Green Tea Financier
One thing that I least expected when I started my new ice-cream making hobby is the mass accumulation of egg whites in my freezer. As pints and pints of ice-cream start to occupy the upper section of my refrigerator, they are sitting right next to tubs and tubs of egg whites, all leftover from my ice-cream making attempts. So before I ran out of freezer space, I reckon that I need to figure out some ways to use up the whites. Initially, I mainly use them for egg-white omelets for breakfast, but very soon I got really sick of having it. There got to be other ways, I thought. So I start exploring how the whites can be used up in pastry or dessert.
Prior to my research, my only knowledge of egg whites in pastry or dessert was limited to meringue or soufflé, but after looking into some books, I realize there are myriad of ways to use up the whites – and the two that I have tried with great success were Financier and Langue du Chat.
Financier is actually a soft light sponge cake made with ground almond and brown butter. Yum! It goes along beautifully with a cup of freshly brewed tea. Different flavors can also be added to the cake. I did it with green tea powder (another over-stock and this does not keep well) and it turn out really well. I will most probably try it with chocolate the next time and I’m sure it will yield equally good result.
Matcha Langue Du Chat
Langue du Chat aka Cat’s Tongue on the other hand is a type of cookie, buttery, crisp and sweet (almost like a wafer) in the shape of the feline’s tongue and hence the nickname. They are actually very good snack, I can hardly keep my hands off as they come straight out of the oven.
Anyhow, both pastries are good to bake. They are really easy, with very low percentage of failure, very versatile, can be enhanced with interesting flavors and coincidentally pair absolutely well with ice-creams.
But I’m still having problems finishing up the whites. There is a good 30-40 eggs worth of whites parking in my freezer right now. So what’s next? Hmm, I saw a (ice-cream) waffle cone recipe that uses egg whites. Sounds good. Now, you know I’m eyeing on a waffle maker next.
Langue du Chat
Make about 60 pieces
You need:
120gm sifted plain flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of matcha powder
120gm unsalted butter, softened
120gm castor sugar
120gm of egg whites, at room temperature
To make:
- Sift flour, salt and green tea powder together in a mixing bowl.
- In another mixing bowl cream butter and sugar together.
- Gradually pour in the egg whites, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Add in the flour mixture, mixing well. Do not over-mix.
- Fill a pastry bag with a large round tube and fill the bag with cookie batter. Pipe onto a baking tray lined with a silicone mat. Pipe to the thickness of a pencil.
- Preheat oven to 200c. Bake cookies for 7mins or until lightly browned on the edge.
- Remove from baking tray immediately once they come out of the oven. Cool on rack. (the cookies will turn crisp after cooled)
- Store in an airtight container for a couple of weeks.
