to shape them.  Believe me… been there, done that.  Also, baking them on a Silicone baking sheet (Silpat) makes them virtually fool-proof.

Spoon shapes with random chocolate piping on them.

Tuile Cookie Recipe (
from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink)

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

1. 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).

2. 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. 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 the wings and body of the butterfly.

3. Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) 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. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a baking sheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

4. If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….