Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Ladyfingers


My family and I love Honolulu. In my opinion, it's a foodie's paradise. Having been there numerous times, we now have our favorite spots that we just have to hit in order to get that special something that can't be found anywhere else (or at least not the same quality).

One of those places is Leonard's Bakery which is famed for their malasadas (Portuguese doughnuts rolled in sugar). While picking up some malasadas, however, we happened to notice that the bakery had made ladyfingers that day as well. Since we all love ladyfingers, we bought a small bag of those too. The ladyfingers were absolutely delicious, so soft and not at all dry. One bag just wasn't enough so we called the bakery the next day to see if they had more. To our dismay, we were told that the baker hadn't made any that day, and, furthermore, he wasn't planning on making more anytime soon either. Noooooooo!!! Whatever would we do?

Well, there was only one solution - find a recipe and make our own. And that's exactly what I did. I admit it's a little labor intensive since you have to whip the egg yolks and whites separately and then fold everything together. But, it was so worth it when it came time to take those spongy ladyfingers out of the oven and bite into their crisp sugar crust. My family ate them up and agreed that they were every bit as good as Leonard's (what a compliment!). So, from now on, my family will go to Leonard's Bakery for malasadas and "Lisa's Bakery" for ladyfingers.


Ladyfingers (adapted from Allrecipes)

2 eggs, separated
1/3 c. white sugar
7 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
I added 1/4 tsp. vanilla
powdered sugar (for sprinkling)

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a 17"x12" baking sheet with parchment paper. Fit a large pastry bag with a plain 1/2" round tip.

Place egg whites in a bowl and beat on high until soft peaks start to form. Slowly add 2 Tbsp. of the sugar and continue beating until stiff and glossy. In another bowl, beat egg yolks with remaining sugar. Whip until thick and very pale in color. Add the vanilla to the yolks.

Sift flour and baking powder together on a sheet of wax paper. Fold half of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Fold in flour, and then fold in the remaining egg whites. Transfer mixture to pastry bag and pipe out onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Bake 7-8 min. Do not allow to turn golden brown.

Makes 18 ladyfingers

This recipe is linked to:
Hearth n' Soul Hop
Meatless Monday
A Little Birdie Told Me
Recipes I Can't Wait to Try
Cast Party Wednesday
Sweet Treats Thursday
Bake with Bizzy
Sweet Indulgences Sunday

18 comments:

  1. These look wonderful Lisa! I'll be putting an order in for "Lisa's Bakery" too :)

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  2. Look wonderful Lisa and are amazing to make some desserts! gloria

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  3. Perfect looking lady fingers! I say the ones from Lisa's bakery taste even better than those from Leonard's Bakery. :)

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  4. I bet these are SO much better than the ones I end up buying at the grocery store...they certainly look perfect, Lisa! Nice job :)

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  5. I never had soft, fresh ladyfingers! They sound amazing Lisa! I love recreating my favorites at home. Great job.

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  6. I LOVE lady fingers but I've never made my own. This recipe looks fantastic, love it! So glad to be your newest follower! :)

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  7. Lisa, these look great. I've been looking for recipes to make some Tiramisu from scratch, including all the components, since you don't find them readily here. What a coincidence that you tried these out!

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  8. Your ladyfingers look great, and like other commentors - it's expensive getting them here, so making them as part of my tiramisu is perfect :)

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  9. Nice! Thanks so much for linking these up to made it on Monday!

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  10. This is something I need to learn how to make. Thanks for posting this :)

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  11. I have been wanting to try to make these for a long time. You've given me inspiration! I'm saving the recipe :-)

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  12. These look beautiful and the ingredients are so simple. I'll definitely have to give these a try! Thanks for sharing on A Well-Seasoned Life's Sweet Indulgences Sunday.

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  13. I'm so glad "Lisa's Bakery" shared her wonderful recipe for Ladyfingers!! I never thought about making them from scratch, and these sound wonderful. Ladyfingers are such a delicious, classic treat, and so useful in so many dessert recipes. Thank you so much for sharing this post with the Hearth and Soul blog hop.

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  14. I'm saving this recipe for the next time I make tiramisu- I've never made my own before. These look so good! :)

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  15. Lisa, I'm craving lady fingers and daydreaming about going to Honolulu all at once!

    If we ever make it to Honolulu, I'm going to have to get your insider's guide for foodies!

    Thank you so much for always bringing such quality and style to "A Little Birdie Told Me...".

    Jenn

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  16. This is fantastic! I've never made ladyfingers from scratch. It's on my food to-do list!

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  17. Love Ladyfingers so glad I found your recipe

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