Your beloved tiramisu recipe is back and it won’t require looking for gluten-free lady fingers! This easy homemade recipe requires no special equipment, or even baking expertise. It’s simple to make GF lady fingers from-scratch. I’ll show you how!
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Homemade Gluten-Free Ladyfingers Made Easy Peasy
Gosh, do I love being pleasantly surprised by things I thought would be difficult to make. I had written off enjoying an authentic, homemade gluten-free tiramisu for years, decades actually… I thought making a gluten-free ladyfinger cookies would be too troublesome, so I experimented using alternative swaps.
After creating a tender, buttery GF shortbread cookie, I had the eureka moment of dipping them in coffee as a tiramisu base. Unfortunately, while they are amazing baked to intention, they didn’t hold up to being soaked in espresso.
But as the holidays roll around I was inspired to give it another solid effort. I wish hadn’t wasted so many years void of homemade ladyfingers! If you can separate an yolk from a white, have a mixing bowl and mesh sieve, then you have everything you need to make this recipe.
In fact, I didn’t even mess around with a pastry bag to pipe them out. I found it was just an extra clumsy step and I didn’t want any thing or kitchen gadget to get in your way. Transfer the mixture to a gallon ziplock, snip off the corner and you are good to go.
These sponge fingers’ taste and texture are so spot on, I bet my Italian grandma would happily be noshing on these light, airy gluten-free savoiardi just as happily as she would my homemade GF pizzelles or Italian-bakery inspired chewy, decadent almond paste cookies. Che buono!
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Let’s Make This Together!
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
Beat yolks and white separately
This is the important part to build up a porous, light texture. First, add the egg yolks, half the sugar, and vanilla to a mixing bowl. Beat until pale and fluffy, which takes about 3 minutes.
In a separate clean, dry bowl, add the egg whites and beat until foamy. Continue to beat while gradually adding in the remaining sugar. It will come together like a stiff, glossy meringue.
Sift in gluten free flour
Combine the two mixtures together by gently folding the egg whites into the egg yolks, in three batches. We want to keep everything light, so use a sifter or mesh sieve to shake the flour and baking powder into the egg mixture.
Gently fold, which means working in the flour by slowly stirring around the outside of the bowl and working in towards the middle. Keep doing this until all the flour is worked in, especially at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be a lot thicker, but try to keep the stirring motion as light as possible.
Mess free piping
Grab your ziplock bag and fold back the top so you have a nice exposed opening to transfer the batter to. You don’t have to zip it close, but push the batter towards one corner side and snip off a 3/4-inch corner. Twist the bag to keep the batter separate from the excess, empty space.
Pipe, rest, and bake
Pipe the batter into 4-inch long logs on the prepared baking sheet. You’ll want the logs to be about 1-inch wide. Let them rest for 10 minutes before baking. This helps saturate the GF starches, making the sponge biscuits soft without grittiness. I tested the recipe both way and with my family of taste testers we all unanimously agreed the rested ones had a better texture.
Dust the piped logs with powdered sugar. Bake in a 350℉ oven for 15 minutes. Leave them in oven, but lower it 300°F. Bake for an 8-10 minutes, cool, and enjoy!
Letting them finish at the lower 300℉ oven finishes the baking process in a gentler way so they don’t become overly brown, but are still crispy enough to hold up to use for tiramisu. If you like crispier savoiardi, they can be baked at the lower oven temp up to 12 minutes, or 8 minutes if you like them on the softer side.
What kind of gluten-free flour should I use?
I tested this homemade version with my preferred gluten-free baking flour, Cup4Cup. I particularly like this brand for dessert cookies because it contains cornstarch in the blend, which softens the crumb.
Different GF flours contain varying types of starches, making them absorb moisture at different rates. If you use an alternative GF flour blend, you may find the dough will be a little loose and not stiff enough to pipe. Instead of adding extra flour to the mixture, which has potential for drying out the biscuits, I would add 1-4 tablespoons cornstarch to the mixture.
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Seriously Easy Gluten-Free Ladyfingers Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs, separated
- ⅔ cup (134 g) granulated sugar , divided
- 1 teaspoon almond extract , or vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ¼ cup (181 g) gluten-free all purpose flour, I use and recommend Cup4Cup gluten-free flour, see recipe notes for other brands
- powdered sugar , for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. You will need a large gallon ziplock bag for piping. Set aside.
- Place the egg yolks, ⅓ cup sugar, and extract in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until pale, fluffy, and the sugar is dissolved. This takes about 3 minutes. Set aside.4 large eggs, ⅔ cup granulated sugar , 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Place the egg whites in a separate clean, dry bowl. Using clean beaters, beat on high speed until foamy. Continue to beat while adding in the remaining ⅓ cup sugar, sprinkling in about a tablespoon at a time. Beat until the mixture is glossy with stiff peaks, about 2 minutes more.4 large eggs, ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- Gently fold the egg whites, a third at a time, into the egg yolks until well combined. Sift the flour and baking powder into the egg mixture. Gently fold until no flour streaks remain. The batter will be a lot thicker.½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 ¼ cup gluten-free all purpose flour
- Transfer the batter to the gallon ziplock bag. Trim off a ¾-inch corner at the bottom of the bag. You don't have to zip it close, but push the batter towards the clipped corner side. Twist the bag to keep the batter separate from the excess, empty space.
- Pipe the batter into 4-inch long logs on the prepared baking sheet. Go slow enough so the logs end up being about 1-inch wide. To release the dough when piping, I press the cut corner down to the baking sheet to cut it off. Space them about 1 inch apart. Let the piped logs sit at room temp for 10 minutes before baking. This helps saturate the GF starches, making the cookies soft without grittiness.
- Dust the piped logs with powdered sugar. Bake the sheets for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, keep them in oven, but lower it 300°F. Bake for an 8-10 minutes, and up to 15 if you like the cookies crispier. Leave them on the parchment to cool completely before peeling off.
Notes
Using other flour brands
I have only tested this recipe with Cup4Cup flour, which contains cornstarch, making the baked consistency softer, but the batter thicker while combining. If you use an alternative brand, you might find the batter to be thinner and may not hold shape for piping. I suggest adding 1-4 tablespoons cornstarch to structure the dough.This post contains affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you. Read full disclosure policy here.
Can almond flour be used as a replacement for the gluten free flour in your recipes?
Hi Barb,
Sorry, no these won’t work with almond flour. It has a lot more moisture so everything would have to be adjusted. Sorry!
Best,
Melissa