Ladyfinger desserts

Method

Savoiardi Biscuits

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C/320F non-fan assisted. 

2. Take 2 large sheets of baking paper and draw two sets of train track lines on the baking paper, each 90mm/3.5” tall. Flip these upside down (so the ink doesn’t touch the pastry) and place them on a baking sheet. 

3. Take another baking sheet and draw two 7” circles on baking paper. Flip this upside down.

4. Take a small round tip nozzle (10mm) and put it into a piping bag. The piping nozzle needs to be smaller than you think, as the batter will spread slightly as it is piped. 

5. Into a medium bowl, add the egg yolks, whole eggs, and sugar (A). Whisk this to combine, then add the flour (B) and whisk to form a thick paste. Set this to one side.

6. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites (room temperature) along with the salt. 

7. With the whisk attachment, whisk on a medium-low speed until it becomes frothy, with small bubbles on top (this will take a few minutes).

8. Slowly add in the sugar (B), about a tablespoon at a time. Once you have added all the sugar, whisk until you have a stiff peak. 

9. Take about ⅕ of the meringue mixture and whisk it through the egg yolk mixture. This will be quite stiff, so it needs to be whisked firmly to smooth it out. 

10. Add the remaining meringue in 2-3 parts, gently folding it through to ensure you don’t beat out too much air.

11. Once smooth, sift over the remaining flour (B) and fold through until there are no more lumps. 

12. Add the mixture into your piping bag and let it rest for a few minutes; this will just make it slightly easier to pipe. 

13. Using the guides on your baking tray, pipe two large 7” circles and then individual lines for the lady fingers. You will need 25-30 lady fingers, depending on the size of the ring mold you are using for the mousse. The more you can make, the better! But remember, they need to be baked immediately or the meringue will begin to collapse. 

14. Once piped, sprinkle a thin coating of caster/white sugar over the top. 

15. Place them directly into the oven and bake until a deep golden brown colour.

Note – as we are baking multiple trays of ladyfingers and sponge discs for the charlotte cake, the placement in the oven affects browning. The top tray will turn golden first because it’s directly exposed to the heat from the top of the oven, while the lower trays are shielded, preventing them from browning properly. We don’t care about the 7” disc brownings, but we need both sets of lady fingers to be golden, so rotate the trays halfway through baking, bringing the lower trays to the top and vice versa. Just do it very very quickly, so we don’t deflate the lady fingers. 

16. Bake everything for around 30 minutes, being sure not to underbake the lady fingers especially. They need to be firm to the touch. What I like to do is pop the 7” circles back in the oven just to get them slightly more golden. 

17. Remove them from the oven and then allow them to cool at room temperature. Leave the 7” discs out at room temperature but freeze the remaining lady fingers in a sealed tupperware as we won’t need these until the next day. 

18. If you want to make these ahead of time, you can place them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to 2 months. 

Berry Bavarois Mousse

1. Add the powdered gelatin into a small bowl and pour the cold water over the top. Let it bloom for 5-10 minutes. If using a gelatin sheet, soak this in ice-cold water. 

2. Into a medium bowl, add the egg yolks and sugar and whisk briefly to combine.

3. Meanwhile, add the cream and milk to a medium saucepan and heat just until it is steaming.

4. Slowly pour the hot cream over the egg yolk mixture and whisk to combine.

5. Pour it back into the pan and whisk constantly, cooking until it reaches 82C/180F on a digital thermometer, then immediately remove it from the heat. You need to do this quickly or it will begin to scramble. 

6. Pour it straight through a sieve into a tall measuring jug.

7. Scoop in the bloomed gelatin powder (or squeeze the water out of the gelatin sheet), and then use a hand blender to blend until smooth. 

8. Pour in the fruit puree and blend to combine. 

9. Pour this mixture into a tray and cover the surface with cling film. We need this to cool to around 30C/86F on a digital thermometer, so refrigerating it can be the quickest way to chill it. 

10. Once at temperature, add the remaining cream to the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on a medium speed until you have a medium stiff peak. 

11. Pour the chilled fruit mixture into a bowl, and then whisk in the whipped cream in 3 parts until you have a smooth mousse. 

Assembly Part 1

1. Take the cooled 7” savaordi biscuit discs and, using your 7” ring mold, trim them down to size. 

2. Line the inside of the 7” cake ring mold with acetate and place this onto a tray lined with a baking mat.

3. Take a few tablespoons of jam and spread this evenly across each disc, then place one into the base of the ring mold.

4. Take the berry bavarois mousse and fill the ring mold up halfway.

5. Add the second savoiardi disc.

6. Pour the remaining mousse in, filling it to the top of the rind mold. It should settle evenly, but if it needs it, flatten it with a palette knife.

7. Place this into the freezer, ideally overnight, but a minimum of 6 hours. 

Mascarpone Cream

1. Add the powdered gelatin into a small bowl and pour the cold water over the top. Let it bloom for 5-10 minutes. If using a gelatin sheet, soak this in ice cold water. 

2. Into a medium saucepan, add the cream and heat until it is steaming.

3. Remove it from the heat, and add the bloomed gelatin into a tall measuring jug and pour over the hot cream.

4. Blend to combine, then add the sugar and mascarpone and blend again. 

5. Finally, add the remaining cold cream and blend one more time.

6. Cover the surface with clingfilm and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

Note – there is no vanilla in this, but you can absolutely add it, if you want that flavour! Add it to the cream when you are heating it.

Assembly Part 2

1. Remove the frozen berry bavarois from the freezer, and lift it onto your serving dish. Peel off the acetate.

2. Leave it at room temperature for about 30 minutes – 1 hour to soften, this will make it easier to stick the lady fingers on. Alternatively, you can use a heat gun/blow torch to warm the sides and press the lady fingers on.

3. Once the edges have softened slightly, remove the lady fingers from the freezer, and then trim them down slightly so they are all of identical height. You can also use a microplane to lightly shave the edges to get them nice and straight. 

4. Press them into the side of the cake – just note that the longer you leave them on the cake, the softer they will become. So if you want them to be a bit more crunchy, then it is best to place them on the cake just as you are serving. But note the cake needs quite some time to defrost! 

5. Remove the mascarpone cream from the fridge and add it to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

6. Whisk on a medium speed until it holds a medium peak, being careful not to over whip it.

7. Add the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1M star tip nozzle.

8. Pipe a spiral border around the edge of the cake. 

9. Finish the cake by decorating it with some crushed pistachios and freshly sliced fruit. 

10. The cake needs around 3-4 hours in total once removed from the freezer to defrost so just take those timings into consideration before serving.