Ladyfingers

These little dainty, delicate ladyfingers are here to make our Monday extra-adorable. But really, they are mostly here because we’re going to make a super-fruity, colorful tiramisu with them tomorrow!  Sure, you could be very European and eat them as is, dipped in a cup of coffee or tea, and they would be perfectly delicious.  But I’m more about covering them with mascarpone cream and berries and making a real dessert out of them. This foray into ladyfinger-baking happened one day when I had the idea to make a raspberry tiramisu.  I knew I had bought some store-bought ladyfingers and had never used them (ahem, well past the expiration date on those babies), but I like to live on the edge and whipped them out anyway.  I tasted them before I put them in my somewhat-expensive dessert and, well, they tasted like cardboard and were inedibly hard and crisp.  I wanted ladyfingers with a crisp shell but a soft, cakey center and searched high-and-low in the stores for them, but none were to be had.  Suddenly, a thought floated around my head that said, “Hey, you’re a food blogger, you love to bake, you know how to bake, and you have 1,600 cookbooks.  I bet YOU COULD MAKE EXACTLY WHAT YOU’RE SEEKING.”  Like, duh, this should have occurred to me the second I wanted to make tiramisu.

They are actually quite simple to make: eggs whites are whipped to stiff peaks, which will give us that light, spongy texture and a crisp exterior.  The yolks are whipped with vanilla and almond extracts plus a little sugar and are folded together with the whites and a little flour for structure.  Pipe these onto parchment-lined sheets, bake until light golden and slightly crisp, and dust with confectioners’ sugar.  Lo and behold…something far better than anything you will find at the grocery store!  And homemade to boot.  Plus this makes the exact amount you need for tiramisu!Check back tomorrow for the grand finale when we make a stunning raspberry tiramisu.  Or just make these alone and enjoy!  Either way, you’ll have something spectacular.

[tasty-recipe id=”34763″]