Ladyfingers For Pear And Fig Charlotte Recipes

PEAR AND FIG CHARLOTTE

Steps:

• Make the fruit mixture: Drain the pears. Separate 7 ounces, about 4 pear halves, into a small bowl, and set aside for Poire Williams cream; place remaining pears in a large bowl (a deep bowl is best).
• Bring water, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla bean pulp to a boil in a medium saucepan or the microwave. Remove syrup from heat, and pour it over pears in large bowl. Press a piece of waxed paper against pears to submerge them; if the paper alone isn't enough to submerge pears in syrup, place a plate on top of the waxed paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Cut figs into small cubes (about 1/4 inch on a side), and put them in a small saucepan. Cover with water, and bring just to a boil. Transfer figs and water to a container, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
• Make the soaking syrup: Bring water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan or the microwave. Remove from heat, and when the syrup is cool, stir in Poire Williams.
• Make the cake: If using the Ladyfinger Batter, follow the recipe, piping the batter into two 9-inch disks and two 8-inch bands of 4-inch-long ladyfingers, baking, and cooling.
• Make the Poire Williams cream filling: Puree reserved 7 ounces drained pears in a blender or food processor; set aside. Fill a large bowl with ice cubes and have at the ready a smaller bowl and a fine-mesh strainer.
• Bring milk to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk sugar and yolks together in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan. Whisking without stopping, drizzle in about one-third of the boiling milk. Once yolks are acclimated to heat, whisk in the rest of the milk in a slow, steady stream. Place saucepan over medium heat, and, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, cook cream filling until it reaches 180 degrees, as measured on an instant-read thermometer, less than 5 minutes. (Alternatively, to check if cream has cooked long enough, stir the cream filling, and then draw your finger down the spatula or the bowl of the wooden spoon; if the cream doesn't run into the track you've created, it's done.) The cream filling will not thicken much. Immediately remove saucepan from heat, and allow cream filling to rest for 2 minutes. Strain into the small reserved bowl, and stir in Poire Williams.
• Sprinkle gelatin over water, and allow it to rest until softened. Heat in the microwave oven for about 15 seconds, or cook over low heat, until gelatin dissolves. Stir gelatin into cream filling, and then gently stir in reserved pureed pears. Set the bowl in the ice bath, adding cold water to the ice cubes, and, stirring from time to time, cool cream filling to about 70 degrees.
• To finish the filling, whip heavy cream until it holds medium, firm peaks, and fold it gently into the cream filling with a rubber spatula. The filling is now ready and should be used immediately.
• To finish the fruit mixture, remove and drain 3 of the remaining pears; pat them dry between paper towels, and cut them into cubes, about 1/2 inch on a side. Drain and pat dry the cubed figs. Combine fruits together.
• Place a piece of parchment paper on a cardboard cake round, and center an 8 3/4-inch-by-22-cm dessert ring on the paper; butter the inside of the ring. Cut the bands of ladyfingers lengthwise in half, and fit the halves around the interior of the ring, making certain that the biscuits' flat side faces in; you'll have a piece of band left over. Fit a ladyfinger disk into the bottom to form a base. (If you are using store-bought ladyfingers, cut the biscuits as necessary to form a band and base.) Brush the ladyfinger disk and band with the soaking syrup, using enough syrup to thoroughly moisten the cake.
• Spoon enough cream filling into the biscuit-lined ring to form a layer that comes about halfway up the ladyfinger band, spreading it evenly with a spatula. Cover with the cubed fruit and then another layer of filling, this time coming almost to the top of the ring, and again using the spatula to get an even layer. Top with the second ladyfinger disk, and moisten disk with some soaking syrup (you may have soaking syrup left over). Cover the disk with a thin layer of filling (you may also have filling left over -- it makes a fine dessert on its own or served with cookies), and set the cake into the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours. (At this point, the cake, covered airtight, can be frozen for up to 2 weeks.)
• To finish: Remove the dessert ring, but keep the cake on the cardboard round for maneuverability.
• Slice the remaining pears from the blossom to stem end, and arrange in overlapping concentric circles over the top of the cake. If using fresh figs, slice them from blossom to stem end and slip into the arrangement. Serve the cake now or keep it in the refrigerator, loosely covered, until ready to serve.

LADYFINGERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Line two 17 x 12 inch baking sheets with baking parchment. Fit large pastry bag with a plain 1/2 inch round tube.
• Place egg whites in bowl and beat on high until soft peaks start to form. Slowly add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and continue beating until stiff and glossy. In another bowl beat egg yolks and remaining sugar. Whip until thick and very pale in color.
• Sift flour and baking powder together on a sheet of wax paper. Fold half the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Fold in flour, and then add the remaining egg whites. Transfer mixture to pastry bag and pipe out onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes.

HOMEMADE LADYFINGERS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved, about 6 minutes; set aside. , In another bowl, beat egg yolks with remaining sugar for 3 minutes or until thick and lemon colored; add water and extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into yolk mixture. Fold in egg white mixture., Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert round tip #12. Spoon batter into bag. Pipe 3-1/2-in.-long lines 2 in. apart onto a greased and floured baking sheet. , Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack; cool completely. Cover and freeze for up to 1 month., To use frozen ladyfingers: Thaw in the refrigerator; dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve as a cookie or use in desserts.

LADYFINGERS FOR PEAR AND FIG CHARLOTTE

Steps:

• In an impeccably clean, dry mixer bowl with a clean, dry whisk attachment in place, whip egg whites on high speed until they turn opaque and form soft peaks. Still whipping on high, gradually add 2/3 cup sugar. Continue beating until whites are glossy and hold very firm peaks. It's important that the whites develop into a really firm meringue as this is what will allow the batter to rest on the counter for 15 minutes and still maintain its shape. Set aside.
• In another bowl, whisk together yolks and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar until well blended, about 1 to 2 minutes. Working with a rubber spatula, gently fold the yolk mixture into the beaten whites. Then fold in flour, sifting flour over mixture in a few additions and incorporating it gingerly. (No matter how delicately you fold in the flour, the batter will deflate. Don't worry, but do be gentle.) The batter is now ready to be piped and baked according to your recipe's particular instructions.
• To pipe and bake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Fit a large pastry bag with a plain 1/2-inch tip, and set aside until needed. Cut two pieces of parchment paper to fit two large baking sheets. On each sheet of paper, draw a 9-inch circle and a band that's 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. Turn the sheets of paper over, and place each piece of parchment on a baking sheet. (If you can't see the outlines clearly now that the paper is flipped over, darken the pencil lines.)
• Gently spoon a little more than half the batter into the pastry bag. Position a baking sheet so the top and bottom lines for the 8-inch-long band run from your left to your right. Start making a ladyfinger band by piping plump logs of batter from top to bottom within the pencil lines. Pipe one ladyfinger log right next to the last one -- they'll touch, and they're supposed to. Keeping firm and steady pressure on the pastry bag, you should end up with ladyfingers that are about 1 inch wide and about 2/3 to 3/4 inch high. When you've piped the full 8-inch band, dust it lightly with confectioners' sugar. Pipe the second band in the same fashion, and then dust with confectioners' sugar, too. Refill the bag when you run out of batter. (The bands will probably take about 2/3 of the batter.) Next, pipe the discs, keeping in mind that the discs should be only about half as high as the plump ladyfinger bands, so you can exert less pressure on the pastry bag. For each disc, begin piping the batter at the center of the circle. Work your way in a spiral to the penciled edge, trying to have each coil of batter touch the preceding coil. If you have any holes, you can run an offset spatula very lightly over the discs to fill in the spaces. Let the piped batter rest on the counter for 15 minutes, during which time the confectioners' sugar will pearl or form beads.
• Give the bands a second light dusting of confectioners' sugar (there's no need to sugar the discs), and slip the baking sheets into the oven. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to keep the oven door slightly ajar. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, just until the discs and bands are very lightly golden -- you don't want the cake to take on much color. Slide the parchment off the baking sheets, and transfer the cakes, on their parchment sheets, to racks. Allow the cakes to cool to room temperature.
• When the cakes are cool, run an offset spatula under the discs and bands to loosen them from the paper. If you want individual biscuits, separate the cookies with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. If you want a decorative ladyfinger band that can be wrapped around cakes or charlottes, keep the cookies intact but cut the band in half lengthwise, or according to the measurements given in the specific recipe.