Biscuit à la Cuillière

By norsegal8

The name cuillière, the French word for "spoon" was given to these traditional ladyfingers because they were originally shaped with a spoon. Using a pastry bag, however, results in a more uniform shape and much greater speed.
This biscuit is so light that it stales quickly. It is best to eat it the day it is baked. For less fresh biscuit, sprinkle with liqueur.
Ladyfingers have the perfect, ethereal but firm texture to encase and support a Bavarian Cream filling such as Orange Chocolate Crown.
Makes 2 dozen 3-inch by 1 1/2-inch ladyfingers + 1 8-inch circular cake base or 3 1/2 dozen ladyfingers.

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
• 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 cup powdered sugar for dusting

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar on high speed for 5 minutes or until the mixture is very thick and ribbons when dropped from the beater. Lower the speed and beat in the vanilla and water. Increase to high speed and beat for 30 seconds or until thick again. Sift the flour over the yolks mixture without mixing in and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat the whites until foamy, add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, beating until very soft peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. Add 1/3 of the egg whites to the yolk mixture and with a skimmer or rubber spatula, fold until all of the flour is incorporated. Gently fold in the remaining whites.

Working quickly so that the batter does not lose volume, scoop 4 cups into the pastry bag and pipe out the disc for the base. An 8-inch charlotte requires about 17 lady fingers to go around the sides, a 7-inch base to fit inside the fingers and an 8-inch top if desired. A 9-inch charlotte requires about 19 ladyfingers to go around the sides, an 8-inch base to fit inside the fingers and 9-inch top if desired. (To make a decorative top you will need to make another 1/2 batch of batter.)

Scoop the remaining batter into the pastry bag and pipe out 3-inch by 1 1/2-inch side-by-side "fingers". Be sure to hold the pastry tube high enough above the surface of the sheet so that the batter can fall freely from the tube and not get flattened by the edge of the tube. There should be a 1/4-inch space between the "fingers" as they spread sideways as they are baked. (After baking, the ladyfingers will be attached to one another in continuous strips. Each finger will be about 1 1/2-inches wide.) Sift the powdered sugar completely over the fingers. After a few seconds the sugar will be partially absorbed. For a pearled effect, sprinkle with a second coat.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown and springy to the touch. Remove the sheets to racks and cool slightly. To prevent cracking, remove from the sheets while still warm with a long, thin spatula or pancake turner. For discs, invert onto a rack covered with a paper towel, peel off the liner, and reinvert on a second rack. Cool on racks and then wrap airtight.