Daring Bakers: Tuiles/cornets from the French Laundry
January 26, 2009 
This month's Daring Baker'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. Karen is in the Netherlands and Zorra is blogging from Spain.
The challenge was to make either sweet or savory tuiles and I chose the savory. The recipe used for the savory ones are from The French Laundry - this batter is what is used to make the cornets for their famous salmon tartare cornet appetizers. These appetizers are like little ice cream cones. They are just two or three bites. I did not want to fill them with salmon tartare, however, because I knew my husband would not eat them so I filled them with a mixture of ricotta and parmesan cheese and then grated parmesan cheese on top. You can fill them with anything your imagination comes up with!
I also could not make a true cornet, because I did not have any cornet molds. I substituted my large pastry tips and this enabled me to only make a rolled shell, not a true cornet. But they worked. I could still fill them. But I liked these so much and there are so many ways to fill them that I just may have to purchase the molds and have some fun! There was a definite learning curve in making these but at the end I was getting the hang of it. I look forward to making these again and filling them with something different.
Savory Tuile/Cornet Recipe
From Thomas Keller "the French Laundry Cookbook"
for a printable recipe click here
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (65 grams/2.1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (114 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
- 2 large egg whites, cold
- 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds (I omitted these)
Instructions:
Thomas Keller says you can make this batter in a food processor. I put the butter in first and made sure it was creamed well and then added everything else in (except seeds) and processed it until smooth.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil. You can use anything but some kind of hard plastic works best. I used a plastic file envelope and cut a hollow circle out of it:
Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets.
There should not be any holes in the batter. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds (I omitted the sesame seeds).
Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point.
Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door. This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round. If you are right-handed, you will want the pointed end on your left and the open end on your right. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge (at about 7 o'clock on a clock face) of the cornet.
Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remain on the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.
When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so.
Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels. Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.
I used a piping bag to fill the shells. 
Reader Comments (11)
I love the size of these, and your chosen filling. I'm envisioning the many other fillings you could use with this recipe. Good luck!
Yummmm. Looks a little fussy, but it would be fun to try! I need to make an appetizer this weekend. This has potential. Your filling sounds delish. I will have to think about other fillings.
Delicious!
Ricotta and parmesan sound perfect for this dainty looking tuiles. Well done for this month challenge.
Cheers,
ELra
Extraordinary! You were brilliant to find a substitute for the cornet molds.
BTW, the cornets at French Laundry are a little toastier-looking, so you could have baked yours even longer. But, still! Brava.
A lot of work, it seems. But all well worth it. They are lovely :)
They are so lovely..but am sure it was hard work to make so many!...how neat and cute!
it's on my list
i've eaten them and they're memorable
great job - as usual
next time try the salmon filling
crazy good
Your tuiles look great. Wish mine had turned out as well.
BTW.. Love the blog and congrats on the URS win.
Sorry. That was the wrong blog post. I am confused sometimes. Still love the blog.
Delicious.
Congratulations for this marvellous blog.
A good idea to use the cornet molds.
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