chocolate lady fingers

These cookies are supposedly meant to resemble a lady’s finger, hence the name…. Whilst I can admit that I, myself, have rather short & thick little fingers, they resemble nothing like the cookie.

Maybe that’s me being naive though.

I also believe, that these cookies don’t make much of a statement on their own. Sure, they are flavorful & nice. Simple & easy to eat five or six without really thinking about it, but I’d never sit & crave one. You know what I mean?

There would never be a moment in my life where I would say “Oh, I could REALLY go for a lady finger right about now.” It just ain’t happening.

I can however sit down & say “oh my god, I HAVE to have tiramisu right this very moment or else I’ll just burst into flames & melt!” (a touch dramatic, I know)…. & then THAT statement would lead me to saying “you know what, if I’m going to make a tiramisu, I’m going to have to make lady fingers.”

See how that all works out? One thing always leads to another.

That’s what happened in this instance. I desperately wanted tiramisu, (I also needed to make it for work) & so I needed to whip up a batch of lady fingers in order to fulfill my deepest desire at that moment. Going one step further, I decided to make my little gems chocolate flavored, I thought it might just add an extra little “UMPH!” to my finished dessert.

Ok, so make these, & then immediately use them to make my tiramisu recipe. Do it. Do it now!

Ingredients: makes 45 fingers – 40g ground almonds – 25g cocoa – 90g gluten-free all purpose white flour – 1/2 tsp xanthan gum ———- – 4 egg whites – 50g sugar – 1/4 tsp salt ———- – 4 egg yolks – 50g sugar ———- – extra sugar for dusting

Directions: 1. combine the almonds, cocoa, flour & xanthan in a food processor & grind for several minutes to ensure the almond is as fine as it will gone. 2. combine the egg whites, salt & sugar in a bowl & beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside. 3. in a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks & sugar, beat for 5 to 10 minutes until the egg yolks become a light yellow colour & have a very smooth, creamy texture. 4. sift in half of the dry mixture into the yolks, and add half of the egg whites. Fold the mix until thoroughly combined. Sift in the other half of the dry mix & the rest of the egg whites & once again fold to combine. Make sure to scrape from the bottom & keep folding until there are no more traces of dry ingredients. 5. spoon the mixture into a pipping bag fitted with a round nozzle, & pipe the cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Cookies should be about 1cm x 6 cm. (if you’re making the cookies to use in tiramisu & you’re going to use martini glasses for it, pipe 5 to 10 round cookies as well approx 2.5cm in diameter). Sprinkle the cookies with a fine layer of sugar. 6. bake the cookies in a preheated oven for 15-25 minutes @ 175C. Remove the cookies from the oven & allow to cool completely before trasnferring to an air-tight container for storage.

Tips: *** if using the cookies for tiramisu, I would suggest baking them for closer to 25 minutes to give a dryer cookie. This is better for soaking in espresso & holding its shape. If the cookies will be eaten on their own, I would bake them for closer to 15 minutes to ensure a soft, spongy texture. *** *** if making to use in a tiramisu, I would skip over the last step of sprinkling the pre-baked cookies with sugar. Personally, I don’t want any added sweetness to my tiramisu. ***

Machinery:

Electric Scale - Etekcity - http://amzn.to/2xkKpQk

Stand Mixer - Kenwood - http://amzn.to/2yqXPiH

Food Processor - Cuisinart - http://amzn.to/2xkkZqK

Blender - Kenwood - http://amzn.to/2xXQgw

Silicone Spatula - Zyliss - http://amzn.to/2y3Srkw

Non-Slip Pipping Bags - Pastry Gear - http://amzn.to/2fLxAZ0

Pipping Tips - Wilton - http://amzn.to/2yJVPy1

Organic GF Vanilla - Simply Organic - http://amzn.to/2xXdt2e

Vanilla Beans - Vanilla Products - http://amzn.to/2yLMqWQ

Almond Flour - Bob's Red Mill - http://amzn.to/2xkP3xI

#almondflour #cocoa #sugar