Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1
Page 73
LADYFINGERS
Biscuits à la Cuiller
Biscuits à la cuiller are among the oldest of the French petits gâteaux secs. Before pastry tubes were invented, the batter for ladyfingers was dropped onto baking sheets with a spoon, and this is how they acquired their French name.
Because store-bought ladyfingers are usually so dreadful in taste and texture that they cannot be used in good cooking, it is useful to know how to make your own. They can be made quickly when you become familiar with the process and will keep at least 10 days in an airtight container or freeze perfectly. With homemade ladyfingers on hand, you will find many of the spectacular desserts in the preceding pages not at all formidable. These include the charlotte Chantilly the charlotte Malakoff, and the diplomate. Then there are the easily assembled plombières which consist of custard filling, beaten egg whites, and ladyfingers dipped in liqueur. To serve ladyfingers with afternoon tea, you may hold them together back to back with a bit of butter cream.
Batter for ladyfingers is of the sponge-cake type, with egg yolks and sugar beaten to a thick cream, then flour and stiffly beaten egg whites are folded in. You must be particularly careful to obtain a batter which will hold its shape; this means expert beating and folding. A batter that is too liquid will form flat rather than rounded ladyfingers. Be sure to read the illustrated directions on beating egg whites and folding.
BISCUITS À LA CUILLER
[Ladyfingers]
For 24 to 30 ladyfingers
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Two 12- by 24-inch baking sheets
1 Tb softened butter
Flour
A pastry bag with a round tube opening
½ inch in diameter 1½ cups powdered sugar in a sieve or a shaker
Prepare the baking sheets: butter lightly, dust with flour, and knock off excess flour. Assemble the pastry bag. Prepare the powdered sugar. Measure out all the rest of the ingredients listed in the recipe.
The batter
An electric beater or a wire whip
½ cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
A 3-quart mixing bowl
Gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks, add the vanilla, and continue beating for several minutes until the mixture is thick, pale yellow, and forms the ribbon.
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 Tb granulated sugar
Beat the egg whites and salt together in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed. Sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed. (Directions are here.)
A rubber spatula
½ cup all-purpose flour (scooped and leveled), turned into a flour sifter
Scoop one fourth of the egg whites over the top of the egg yolks and sugar mixture. Sift on one fourth of the flour, and delicately fold in until partially blended. Then add one third of the remaining egg whites, sift on one third of the remaining flour, fold until partially blended, and repeat with half of each, then the last of each. Do not attempt to blend the mixture too thoroughly or you will deflate the batter; it must remain light and puffy.
Forming the ladyfingers
Scoop batter into pastry bag. Squeeze out even lines onto the prepared baking sheets, making finger shapes 4 inches long and 1½ inches wide, spaced 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with a 1/16-inch layer of powdered sugar. To dislodge some of the excess sugar, hold baking sheet upside down and tap the back of it gently; the ladyfingers will not budge unless you are rough with them.
Baking the ladyfingers
Bake in middle and upper third levels of preheated oven for about 20 minutes. The ladyfingers are done when they are a very pale brown underneath their sugar coating. They should be slightly crusty outside, and tender but dry inside. If they are not baked enough, they will become soggy when they cool; overbaking makes them dry. As soon as they are done, remove from baking sheets with a spatula and cool on cake racks.
To serve
Ladyfingers may be served as they are, with tea or fruit desserts. Or you may make double ladyfingers by sticking the two flat sides together with apricot glaze, or one of the butter creams.
FIVE FRENCH CAKES
Cinq Gâteaux
Here are five unusually good and typically French cakes. They are all made in very much the same way, but as there are slight differences in mixing and in how each should look in the oven, we give full recipes for all five. After you have practiced with one or two, you will find that they all can be made very quickly; any one of them may be prepared for the oven in about 20 minutes. An electric beater is a help in mixing the batters but is far from essential, because a large wire whip does the work almost as quickly.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
Before you begin the cake
Preheat the oven, prepare the cake pan as in the following directions, and measure out all your ingredients. Then your batter may be prepared and baked in one, continuous operation.
Preparing the cake pan
To prepare the pan for the cake batter, rub the entire inner surface with a thin film of softened butter. Then roll flour around in the pan to cover the sides and bottom; knock out excess flour by banging the pan, upside down, on a hard surface. A light dusting of flour should adhere all over the inner surface of the pan; this will make the cake easy to unmold (remove) after baking.
Flour
Measure flour as accurately as possible; this is essential in cakemaking. Be sure to read the illustrated directions for measuring flour.
Egg yolks, sugar, and butter
Directions for beating egg yolks and sugar until they “form the ribbon”. Directions for creaming butter and sugar are on are here.
Egg whites
You will note that no baking powder is used in any of the cakes; their lightness is due to the careful folding of perfectly beaten egg whites into the batter. As this is one of the most important aspects of successful cakemaking, be sure to read the illustrated directions on egg whites in the Entrée chapter.
Temperature
Oven temperature must be correct if the cake is to bake and rise as it should. Check your thermostat with an oven thermometer.
Unmolding
After the cake is done, your recipe will usually direct you to let it sit in its pan for a few minutes; it will settle, and shrink slightly from the sides of the pan. Unmold the cake as follows: Run a thin knife between the cake and the edge of the pan. Then, if you are using a one-piece pan, turn a cake rack upside down over the pan, reverse the two, and give a short, sharp, downward jerk to dislodge the cake onto the rack. For a false-bottomed pan, either use the same general system, or set the pan over a jar to release the rim from the false bottom; remove the cake from the false bottom to a rack with a spatula, or reverse the cake onto a rack. [Directions in recipes refer to a one-piece pan.]
Icings
A cake must be thoroughly cold before it is iced; if you ice a warm or even a tepid cake with butter cream, the icing will soften and usually dribble down the sides of the cake. Illustrated directions for filling and icing cakes are in the pair of recipes.
Storage
After any of the following cakes has been baked and thoroughly cooled, but before it has been covered with icing, it may be stored for several days in an airtight container, or may be securely wrapped and frozen. Cakes iced with butter creams should be stored in the refrigerator.
BISCUIT AU BEURRE
[Butter Spongecake]
This fine, light spongecake may be served with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, and goes well with tea, or with fruits. It is also delicious as a strawberry shortcake. Or you may fill and decorate it as suggested at the end of the recipe.
For a 10-inch cake serving 10 to 12 people
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
A round cake pan, 10 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep
Butter and flour the cake pan. Measure out the ingredients.
4 Tb butter
Melt the butt
er and set aside to cool.
A 3-quart mixing bowl
An electric beater or large wire whip
⅔ cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
Gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks, add the vanilla, and continue beating for several minutes until mixture is thick, pale yellow, and forms the ribbon.
4 egg whites
Pinch of salt
2 Tb granulated sugar
A rubber spatula
¾ cup cake flour (scooped and leveled), turned into a flour sifter
Beat the egg whites and salt together in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed. (Directions.) Scoop one fourth of the egg whites over the top of the egg yolks and sugar mixture. Sift on one fourth of the flour, and delicately fold in until partially blended. Then add one third of the remaining egg whites, sift on one third of the remaining flour, fold until partially blended, and repeat with half of each, then the last of each and half of the tepid, melted butter. When partially blended, fold in the rest of the butter but omit the milky residue at the bottom of the pan. Do not overmix; the egg whites must retain as much volume as possible.
Turn into prepared cake pan, tilting pan to run batter to the rim all around. Set in middle level of preheated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed, is lightly brown, and has just begun to show a faint line of shrinkage from the edges of the pan.
A cake rack
Remove from oven and let stand in the pan for 6 to 8 minutes. It will sink slightly and shrink more from the edges of the pan. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and reverse on cake rack, giving the pan a sharp little jerk to dislodge the cake. If cake is not to be iced, immediately reverse it so its puffed side is uppermost. Allow to cool for an hour or so.
TO SERVE
Sucre Glace
[Powdered Sugar]
Shake powdered sugar over the cake.
Glaçage à l’Abricot
[Apricot Glaze with Almonds or Glacéed Fruits]
A pastry brush
½ cup apricot glaze
1 cup pulverized almonds
¼ cup slivered almonds or glacéed fruits
Follow the general procedure for icing a cake illustrated: Brush crumbs off top and sides of cake, paint cake with apricot glaze. Brush almonds against the sides and decorate top with slivered almonds or with glacéed fruits cut into dice or fancy shapes.
Glaçage à la Crème ou au Chocolat
[Butter-cream or Chocolate Icing]
The spongecake may be iced, or filled and iced. Follow the recipe for orange-butter filling or that for the orange butter-cream. Or, using the same procedure, follow one of the recipes for butter cream, or for the chocolate-butter icing.
GTEAU À L’ORANGE
[Orange Spongecake]
For a 9-inch cake serving 8 people
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
A round cake pan 9 by 1½ inches
Butter and flour the cake pan. Measure out the ingredients.
A whip or electric beater
⅔ cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
A 3-quart mixing bowl
The grated rind of 1 orange
⅓ cup strained orange juice
Pinch of salt
¾ cup cake flour (scooped and leveled), turned into a sifter
Gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks and continue beating until the mixture thickens to form the ribbon. Add the grated orange peel, orange juice, and salt. Beat for a moment or two until mixture is light and foamy. Then beat in the flour.
4 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 Tb granulated sugar
Beat the egg whites and salt together in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed. Sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed. (Directions are here.) Stir one fourth of the egg whites into the batter, delicately fold in the rest.
Immediately turn into prepared cake pan and run the batter up to the rim all around. Bake in middle position of preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed and browned, and shows a faint line of shrinkage from the edge of the mold.
A cake rack
Let cool for 6 to 8 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and reverse cake on a rack. If not to be iced, immediately reverse again, puffed side up. Allow to cool for an hour or two. When cake is cold, sprinkle it with powdered sugar, or fill and ice the cake according to one of the two following recipes:
DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING AND ICING A CAKE
Gâteau Fourré à la Crème d’Orange
[Spongecake with Orange-butter Filling]
This orange-butter filling may be used for cakes, or as a filling for tartlets or cookies. When softened butter is beaten into it, as described in the variation at the end of the recipe, it may also serve as an icing.
For about 2 cups, enough to fill a 9- to 10-inch cake
The orange-butter filling
6 Tb unsalted butter
1⅔ cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
The grated rind of 1 orange
¼ cup strained orange juice
1 Tb orange liqueur
A 6-cup enameled saucepan
A wire whip
Optional: a candy thermometer
Place all the ingredients at the left in the saucepan and beat with wire whip over low heat or not-quite-simmering water until mixture thickens like honey. When it is cooking properly, the bubbles that first appeared on its surface as it is heated will begin to subside, and if you look closely you will see a little whiff of steam rise; it will be too hot for your finger. You must heat it enough to thicken, but overheating will (of course) scramble the egg yolks.
A pan of cold water
Then set saucepan in cold water and beat for 3 to 4 minutes until filling is cool.
() May be refrigerated for 10 days, or may be frozen.
Filling the cake
A 9- to 10-inch cake: the preceding orange spongecake or the butter spongecake
A long, sharp, thin knife
Cut a tiny vertical wedge up the edge of the cake; this will guide you in re-forming it later. Slice the cake in half horizontally.
Splitting the cake in half
A flexible blade-spatula
Using a spatula, spread enough orange-butter filling on the lower layer of the cake to make a ⅛-inch coating.
Icing the bottom layer
Replace top layer, lining up with wedge
Decorating the cake with apricot glaze and almonds
A pastry brush
⅔ cup apricot glaze
1 cup pulverized almonds, plain or toasted
A dish for the almonds
A cake platter
Optional: ¼ cup glazed orange peel
Brush off any crumbs, and paint the cake with a coating of apricot glaze. When the glaze has set slightly, brush the almonds against the sides of the cake; not more than one fourth of them will adhere, but you need a large amount for easy manipulation. Set the cake on the platter; decorate top with optional orange peel.
Hold cake over almonds and brush them against sides with free hand
VARIATIONS
Crème au Beurre à l’Orange
[Orange Butter-cream Icing]
For a richer filling, or for an icing, you may turn the preceding filling into a crème au beurre, which resembles the butter cream. In the following recipe, we have suggested that you use half the original orange-butter filling for inside the cake, and beat butter into the rest to make a butter-cream icing.
For 1 cup filling and 2 cups icing, enough for a 9- to 10-inch cake
2 cups orange-butter filling, the preceding recipe
A 3-quart mixing bowl
A wire whip or an electric beater
¼ lb. (1 stick) softened, unsalted butter, 2 to 3 Tb more if necessary
(NOTE: Be sure cake is thoroughly cold before you begin this operation.)
Icing the cake
A flexible blade-spatula
A cake platter
Optional: ¼ cup glazed orange peel
Brush crumbs off cake. Hold the cake in the palm of your hand as illustrated (or ice it on its serving platter). Spread on the icing with the spatula, starting at the top of the cake, and finishing with the sides. Set the cake on the platter. Decorate, if you wish, with pieces of glazed orange peel. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.