Aosta tuiles

Aosta tuiles, or tegole in Italian, are small, round, very thin biscuits that crunch when you bite into them. According to tradition, they were created in the 1930s by pastry cooks in the Aosta Valley. Today they are among the sweet things that people take home from the valley.

A hazelnut batter

The base is simple: hazelnuts, sugar, egg whites and flour. Almonds or vanilla are sometimes added. The batter is soft. It is spread very thinly, in small discs, with a spatula. The baking time is short.

In the oven, in ten minutes

Ingredients:

• 200 g sugar
• 80 g hazelnuts
• 80 g blanched almonds
• 60 g butter
• 60 g type 00 white flour
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar
• 4 egg whites

Method:

1. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and almonds.
2. In a bowl, mix the sugar, flour and vanilla sugar.
3. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks.
4. Melt the butter. Add the melted butter, the chopped nuts and then the whisked egg whites to the dry mixture. Fold gently to obtain a smooth batter.
5. On a baking tray lined with baking paper, spread the batter with a spatula into thin discs about 10 cm across.
6. Bake at 180 °C for 7 to 10 minutes, until the tuiles are golden.
7. As soon as they come out of the oven, lay them over a rolling pin to give them a curved shape. Leave them to cool completely.

The taste

Tuiles are both light and full of flavour. Hazelnut dominates, the almonds bring a slight bitterness and the vanilla a softer note.

What to serve them with

• On their own, for their crunch.
• With a hot drink: hot chocolate, coffee or tea, in the afternoon.
• With custard: the crisp biscuit contrasts with the cream.
• With a scoop of ice cream, in summer.
• With crème de Cogne, the valley’s other great dessert. This is the most classic pairing.

Keeping them crisp

Tuiles do not like damp. Store them in a tightly closed metal tin, in a dry place. They will keep for several days.