And the magic words are: 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.

Now you might have expected that with Baking Soda of BakeMyDay and Zorra of   we’d be baking bread this month for the Daring Bakers.  You’d have been wrong.  You already know that because I’m so late.

I’ve wanted to do these little butterflies since I first saw them in Bo Friberg’s Advanced Professional Pastry Chef.  When I saw Karen and Zorra had Tuiles for the January DB Challenge, I drew a blank.  I wanted savory.  And I was blank especially with the fruit part.

Savory.  So I focused on the Thomas Keller recipe for the Tuiles that he calls Cornets.

Over a week ago . . .

I did a stencil.

And they were impressive.  But they stayed empty.

I made some persimmon tapioca pudding to go in them.  Oh gag me, we just won’t go there.

They stayed impressive AND empty.

Then last night when Karen posted her Tuiles.  I knew what had to be.  I awoke before the dawn broke, ok so there was a lot of fog but it was early.

Can you believe this & two egg whites is all it takes to make a Tuile? 

Sifted fine confectioner’s sugar, vanilla (bean for me, I love the little flecks and I have a bunch, thank you Lynn), soft butter, two egg whites and flour.

A word to the wise here:  You can beat, whip, abuse whatever to your hearts content that sugar and butter.  And when you think it’s smooth and even, it’s not.  Really give it a go with the mixer, you can’t over beat the sugar and butter.

Once you add the flour, keep the mixing to a minimum or you’ll over work the dough (start making gluten and toughen things).

Then you’ll need a stencil and enough cocoa powder to color a very small amount of the dough for the butterfly body and spots.   I used a meat injector for the cocoa colored batter.

Maybe you won’t believe me but this is really stupid simple but it really is.  Silpat on the counter, stencil on the silpat, a small dab of batter on a stiff but slightly flexible spreader, spread the batter thin and even in the stencil - no holes, lift the stencil, leaving an inch or a little more between cookies and spread the next one.

I thought the hardest part was the dots until I developed sort of a punch into the batter and fast pull away. 

Bake at 350° five to ten minutes.  As soon as they were in the oven, PANICK arrived.  “I need a butterfly wing drying rack!”  I’ve got 10 butterflies coming out of the oven in minutes what am I going to put them on . . .

Parchment paper folded on poster board tent . . . oh so cleaver . . . ahem, I know somebody had a better one.

The directive was light and fruit.  What could be lighter and fruitier than lemon?  How ‘bout two lemons!  I made Lemon Buttermilk Sorbet from The Perfect Scoop!  Sooooo, good!

Then Gorn & I started looking in every nick and cranny in the kitchen for just the right way to photo a little Tuiles Butterfly.

I didn’t really like the cone flat on the little plate.

From the top, you can’t even see the cone.

This is a glass my great-grandmother gave my favorite aunt in 1911.  Beautiful glass with wonderful background but shows of neither the glass or the cone to good advantage.

Rather liked this for just the butterfly, still the plate is too busy for the butterfly to my mind.

I think this was my favorite, very simple.

I almost missed out on this one but gosh I’d have been miserable if I’d let Karen down and I’d have missed such fun making the butterflies!

Is it worth doing?  Not only is this a thrill to make and see, these have a very fast learning curve.  I will do them again.  Visually they are a WOW!  Taste?  Taste they are the perfect amuse bouche sweet and oh my goodness what a sweet little crunch!! 

Ladies:

Our totally wonderful DB founders: Lis, Ivonne,

and our most fabulous, creative fun hostesses:

Karen and Zorra ,

I thank you from the bottom of my heart!  It was grand, wonderful and most of all FUN.