Allowing us Daring Bakers a bit more time to recover from holiday excess, it was a brilliant scheme to propose a lighter, easier challenge. Instead of the typical novel of a recipe that rattles on for 18 or more pages, this one was quite simple, but allowed for plenty of creative freedom- Exactly what I crave.

This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Like most DB challenges these days, I was at first miffed by the simplicity of those plain old tuiles, this boring and unexceptional cookie that could be easily made by newbie bakers. Instead of wasting time and getting in a huff though, I quickly moved on and made exactly what I would have wanted from the challenge. What else other than a plated dessert?

Believe it or not, this one required no veganization on my part, as Lolo had already concocted a perfect recipe for vegan tuiles, which I happily put to use. Going with the theme of “light and airy,” I sketched out a few shapes of little birds and then cut them out of cardboard to make my templates. Coloring the dough by using beet juice instead of water, plus just a tiny pinch of paprika, my love birds took flight in rosy shades of pink. A tiny dab of the batter mixed with cocoa created their eyes.

Perched upon spun sugar nests, these crispy feathered cookies were quite an adorable pair, and I could have easily stopped there. But no, I had my heart set on a composed plate of different flavors and textures. Starting from the bottom up, rounds of fluffy chocolate cake were topped with pistachio mousse, making for a rich, creamy base to contrast nicely with the wafer-thin tuiles. Surrounded by a simple coconut foam, each bite was a little bit different, but all were satisfying to both my sweet tooth and my inner pastry chef.