an ice-cream container lid is turned into a butterfly template for tuile and chocolate decorations
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Need a particular shaped template for a tuile cupcake toppers? You could hit the craft stores and buy small plastic templates or you can easily make you own with margarine or ice-container lids. I prefer the plastic ice-cream lids as they are sturdy enough to wash and use over and over.
To make you template you will need....
a craft knife or small sharp scissors
a cutting mat
clean and dry ice-cream or margarine container lids
To start with cut the edges away from the lid, leaving you with the flat middle section. Either draw or trace the image you want onto the lid. I chose a butterfly clipart image.
Cut your image out with a craft knife, leaving enough plastic on one side to act as "a handle". That's it, your template is ready to use.
tuile cookie butterfly cupcake topper with the help of my new template.
To make the butterfly tuiles I used a vanilla batter, flavoured a little of it with cocoa to pipe the details on the butterflies. If your prefer you can pipe melted chocolate details on the cooled baked tuiles.
Whatever template pattern you have, only bake a few tuiles at the time as you will need to shape them whilst they are still hot. Wear rubber gloves if your hands are heat sensitive.
I just use my fingers (but I can handle heat that causes my husband to say "yikes") to bend the hot tuiles, you can lift them quickly off the trays and fold them over the edge of a bowl.
Simple Vanilla Tuile Batter
Ingredients
115g (4oz) unsalted butter softened
115g (4oz) plain flour (all-purpose)
115g (4oz) icing sugar (confectioners)
1/2 cup egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence
2 teaspoons of cocoa powder (optional)
Method
In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and icing sugar together. Add the egg white a little at a time until incorporated. Add vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold through flour until it is just incorporated.
If you want chocolate batter to pipe details, remove 1/6 of the batter to a separate bowl and mix in two teaspoons of cocoa powder until smooth.
Lay your template on a non-stick baking mat (or grease and flour a baking tray); holding/pressing down the handle part of the template, spread over a little of the batter as evenly and thinly as possible.
Lift the template and repeat, until you four to five butterflies on your tray.
Pipe details with the cocoa batter if using and bake for 6-7 minutes or until the edges are browned. Remove from oven and quickly remove a butterfly from tray and create fold in the centre. Repeat with the next butterfly. If butterflies start to become too brittle to fold, reheat for a minute to soften again. Use butterflies as cupcake toppers or for plated desserts.
The same template can be used to along with a chocolate transfer sheet to create stencilled chocolate butterflies.
Happy Baking & Crafting :)