It’s incredibly simple to make ladyfingers at home. I’m sharing the recipe for ladyfingers along with my tip on how to bake them (extra) crisp and crunchy.
You can use lady fingers for making homemade tiramisu or just enjoy them as they are!
Making your own lady fingers is easier than you might think and perfect if you can’t find them in the stores or want to make tiramisu from scratch.
You can use the ladyfinger cookies for your next homemade tiramisu or you can eat them with a cup of coffee. Both are delicious!
Lady fingers are essentially a sponge cake but baked in a different way, making them crunchy and crisp. Make sure to double-check the full ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below.
Start by whipping the egg whites in a large grease-free bowl with part of the sugar and the salt until stiff peaks form. I like to do this in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
Use another large mixing bowl to beat the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar until it is light and fluffy. Now add the egg yolk mixture to the egg whites and gently fold those together.
When it is almost uniform in color, sift the flour and the cornstarch together into the egg mixture and do this in 3-4 additions.
Make sure to fold it in gently and wait until the flour mixture is almost incorporated before adding more. It’s important to try and keep the batter as airy as possible.
Now, you add the batter into a piping bag with a plain round 10mm piping tip. Using baking sheets lined with parchment paper pipe the lady fingers and make them each about 8-10 cm/3-4 inches long.
Make sure to leave enough space in between the sponge fingers as they will spread slightly in the oven.
Sprinkle the lady fingers with superfine caster sugar. Remove any excess sugar from the baking sheet by gently blowing it away.
Bake the lady fingers for 10-12 minutes at 375˚F/190˚C.
After that time, take them out of the oven and let it cool slightly. Taste one and see how they are on the inside. They might still be a little soft on the inside.
I love it when they are a bit soft on the inside, but if you want them completely crispy return them to the oven for an extra 3-4 minutes. You can also do that by turning of the oven and letting them cool down inside.
Keep in mind: fresh out of the oven they might still be a bit soft, but they will firm up once cooling down.
In the Netherlands, we know these cookies as ‘lange vingers’ and most other countries know them as ladyfingers. But in France, they refer to them as boudoir cookies or ‘Biscuit de Champagne’; apparently, because they pair well with a glass of champagne.
Ladyfingers are delicious on their own, but they’re also perfect for desserts. The classic dessert tiramisu, for example, would be nothing without a generous amount of lady fingers, and cakes like a charlotte depend heavily on them as well.
You can even bake ladyfinger batter as a cake base; the possibilities are endless. And I haven’t even mentioned all the flavors you can add to the homemade ladyfingers recipe itself! I will be sharing my recipe for chocolate ladyfingers later, too.
My list of recipes using these cookies is incredibly long, but I’ve selected a few favorites for you:
It’s best to store the lady fingers in a cookie jar or cookie tin and they keep well for 1-2 weeks.
I have not tried freezing them myself but well wrapped in an airtight container that should be possible. Keep in mind they possibly will be less crunchy after thawing.
This can be caused by several factors:
Unfortunately, this isn’t possible. Hopefully, the article below can help you further: baking with almond flour
Let the cookies cool completely first, they only become fully crisp once cooled. Still not crunchy after cooling? Then they were likely not baked long enough or at a high enough temperature. Every oven is different, and using an extra oven thermometer can help check the actual temperature.
You may also have forgotten the final step of removing the baking paper and placing the ladyfingers directly on the oven rack before returning them to the oven.
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