Name: Tuiles aux Amandes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 20 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2 egg whites; 60 g caster sugar; 30 g plain flour; 30 g butter, melted; ½ tsp vanilla extract; 60 g flaked almonds

Tuiles aux Amandes

Thin, curved almond biscuits made from egg whites, sugar and flaked almonds and baked for 10 minutes until golden at the edges.

25 min total Serves 20 servings Easy

Why This Is Worth Making

Why do tuiles have to be shaped the moment they leave the oven? Because they are baked as thin, soft discs, and for about 30 seconds they are pliable; after that the sugar sets and they snap. A tuile is a wafer-thin biscuit that takes its curved shape from a rolling pin or the neck of a bottle.

The batter is simple: egg whites, sugar, flour, butter and flaked almonds. Spread it very thin on a lined tray, as thin as you can make it with the back of a spoon, since thick patches stay soft in the middle. Bake only a few at a time, three or four to a tray, so that you can shape them all before they set. Lift each with a palette knife, drape it over a rolling pin and let it cool.

If they harden before you can shape them, return the tray to the oven for 30 seconds. They should be golden at the edges and pale in the middle when they come out. Store them airtight, because they soften quickly in damp air. Serve with ice cream, mousse or coffee.

Build the Meal Around Tuiles aux Amandes

Ice cream
Chocolate mousse
Coffee

Making Tuiles aux Amandes, Step by Step

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Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F and line two trays with baking paper.
Whisk the egg whites and sugar together until foamy. Stir in the flour, melted butter and vanilla, then fold in the almonds.
Put teaspoonfuls on the trays, 4 or 5 to a tray, and spread each into a very thin round.
Bake one tray at a time for 10 minutes until golden at the edges.
Lift each tuile with a palette knife straight away and drape over a rolling pin to cool and set.

Notes From the Method

Spread the batter as thinly as you can.

Bake only one tray at a time so you can shape them in time.

Return stiff tuiles to the oven for 30 seconds to soften.

Storing and Reheating

Keeps for 1 week in an airtight tin.