Welcome to my Boudoir,

Wrap Your Lips around my Lady Fingers...

Fred didn't believe me when the other day I told him I could make some Boudoir biscuits, known in other parts as Ladyfingers. Well, make some I did and he was thoroughly impressed by their authentic taste, not too far removed from those you buy in a packet, but better of couse! I am sharing the recipe, adapted from Le Cordon Bleu at Home, because there is a very strong chance that I might be referencing these basic instructions in a future recipe or two that you might be interested in.



Ingredients:
3 eggs
6 tablespoons caster or baker's sugar
6 tablespoons powdered or icing sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
6 more tablespoons (or thereabouts) of caster/bakers sugar.

Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- separate all three eggs
- in a small bowl, beat the eggs yolks together with a for or small hand whisk.
- With an electric whisk, Kitchenaid or food processor, whip the eggs until they are stiff and firm peaks form.
- Gradually beat in, still using your whisk attachment, the first 12 tablespoons of sugar. The mixture will become smooth and glossy.
- Gently fold the egg yolks into the egg white mixture
- Next, sift the flour into the mix, and further fold until all the ingredients are fully blended together. Be gentle, the idea here is to retain all of the fluffy volume you have created!
- Fit a large piping bag with a large, plain pastry tube and fill the bag with the boudoir mixture.
-Pipe 5" fingers onto a couple of baking sheets that have either been lined with parchment and butter, or a silpat, allowing an inch of space between each one.
- Sprinkle the boudoirs with half of the remaining 6 tablespoons of caster/baker's sugar. Let them rest for five minutes, and then re-sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
- Bake for the first ten minutes without ever opening the oven door, then rotate them 180% and allow to bake for a further 5 minutes until golden.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool down completely.
- Boudoir biscuits dry out pretty fast. Keep them in an air-tight container if you prefer them softer and don't intend to use them straight away.

*Note: My recipe is much sweeter than the original which calls for only half the amount of sugar in the first stage of the recipe.



PS - When I was growing up, my mum always kept a container of Boudoir Biscuits, hidden away in a cupboard, ready for making Sherry Trifle. I was secretly fond of them in their raw state. (Actually, I was fond of them in their sherry-soaked state too, but that's another story.) I didn't care that she purposely filled the official 'Biscuit Tin' with boring old Rich Teas to stop us snacking whilst she was out, I simply used to help myself to her secret stock of Boudoirs instead.

Links, Resources and Further Reading

Bay Area Resources:
Delicious Eggs from | Marin Sun Farms

Other Resources:
Ladyfingers | on Wikipedia

Archive Alert! On this day in 2005: Saucisson Sec, our saviour!

Food | Eat Local | Recipe | Dessert | Cooking | Baking

Welcome to my Boudoir,