Tuile Cookies (Quelques Tuiles par Michel Bras)
We made some cookies at work the other day that were so insanely delicious, I had to repeat the recipe at home too, for us to have with tea. They come from Michel Bras’ fabulous dessert book, from which I also rediscovered my love for Le Pain aux Epices.
I love recipes that have the ability to surprise. When I saw the word tuiles (which means tiles, in French), I thought, here’s yet another recipe for those ubiquitous wafers you see so often as garnishes on desserts. Not that they aren’t tasty, but I didn’t think I would gain anything from trying this recipe out. How wrong I was! These are lovely when made into thin, delicate shapes, but I also like them thicker like roofing tiles, spicy, and with a bit of a laissez-faire look to them.
They remind me of the plate-sized almond tuiles we saw being sold in various Parisian bakeries when B and I were there on holiday. Those were beautiful curved golden discs, flecked with sliced almonds, and stacked one on top of the other. I would have bought one for sure, if I hadn’t been so distracted by the cakes, croissants and baguettes that we consumed so much of.
Michel Bras recommends having some of these cookies on hand, “.. to console a child with a boo-boo, a stressed adult, [or] to offer as an expected treat to guests.” It is also good to note that the cocoa version is gluten/flour free. These sugary treats certainly appealled unexpectedly to this sometimes-stressed adult with the occasional boo-boo!
If that alone is not enough to convince you, I have also been indulging in some lily-gilding, by turning them into waffle-esque ice-cream cones! These were filled with hazelnut ice-cream, chocolate sauce spiked with coffee liqueur and chopped peanuts. My version of the chocolate Cornetto. 🙂
Tuile Cookies :
(from The Notebooks of Michel Bras by Michel Bras)
Cocoa Tuiles
200g sugar
30g cocoa powder
100g melted butter
75g egg whites
Combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and melted butter. Blend thoroughly. Add the egg whites. Allow to rest for 1 hour. Stir gently before using.
Line a baking sheet with buttered parchment. Make 8cm rounds with a pastry brush or with your index and middle fingers. Bake in a preheated 180’C oven until golden. If you overbake them, they will be too brittle to shape; if underbaked, they’ll be too soft. If you do not shape them immediately, you can reheat them in the oven later. When you remove them from the oven, shape them around a bottle or a rolling pin. You can also roll them into a cigarette shape by wrapping them around the handle of a spatula or wooden spoon.
Store in a tightly sealed container with a silica-gel packet.
Honey and Anise Tuiles
75g honey
75g icing sugar
60g melted butter
100g egg whites
70g sifted flour
anise seed
Combine the honey, icing sugar, melted butter, and egg whites. Blend thoroughly and add the flour. Allow to rest for 1 hour. Stir gently before using. When you form the tuiles, dust them with a few anise seeds. (Baking method as above)
Christie @ fig&cherry said,
July 17, 2008 @ 12:29 pm
I’d certainly stop crying if presented with these – just gorgeous Y, again! 🙂
Y said,
July 17, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
Thanks Christie. You must’ve been an easy child to console 😉
cakebrain said,
July 17, 2008 @ 1:24 pm
These look so gorgeous! How do you get the cool chocolate pattern I see on the cookie in the first few pics? Looks so delicious!
Christy said,
July 17, 2008 @ 1:35 pm
Simple and satisfying!! What could be better? I like tuile cookies just the way they are, but you can add so many things to them too, and the best thing about them is they go with (well, almost) everything!!
Y said,
July 17, 2008 @ 1:46 pm
Cakebrain : (I never tire of seeing your name – it’s the best ever! :)) I piped it on with the chocolate tuile mix. The original plan was to make filigree tuiles but I couldn’t find an appropriate lace template, so I made flat tuiles and piped on some patterns instead. They turned out really well, and I was thinking of doing a whole series with mini statements like, “Take me to your Leader” and “Tea first, talk later”.. but I kind of got bored with the idea after the first few tuiles had been piped 😀
Thanks Christy! Yeah, they’re pretty versatile, but I’m really enjoying these particular ones on their own!
Helen said,
July 17, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
wow, these look so lovely and elegant. i love the patterned one too! so pretty!
Vera said,
July 17, 2008 @ 6:03 pm
Y, could you believe I’ve just baked tuiles to go with Cafe Glace 🙂 But yours, particularly the honey and anise ones I’ll certainly try. It sounds incredibly delicious! Your tuiles also look very stylish; very artistic piping, I have to say.
Aran said,
July 17, 2008 @ 8:59 pm
I love Michel Bras and his books.. so much inspiration for me in there… these cookies look wonderful. I agree, plain tuiles… not such a big fan but these? yes!
grace said,
July 18, 2008 @ 12:08 am
awesomely impressive! it’s times like this when i realize just how unsophisticated i am… 🙂
brilynn said,
July 18, 2008 @ 5:41 am
I like dipping the end in chocolate and then rolling them in crushed nuts! I really like tuilles, but always burn my fingers when trying to make them…
sarah said,
July 18, 2008 @ 5:42 am
sooo pretty
linda said,
July 18, 2008 @ 5:53 am
Very elegant indeed! Love the waffle-esque ice cream cones, yummy filling too! Making tuiles are still on my to-do list…
Becky said,
July 18, 2008 @ 11:53 am
simple and light. love the cornettes! i like your blog.
Patricia Scarpin said,
July 18, 2008 @ 10:52 pm
Y, I am so making these! I love how delicate and pretty they are.
I’ll be trying them as ice cream cones, like you did!
Maya said,
July 18, 2008 @ 11:35 pm
I could snack on a handful of these!
Cakelaw said,
July 19, 2008 @ 10:26 am
Just lovely on their own, but these are so versatile in their ability to be used in other dessserts.
Tartelette said,
July 20, 2008 @ 2:50 pm
I remember making tuiles with my mom and rolling them into cigarettes shapes and dipping them in our tea. She would flavor them with lavender or orange blossom water….hmmm! I love the piped design you did on these as well as the classic/chic take on those with the anise.
lex said,
May 25, 2009 @ 6:13 am
The cocoa recipe here was a bit funny…it just made this goopy mess, but I am by no means the cook anyone on this website is. The R2D2 recipe was far more successful.
Y said,
May 25, 2009 @ 7:53 am
Hi Lex,
Thanks for the feedback. Not sure what happened when you tried the recipe, as I don’t recall having any issues with the batter. Perhaps it wasn’t chilled for long enough – which helps to also stiffen the mixture to facilitate spreading.