Packaged ladyfingers are expensive, full of preservatives and may not be easily available. Here is an easy recipe for ladyfinges which I made for tiramisu.
Ingredients :
all purpose flour - 1 cup
egg yolks - 2
egg whites - 3
baking powder - 1/2 tsp
corn flour - 1 tbs
sugar - 7 tbs
Method
step 1 : prepare dry ingredients
in a bowl combine together flour, corn flour and baking powder
mix well and keep aside
step 2 : prepare wet ingredients
a) meringue
in a bowl beat egg whites until frothy
add in 4 tbs sugar and beat into stiff peaks and keep aside
b) egg yolk mixture
in a separate bowl combine egg yolks and sugar
beat until thick, creamy and pale in colour
c) combine all ingredients together
add the egg yolk mixture into egg whites and mix gently
sift in the dry ingredients and combine gently
transfer this mixture into a piping bag. If you don't have one just cut the end of a Ziploc bag and use for this purpose.
step 3 : baking
pipe the batter onto a greased baking tray lined with baking paper
pipe into strips, about 7 cm in length
bake in a preheated oven at 130 degree C for 25 - 30 minutes
Mascarpone cheese is an essential ingredient for tiramisu..I have never ever seen this product in our area..So I searched for the recipe in internet and found that it is very simple to make at home..I made this with homemade heavy cream..I have already posted the heavy cream recipe..I made tiramisu with this homemade mascarpone cheese.
Ingredients
heavy cream - 1 cup
lemon juice - 1/2 tbs
Method
pour the cream into a heavy bottomed saucepan
heat up the cream on low medium flame until bubbles begin to come
add in the lemon juice and stir well
continue stirring on low flame for 1 minute
now turn off the flame
place a strainer over a bowl
line the strainer with cheese cloth
pour the cream into the strainer
allow it to cool
when it is cool place the strainer and bowl in the refrigerator for minimum 12 hours
after 12 hours what you see in the strainer is mascarpone cheese, leaving 2-3 tbs whey in the bowl
Puff pastry is made from hundreds of thin layers of butter trapped in thin layers of dough.In the oven the liquid in butter and dough rapidly evaporates seperating the individual layers. The butter melt into the dough, turning it golden and crispy.
Ingredients:
all purpose flour - 2 cups ( 1 cup = 250 ml)
salt - 1/2 tsp
icecold water - 150 ml
lemon juice - 1 tbs
cold unsalted butter - 200g /around 1 cup
Method:
step 1 : preparing dough block
take flour into a bowl
add in salt and mix well
mix lemon juice and water
add this into the flour little by little until the entire dough clumps together
no need to knead the dough much
place this into a cling wrap and shape like a square
then place in refrigerator for 30 minutes
step 2 : preparing butter block
take butter into a bowl
make them small chunks using a fork
add in 1 tbs maida and mix wll
place this in the cling wrap and shape lik a square
refrigerate for 30 minutes
butter must be cold but pliable
step 3 : wrap butter in the dough
roll the dough slightly and place the butter inside
seal the edges
if the dough feel soft and warm refrigerate for 20 minutes
step 4 : turn
flour the work surface and place the butter packege
roll out into a rectangle roughly 15 inches long and 5 inches wide
turn it so that the rolled side is down
fold the top third over the bottom third and the bottom over the top third like a letter
cover it and refrigerate for 30 minutes
repeat the rolling out and folding process 5 more times, 6 folding in total
if the butter come out through the lean dough as you roll, just sprinkle some flour on that spot
refrigerate for 1 hour ( overnight for better result)
roll the pastry into 1/4 - 1/8 inch thickness
cut into desired size and shape
step 5 : baking
preheat the oven at 200 degree C
bake until golden crisp (about 15 -18 minutes)
storing
place the butter paper and pastry sheets alternatively
you can store this in the refrigerator for 1 week and in the freezer for 11/2 months
