Ladyfingers

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

December 20, 2009

Julia Child calls them “Biscuits a la Cuiller”. Americans call them “ladyfingers”. My abuela ate these almost everyday with her cafe con leche - they were her absolute favorite. Everytime I see ladyfingers, I think of my grandmother.

(Esto es para ti, abelita! Te extrano...)

My last blog was the first dive into the pool of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. (Splash!) This post is the second attempt, was quite fun to make, and (I’m whispering now) dare I say “easy”?

You separate 3 egg yolks from the whites. In the yolks you add a 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla. To the whites, you add a pinch of salt, and wisk till peaks are formed. Fold the two together with 1/2 cup of flour and that is it! As long as you blend all three working in thirds (fold 1/3 of the yolk, 1/3 of the whites, 1/3 of the flour) until everything is encorporated, Julia Child would be approve. I used a ziplock bag and cut one of the ends to make a “pastry bag”. (Would Julia approve with THAT?) Pipe them out on a cookie sheet and you are good to go.

I am embarrased to admit this, but the first words to escape my mouth after tasting them were “Oh my goodness - it tastes JUST LIKE the store-bought ones”! Obviously homemade is always better, but the flavor was lovely. They were flatter, less uniform than the store bought, but airy, and light as a feather. Next time I am making a huge batch for homemade tiramisu! A snowy day has never made my kitchen smell so good...