Well, this is one day late, but better late than never. This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux. Our challenge was to use one of the sweet or savory batters given, shape it (with a stencil or after baking), and pair it with something light (as we're all trying to recover from the holiday food!).
I decided to go the savory route since I usually opt for the sweet. So, I followed this recipe:
Savory tuile/cornet recipe
From Thomas Keller "the French Laundry Cookbook"
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (65 grams/2.1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
(slightly less than) 1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (114 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds (I just used toasted since that's what I had)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth and mayonnaise-like in texture. Using a stiff spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps.
Place a Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). If using a stencil, place it one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. Or, free-hand some squares and rectangle (like I did) using an offset spatula. After baking the first batch, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness. Leave about 1 1/2 inches between the tuiles. Sprinkle each tuile with a pinch of sesame seeds.
Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. The tuiles may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point.
Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door. This will help keep the tuiles warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. I tried to drape mine over some spice bottles to make small bowls, but they were too set when they came out of the oven. So, I draped them over a rolling pin instead.
The tuiles that baked a bit longer and were more brown were much more flavorful but very delicate. I ended up topping mine with a fresh spinach leaf and some tuna salad (tuna, light mayo, sweet relish, prepared mustard, salt, pepper). Yummy! I thought these were pretty easy to make, but I probably won't be making them again soon since they're a bit time consuming.