I've been trying to perfect making my mother's secret cake and I'm trying to overcome one particular problem. Sadly mom is no longer around so I'm on my own with this. This is a very delicious cake btw and people absolutely love it.
The cake is a non-bake cake -- which I guess technically makes it a dessert -- that is made using lady fingers dipped in warmed milk with a bit of cognac and cointreau in lieu of baked cake layers. The lady fingers are dipped in the milk to get soft and moist and then are arranged on a serving plate to form a layer. Each "cake layer" is 2 lady fingers high and there are 3 layers of "cake." In between each layer of lady fingers is a layer of chocolate-orange icing with a final layer of icing on top. The cake is then topped with a layer of crushed caramelized almonds.
The problem I have is with the lady fingers dipped in warm milk. They are very brittle and crumble very easily. The more you allow them time to drain the excess milk the more brittle they become. And still, after the cake is assembled, milk continues to leach out.
I bought a round pizza pan with holes thinking I could rest the dipped lady fingers on it, let the milk drain out, and then transfer them to the serving plate and build the cake.
Does anyone have any other suggestions to tackle this problem?
correct. they must be soaked so that the entire cookie gets soft. the middle of the cookie is hard otherwise and this is not what you want.
i often made the cake with my mom when I was a kid and i clearly remember dipping the lady fingers in completely. the only thing I can think of is that she used finger ladies from an Italian bakery. I can't find them anywhere here so I am using ones imported from Italy
Maybe I wasn't clear. I think you need to moisten the cookie throughout rather than soaking it. You seem to be soaking them too much based on the symptoms
Try using a spray bottle for you milk. Just spray each side so that they are still a little hard in the middle. Don't worry, they will be moist all the way
As fast as you dip it in the liquid, take it out. I realize you are using heAted milk but if there was ever a problem in a cookie falling apart too fast , it's because of that.
Try to dip it in cold milk and fast. With all the other liqueurs you are using , the cake will all come together nicely once the cake has set.
The lady fingers your mom used are probably not the same as what they sell today , reason why she had to soften them with warm milk.
The lady fingers today are light as anything.
thanks for the suggestions. maybe you are right and they only need a quick dip or spray. I can test that out before making the cake to see if the middle does soften or stays hard
I have had similar problems when I switched lady fingers when making a decadent tiramisu.
I can tell you that Italian lady finger soak up liquid much more evenly than locally made cookies which easily crumble when wet.
As for dipping, it's hard to get the timing right, I have not tried the spray bottle technique but I know that brushing the liquid on the surface, like painting, of the cookie works well. One stroke per side.
It takes time for the liquid to make it through and through to soften the cookie but it will. My technique is brush one side, brush the other than place the cookie in the cake where it needs to be. I serve my cake 24hours after making it.
I have had similar problems when I switched lady fingers when making a decadent tiramisu.
I can tell you that Italian lady finger soak up liquid much more evenly than locally made cookies which easily crumble when wet.
As for dipping, it's hard to get the timing right, I have not tried the spray bottle technique but I know that brushing the liquid on the surface, like painting, of the cookie works well. One stroke per side.
It takes time for the liquid to make it through and through to soften the cookie but it will. My technique is brush one side, brush the other than place the cookie in the cake where it needs to be. I serve my cake 24hours after making it.
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