Ladyfingers (Savoiardi)

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Ladyfingers are light, airy cookies, also called savoiardi, that originated in Europe. They’re great for dipping into coffee and enjoying with your morning Joe, but they’re also the classic base for tiramisu. They soak up the coffee while giving the dessert its soft, layered texture. A delightful cookie great for anytime of the day.

Equipment needed?

There is a few tools that you'll need to successfully make some ladyfingers. Once the batter is made and you are ready to bake, we'll need to pipe them out to give them their proper shape. For this, you'll need:

1. Piping bags
2. Piping nozzle - Wilton 1A: About ½ inch round nozzle
3. Parchment paper or a silicone baking mat

The piping bags and nozzle help control the batter so you can pipe ladyfingers that are even and size and shape. The parchment paper or silicone baking mat will help your ladyfingers not stick to the tray when removing.

For the nozzle, I would recommend a Wilton 1A or something that is about ½ inch wide, roughly 12-13 mm.

Common Issues

Some common issues that can come up are the batter spreading too much or the ladyfingers sticking to the tray when you try to remove them. The two main culprits are usually not whipping the eggs enough and not baking them long enough.

If the eggs aren’t whipped to stiff peaks, you lose the structure you need when folding them into the batter. That can leave you with ladyfingers that are flatter, denser, and less airy.

If the ladyfingers are sticking to the pan, they most likely need a little more time in the oven. After the bake and rest time, the bottoms should release easily and be smooth.

Recipe

Yields: about 24 ladyfingers