[Ladyfingers]
In order to make the
VEGAN CHARLOTTE MALAKOFF - you first have to make some Ladyfingers - as Julia says that the storebought ones are awful...not her exact words...and I couldn't find any ladyfingers even if I wanted to...and if I did find them I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be vegan...
...I made my 'egg yolks' the regular way with
flax seed goo...
...added my sugar and vanilla...
...and beat until a ribbon formed...whatever...beat until the sugar dissolved...
...buttered some pans with Earth Balance and lightly dusted with flour...
...Now here's where the really experimental part begins...I mixed some water and agar powder...
...I've been reading a couple of blogs that have been experimenting with a new vegan product called Versawhip 600 that is whip-able - I've used it successfully a couple of times to replace egg whites...
...here I mixed about 2 Tablespoons of Versa-whip with 2 teaspoons of Clear Gel...
...then I added the agar mixture and a little bit of water - about 1/4 cup...and using Julia's instructions - added a pinch of salt and a Tablespoon of sugar...and whipped it all up...hoping it would make about 3 egg whites worth of fluff...perfect...
...folded that into the 'egg yolk' mixture...
...then I folded in some flour - but apparently I didn't take a picture of it...then put the batter into a pastry bag - but I used my little icing squirter thingy...you just want to be able to pipe lines of Ladyfingers onto the prepared pans...
...so then you just pipe your lines of batter about 4 inches long...
...the recipe says that it makes 24 to 30 Ladyfingers and I got exactly 24 from my mixture...
...sprinkle with powdered sugar...Julia says to turn the pans upside down and dust off the extra sugar - but that seemed pretty risky and I didn't do that...
...then you pop them in the oven...
...and you get crispy spongy cookies...Ladyfingers...
...I let them cool a bit and then dipped them in some orange liqueur - which I also neglected to take a picture of...here they are ready to be assembled in the Charlotte pan...which I don't have...
...so I lined my smallest spring form pan with wax paper and then arranged the Ladyfingers in the bottom - you have to trim the ends first to make a pretty flower on the bottom and then you just stand them up soldier style around the outer edge...
...it's late now and I'm going to bed...I'll finish the filling tomorrow...
...I should probably mention that I've never had Ladyfingers of any sort - so I don't have anything to compare these to - but I tried them and they were very pleasant - soft and spongy - a little bit chewy - sort of like Angel Food Cake - but also crispy on the outside...they would probably be good plain served with a nice tea...(isn't everything good served with a nice cup of tea)...
Substitutions: Earth Balance for Butter just on the pans
flax seed goo for the egg yolks
Versawhip 600/agar/Clear Gel for the egg whites
Recipe here:
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
pp. 666-667
...The Master recipe actually calls for Strawberries...but I didn't have any and I do have plenty of Raspberries...so Raspberries it is...
...and first you'll need to make some Ladyfingers...
...Use 1/2 pound of softened vegan margarine...A LOT!
...add some sugar...and cream together...
...add some orange liqueur - you're supposed to add 1/2 cup (A Lot!) - but I only had this little mini-bottle - so that's how much I added...
...add some almond extract...
...now for the expensive part...the vegan whipped cream...
...I used 6 cans of coconut milk to get enough whipped cream...I'm sure a can of SoyaToo would have been cheaper - but I didn't have any (and the health food store is 90 miles away)...but this stuff is so good - I could have licked the whole bowl clean...
...add some pulverized almonds - I used whole organic almonds that I ground up in the coffee grinder - so my cream may be a little darker than if you used blanched almonds...
...fold in your whipped cream...
...and you're done...I was kind of surprised that there was no cooking involved...
...assemble your ingredients...if you're using frozen fruit like I am...Julia says to make sure it's well drained...
...put a layer of fluffy cream on top of the Ladyfingers...
...top that with a layer of fruit...
...and a layer of Ladyfingers - I used my trimmings and leftovers...
...then cream...fruit...and Ladyfingers again...
...top with the final third of the cream...
...cover with a sheet of waxed paper...
...set a plate on top...
...and refrigerate overnight...the next morning...it should have firmed up considerably...
...peel off the waxed paper...
...run a knife around the edge...
...invert your serving platter and unmold...
...peel the waxed paper off the bottom...now top...
...and you're done...
...I was amazed that it held it's shape...
...and it was truy delicious...and definitely NOT diet food...
Substitutions:
Vegan Margarine for Butter - I used Willow Run
Vegan Whipped Cream from coconut milk - or SoyaToo
Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking
pp. 605-607
