Busters Recipes

Ladyfingers (Savoiardi)

Makes about 25 5-inch or 32 4-inch ladyfingers
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Note: Be sure to use extra large cookie sheets if you have them.

1 cup sifted unbleached flour
4 eggs graded "jumbo", separated and at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons superfine sugar
Confectioner's sugar for dusting tops before baking

Prepare your cookie sheets with shortening and flour as you would a cake
pan. Set aside. Sift your flour and salt together, and then set
aside. I like to sift mine three times. Adjust two racks to divide
the oven into thirds, and preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In an electric mixer, beat your egg yolks, 1/2 of your sugar and vanilla
until mixture is pale yellow. The mixture will be very light in
texture, and the volume seems to triple. Transfer to another large
mixing bowl. Wash your mixer bowl and beaters thoroughly with hot water
and soap, rinse, then wipe bowl and beaters with vinegar which will cut
any remaining traces of egg yolk. Rinse again with hot water and then
dry. Pour in your egg whites, and whip on low until frothy. Add your
cream of tartar. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high and
beat until soft peaks begin to form. Now add your remaining half of
sugar and beat until whites are stiff and shiny. You can tell it is
ready if you turn your mixer bowl upside down, and the whites do not
fall out.

Briskly folk in about 1/3 of the whites to your mixing bowl with egg
yolks/sugar mixture to lighten. Gently fold in the rest of your whites
until just combined, and then sift flour over egg mixture and gently
fold until combined. Your sponge batter will appear like soft clouds.

Fill a large pastry bag with a large plain tip (about a #6) with your
sponge batter. Working quickly, pipe 4-inch long, about 1/2-inch wide
strips to your prepared cookie sheets leaving about an inch between
savoiardi. It's allright if you pipe them a little closer. Gently
dust your savoiardi by sifting powdered sugar over them. Put your
cookie sheets in the oven. The savoiardi should be baked for about 15
minutes, but at the halfway mark, I reverse my sheets from front to
back, top to bottom oven rack and then bake until they are turning brown
and springy to the touch.