Savoiardi or ladyfingers are the most famous Italian biscuits in the world, known simply with their own name or the appropriate translations.
They are also known as sponge-fingers, trifle sponges or boudoir biscuits in the United Kingdom.
When and where was savoiardi born?
We are at the court of Amedeo VI of Savoy (1334 - 1383), Lord of the Savoy and the Count d'Aosta and Moriana. It is said that he should ever host the King of France, Charles V. And as you can imagine he had alerted his chef.
His host had refined tastes and had to feel completely at ease. In reality, apart from the important visit, there was another reason to create havoc and that reason was all female. His wife and Charles V' s wife were sisters: Bonne of Bourbon and Jeanne de Bourbon.
You can well imagine how Bonne felt. It was impossible to disfigure with the King of France and much more with her sister. Here's the reason why the pastry chef was asked to create something memorable. This cook created a fantastic sweet thing with simple ingredients, a cookie that is still admired and "eaten" all over the world.
Who knows how did Bonne feel? We women understand this story perfectly.We wonder if the story is true.
Over time, the savoiardi recipe spread in all regions in which Savoy had a direct or indirect influence: Piedmont, Sicily, Sardinia ...
But the first real historical record for the name of Savoy is in a shopping list for a wedding in Venice. It was 1722.
Regional recipes
You can findo a lot of versions of savoiardi recipe leafing your cookbooks or surfing Internet. We propose doses and ingredients to make savoiardi (ladyfingers) at home following a traditional and common recipe of Piedmont.
We suggest you try the recipe and then, eventually, to adapt it to your needs. More sugar? fewer eggs? part of the flour replaced with potato starch? a small addition of lemon juice and peel ? a hint of vanilla? all these variants acceptable. But yeast should never appear . In fact, savoiardi are born as swollen and spongy biscuits without yeast. Their dough is light and friable, very delicate.
In Sardinia the biscuits are called pistoccus and are made with a mixture of flour, sugar, eggs and a pinch of salt. They are sprinkled with icing sugar before baking. This dough has a higher amount of eggs than the recipe of Piedmont.
In Sicily savoiardi has a more rustic and coarse shape. The main ingredients are flour, sugar, eggs (many) and water. The cookies are cooked in very hot oven.