Lady’s-finger Biscuit Paste

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Electric hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment
• •Two flat 33 by 46 cm / 13 by 18 inch baking sheets
• •Large piping bag with a 12 mm / ½ inch plain round tip
• •Flexible rubber spatula
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Clean pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare oven and paper

   Heat the oven to 160°C / 325°F conventional, or 150°C / 300°F fan, with racks in the upper and lower middle positions. Line two flat 33 by 46 cm / 13 by 18 inch baking sheets with ungreased parchment. Fit a large piping bag with a plain 12 mm / ½ inch round tip and stand it in a tall jug, cuffing the open end over the rim. If even length matters, draw 9 cm / 3½ inch guides on the underside of the parchment.

2. 2

   Reach the ribbon

   Beat the yolks and granulated sugar with an electric mixer for 6 to 8 minutes, until the mixture has whitened slightly, grown thick, and falls from the beaters in a broad ribbon that rests on the surface for several seconds before sinking. Beat in the orange-flower water. If the sugar remains stubbornly gritty, set the bowl over barely warm water for 20 seconds while whisking, then remove it and continue; the bowl must feel warm, never hot. The finished Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376), if you have prepared it, remains whole and separate as the book's visual reference for this ribbon. Do not mix it into the biscuit paste.

   The ribbon is not poetic decoration. It proves that the yolks hold enough air to lift the flour, so don't stop while the mixture still runs from the beaters like liquid.
3. 3

   Whisk stiff whites

   In a completely clean, dry bowl, whisk the egg whites at medium speed until foamy, then at medium-high speed until they stand in stiff but moist peaks. Stop while the surface still looks satiny. Dry, grainy whites break into lumps when folded and cost the paste its lift.

4. 4

   Fold without deflating

   Sift half the flour over the yolk mixture and fold with a flexible spatula, cutting down through the centre, sweeping across the bottom, and lifting the paste over itself as you turn the bowl. Fold in the remaining flour the same way. The base will become thick and resistant. Fold in one-third of the whites a little more firmly to loosen it, then add the rest in two portions with broad, gentle strokes. Stop as soon as no white streaks remain. Raising and cutting is the dish; stirring around the bowl knocks out the air. If the paste has already gone slack, don't bury it under extra flour. Ça se rattrape: pipe shorter fingers and bake them immediately. They will be flatter, but still porous enough to line a charlotte.

5. 5

   Pipe even fingers

   Transfer the paste to the piping bag little by little, filling it no more than halfway so its own weight doesn't press out the air. Hold the tip just above the parchment and pipe straight fingers about 9 cm / 3½ inches long and 12 mm / ½ inch wide, leaving 2.5 cm / 1 inch between them. Release pressure before lifting the tip so each biscuit finishes neatly rather than with a long tail.

6. 6

   Bead the sugar

   Sift the powdered sugar generously and evenly over the piped fingers. Instead of lifting slick modern parchment upright as the old strong paper allowed, sweep the loose sugar from the spaces between the biscuits with a dry pastry brush. Dip the brush in the cold water, shake it almost dry, then flick a sparse scatter of distinct droplets over the sugared tops. The water is what gathers the sugar into little pearls; wet the surface heavily and the coating dissolves into a glaze.

7. 7

   Bake pale and dry

   Bake both sheets at once for 15 to 18 minutes. After 9 minutes, when the structure has set, turn the sheets front to back and exchange their rack positions. The biscuits are ready when the sides are faintly golden, the tops feel dry and spring back gently, and the sugar has formed irregular beads. They should remain pale, not deeply browned. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then peel the parchment away from the biscuits and transfer them to a rack. Let them cool completely before storing or serving. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Separate the eggs while they're cold, when the yolks are less likely to break, then let both bowls stand until the eggs lose their chill. Room-temperature whites gain volume more readily.
• •Use plain flour and weigh it if you can. This small batch gives 85 g no room for a generous scoop, and excess flour makes squat, heavy biscuits.
• •Orange-flower water varies sharply in strength, but keep the source's measured amount. It should perfume the biscuit after baking without making it taste soapy.
• •For a larger batch, make and bake separate four-egg mixtures. Finished biscuits wait beautifully; whipped paste does not.

Advance Preparation

• •The batter cannot be held. Pipe, sugar, moisten, and bake it as soon as the folding is finished, because every minute in the bowl costs volume.
• •The finished biscuits can be baked two days ahead. Cool them completely before closing them in an airtight tin; trapped warmth softens the pearled crust.
• •If stored biscuits soften, dry them for 4 to 5 minutes at 140°C / 285°F and cool them again before use. They may also be frozen in a rigid airtight container for up to one month.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 10g)