Macadamia Tuile

Perfecting the very short texture of tuiles without resorting to large amounts of unhealthy saturated fats such as butter or lard becomes a challenge which leads to these macadamia tuiles.



The secret is a high starch flour, such as tapioca starch, used in conjuction with a non-saturated fat.



The combination of tapioca starch, egg white and macadamia oil results in a very crisp, nutty tuile suitable for both sweet and savoury dishes. No sugar is used to enable the dual usage. Without the sugar, shaping cannot be done at the end of cooking when the tuiles are still hot like for most traditional recipes. Instead shaping is incorporated by draping in or over moulds before cooking.

The mixture for the tuiles comprises 1 egg white, 2-2.5 tablespoon macadamia oil and about 4 tablespoon of tapioca starch mixed to a paste which forms soft peaks, just like "Royal Icing" for filigree pipe work.



An electrical waffle maker with removable plates makes the shaping task easy, as can be seen in the photographs below. Cooking in a hot oven or in a waffle maker takes 3-5 minutes.



For lace-like tuile, use a No. 0 or 1 "Icemaster" writing tube and doodle, keeping spaces under 0.5 cm. For a more masculine tuile, keep the trails straighter. If using a piping bag and writing tube look difficult, than don't despair, as you can easily use a plastic bag with a hole, a medicine syringe, greaseproof paper folded into a cone or even a spatula to dispense the tuile paste into the tessellations of a waffle iron. Which ever way, try keeping the trails as thin, and as even a thickness as possible to enable even browning during cooking. Left over paste makes perfect "nuts" when dotted.

Uses: Decorations for sweet or savoury dishes. Add a crunchy texture to soft foods. Sprinkle tuiles with cocoa or icing sugar for use in sweets.