# Lacey and Non Lacey Tuiles



## nicholas (Jul 22, 2004)

Hello, I've done a search on tuiles, and found it very informative and answered one of my questions.
However, I have a few more quuestions.

What is it in a batter that makes a tuile lacey?
My observations, upon going through dozen of tuiles recipes, is that there is some form of liquid, be it cream, orange juice, brandy, etc etc. 
And there are no egg whites.

A non lacey tuile just contains the essential ingredients, sometimes with a very small percentage of liquid (vanilla essence) and egg whites.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is, does the egg white give the tuiles more structure, thus making the tuile more flexible, as I've read in another thread, and "fills" out the lace?

Also,
I've tried molding a lacey tuile into a cone shape (with a cone mould) with little sucess. It turned rather oily to hold. And to sweet.

1/2 cup cream (38% fat)
55g butter
1/8 vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour

I will be trying another batch today, one with egg whites this time.
But slighty changed to suit my palate.



I think I will be experimenting with another tuile recipe that I'll come up with.
Along the lines of this:
30% flour
35% sugar
25%butter
10% egg whites 

I'll just spread them out in to circular shapes, going in at 350F or 162C.

I'll see what happens then.

Oh, and I plan to fill the cones with a strawberry mousse(without gelatin) and garnish with a pair of sliced strawberries, and mint leaves if I can get them.


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## momoreg (Mar 4, 2000)

Hi Nicholas,
A typical tuile is flexible when hot, due to the inclusion of egg whites. A lace cookie, is a different thing altogether. It is 1 part sugar, one part melted butter, one part corn syrup, and one part flour. Here, it is the corn syrup that keeps the mixture flexible when hot. It takes awhile for it to become firm enough to handle. Unlike a tuile, which you shape right out of the oven, the lace cookie practically liquifies in the oven, so be patient when trying to shape them. The butter does separate out of the mixture, but the end product isn't as greasy as you'd expect. To cut the sweetness, add some ground ginger and sesame seeds to the batter.


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## zukerig (Sep 23, 2004)

Tuiles are very elegant wafers - which I make usually to serve with sorbets or poached fruit. Mostly, I bake nut (such as almond) Tuiles.

The first thing that arises in my thinking re Tuiles is the importance of using silicone paper to line the baking sheets. Buttering & flouring works very well for cookies & shortbreads, even for meringues. But, for creating the paragon of Tuiles, silicone sheet liners are essential - especially if you're to preserve your sanity; because, when making Tuiles, the ability to lift the circles off the baking sheet expeditiously is vital to assured success.

For about 18 medium Tuiles, I use: 113 gr. sweet butter, 175 gr. white superfine sugar; 4 large egg whites, 1 tsp almond extract, 190 - 200 gr. plain flour (about 1 cup scooped & leveled); approx. 145 gr. (scant 1 cup) sliced almonds.

While the Tuiles are still hot from the oven, you can create several useful shapes: Mold them into wafers by laying them on a rolling pin; tubes by gently wrapping them around the thick handle of a wooden spoon; cups (called _Tulipes_) by deftly molding them into flared ramekins; or cornucopia, by rolling them into cone shapes.

Former New York pastry chef, Jean-Marc Burillier, devised a recipe using a combination of light-brown sugar & maple syrup (which he served with truffles & other petits fours). These rather untraditional Tuiles develop an appealing honeycomb pattern over their shiny, translucent surfaces. However, I suspect that the price of maple syrup in your Singaporean markets would be exorbitant!


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## nicholas (Jul 22, 2004)

Hey hey,

Momoreg: Ahhh, I was wondering what part will the corn syrup play, in a recipe.
Thanks for the insight.

Zukerig: I used a silicone sheet pan liner today, infact, just 1 hour ago. However, I think I'll look into investing in a non-stick baking sheet, my silicone sheet does the job, but it kept slipping about as I applied the batter. ugh.

I started off with making cones first, but I can't get the point to close, meaning, there's a hole at the bottom, and they didn't form too well as the edges of the tuiles were too thin, and they browned alot. It kept breaking apart. I guess I'll have to spread out my batter more evenly...

I decided then, to make little circles, and will probably serve them with dollops of strawberry mousse.

That's interesting about the light brown sugar and maple syrup combination, I'm gonna have to experiment with that.
Maple syrup isn't too expensive here, as opposed to vanilla beans.  
We have commercial brands lining the shelfs in some supermarkets that carry more "western" groceries.

Well, if there's one thing I learnt, it's that plastic stencils has got to be better than cardboard ones! I reckon I'll get a more even stenciled batter with that.

Anyhoo, thanks for the insights and recipes. 

I had fun making them tuiles. Oh, the joy of baking.


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## zukerig (Sep 23, 2004)

[*Nicholas*: Re your annoyance with the silicone-pad slippage…If your liner is cut to fit the dimensions of your baking sheet, there should be minimal shifting. The two best-known brands from France, Matfer Exopat & Silpat are widely used by pastry chefs. But, a much-less-costly type, such as Bake-Eze, can be trimmed to fit pans perfectly.

Draw a 6"-diameter circle on a square of stiff stock paper, then cut out around the circle (so that you have a perforation in the square card); this is your template for shaping the Tuiles. The outer perimeter should not be much more than 1" wide - if it wider, your Tuiles will be spaced too far apart.

When the batter is mixed, set your template in one corner of the baking sheet, drop a Tbsp of the batter into the circle and spread it out to fill the circle with a palette knife. Move the template and form another circle of batter; continue until the baking sheet is full. (At this point, I sprinkle them with sliced almonds.) Bake at 375°F. (190°C.) for 6 to 8 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown.

I am intrigued to learn from you that maple syrup is reasonably (i.e., _afforadable_) in Singapore. Make sure it's 100 percent pure, not a blend! This is product that is stocked in my home refrigerator 365/7. The most deeply flavored, _de luxe_ syrup is produced in the Canadian province of *Quebec. (Premium labels include, e.g., Erabliere Lachance, Brien, and Camp. New Brunswick is next best, followed by Nova Scotia. Top grades from Vermont also rank highly.

*Read more at the Home Page for the Quebec Maple Syrup Producers

Happy baking.

*Lawrence*


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## nicholas (Jul 22, 2004)

Hey hey Lawrence,
I was also considering the Silpat instead of a nonstick pan. I've had my eye on it for some time now.
I think I'll stick with plastic stencils though. That way, I can re use them over and over again.


I'm not too sure about 100% maple syrups. I haven't had the chance to look at the labels. But I do remember however, that there are pictures of pancakes bathed with maple syrup. My guess is that those are most likely to be a blend of some sorts.
Thanks for the link. That made me want to go out and get me some for myself to try! Mmmm and to have them with waffles or pancakes!
That link made me rethink maple syrup altogether. The recipe page list endless possibilities!


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