Homemade Lady Fingers Recipe - Boston Girl Bakes

Name: Lady Fingers
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 4 large eggs (separated); ⅔ cup (134 g) granulated sugar; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup (120 g) all purpose flour (*spooned and leveled); ½ teaspoon baking powder; 2 Tablespoons cornstarch; Powdered sugar (for dusting on top before baking)

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These lady fingers are crunchy on the outside and spongey inside. These delicious, airy, and light sponge fingers are made using 6 simple ingredients you can usually find in your pantry! Lady fingers are perfect for your everyday snacks and for making your favorite desserts.

Lady fingers dusted with powdered sugar on a plate

Making cookies is one of my favorite pass times. They are easy to make and delicious to eat. I can even add various ingredients available in my pantry. And cookies only need a few simple ingredients which makes them easier to prepare for me. Just like these tasty lady fingers! It has a sponge cake like base, a light and airy interior, and a crispy exterior.

These only need a few ingredients, sort of like my super easy Butter Swim Biscuits! I love a baking recipe that only requires 7 ingredients or less.

For this ladyfingers recipe, I only used 6 simple ingredients that are typically stored in my pantry and fridge. They are also available in your favorite local grocery store. And the best part is you can use these homemade ladyfingers to make the best Tiramisu.

My Recommended Tools

Stand Mixer

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Why You’ll Love This Homemade Lady Fingers

Needs 6 Simple Ingredients – This recipe calls for 6 simple and readily available ingredients. You can find them in most baker’s pantries and grocery stores.
Quick To Bake – It only needs a total of about 15 minutes of baking time to make ladyfingers!
Enjoy Lady Fingers All Year Round – Lady Fingers are typically seasonal. But if you make it at home, you can enjoy delicious lady fingers all year or use them to make tiramisu, strawberry shortcake, Charlotte Russe, or Italian trifles.

Ingredients Needed

To make homemade lady fingers, you’ll need 6 simple ingredients:

Eggs – You need to separate four whole eggs. Egg whites are for whipping and making meringue. And egg yolks for making your egg yolk mixture. Ensure both egg whites and egg yolks are at room temperature before whipping. To get your egg at room temperature fast, you can place refrigerated eggs in a bowl with running water and then warm tap water.
All-Purpose Flour – Always sift the flour before adding it to your egg mixture. This will make it easier to mix and prevent your egg mixture from deflating. For best results, I recommend weighing your flour.
Granulated Sugar – This helps to sweeten the cookies and make them tender.
Baking Powder – This helps give the lady finger cookies a bit of lift in the oven when baking.
Cornstarch – This helps to create a light, airy tender Lady finger cookie.
Powdered Sugar – This homemade ladyfingers recipe calls for powdered sugar to be dusted on top of the ladyfingers. This is essential to help the cookies from spreading in the oven. If you don’t have powdered sugar, you can make one yourself using this How To Make Powdered Sugar Guide.

How To Make Ladyfingers

Why buy lady fingers if you can make them at home?! Follow these steps to make delicious, crispy, and spongey lady finger cookies.

1. Preheat The Oven

Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Adjust oven rack and place it in the middle.

2. Prepare Baking Sheet

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Prepare your large piping bag or pastry bag. Place a piping tip with a plain round opening. This will help you get the right shape and size for your homemade ladyfingers.

3. Separate Your Eggs

Separate your eggs when cold. Eggs will separate better when they are cold.

Separate egg whites from your egg yolks. Place egg yolks in a separate bowl and set aside. Transfer egg whites to a large mixing bowl. Then let them come to room temperature. Room temperature eggs will whip up better when at room temperature.

4. Create A Shiny Meringue

Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat egg whites mixture using your electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with a wire whisk attachment at medium-high speed until soft peaks form.

egg whites whipped to soft peaks in bowl

Add 2 Tablespoons of the granulated sugar to your egg whites and continue whipping until they reach stiff, glossy peaks.

Your meringue should have stiff peaks and not soft peaks. If soft peaks form, keep whisking until you get stiff peaks. This is very important to get an airy and thick batter. When you take the beater out of the egg whites the egg whites peaks should stand up on their own.

5. Make Egg Mixture

In a small bowl, beat egg yolks, vanilla extract, and remaining sugar until you reach a smooth consistency. Make sure your egg yolks are fully beaten without any lumps. The egg yolk mixture should be pale yellow in color and ribbony in consistency.

Fold half of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture with a rubber spatula. Do this slowly for a few seconds. Gently fold your egg mixture to prevent deflating your meringue.

You should still have stiff peaks after this step.

egg white mixture added to egg yolk mixture for lady finger batter

5. Add Remaining Ingredients

Sift the flour, baking powder, and cornstarch to your egg whites and gently fold the flour mixture using a rubber spatula. Be careful not to deflate your egg whites. Repeat until you mixed all your sifted dry ingredients into the egg mixture

After adding all your flour, you should have a light and frothy batter.

sieve of dry ingredients set on top of bowl

Then fold in the remaining egg white mixture.

egg white mixture folded into lady finger batter

6. Transfer To Piping Bag

Scoop your batter into your prepared large piping bag.

Get your prepared baking sheet. Pipe out the ladyfingers into 3 rows of 4 each. Leave about 1 inch between the lady fingers. Each lady finger should be about 3 inches (to 4 inches) long and 1 inch thick. Leave spaces in between your ladyfingers to prevent them from sticking together.

piped lady finger cookies on a baking sheet

7. Bake

Sprinkle powdered sugar on the top of your lady finger cookies before baking. The powdered sugar will help with the cookies spreading in the oven.

baking sheet of piped lady finger cookies dusted with powdered sugar

Bake in the oven at 350°F/177°C for 12-15 minutes. Make sure your oven rack is in the middle. The longer you bake the cookies, the crispier they will be. So if you want a softer cookie, you can bake them for less time.

8. Cool Ladyfinger Cookies

Carefully lift the parchment paper with the ladyfingers still on it. Place parchment paper on a cooling rack or flat surface to cool completely.

Recipe Variations

Almond Extract – Add a dash of almond extract to your egg yolks to add the scent and flavor of almond.
Lemon Zest – To make ladyfingers more refreshing, add lemon zest when gently folding your flour in.
Cocoa Powder – If you love chocolates and want to make ladyfingers chocolatey, add the sifted cocoa powder with your flour.

Recipe Tips

Want a crispier exterior like store-bought ladyfingers? Bake it longer. If you want softer and chewier ladyfingers, bake them shorter. Drier and crispier ladyfingers are better for making desserts.
Make sure there are no egg yolks mixed with your egg whites before whisking in your stand mixer or electric mixer to get the stiff peaks. It will be difficult to get the stiff peaks if some yolks are mixed in. I like to seperate one egg at a time, and then transfer that to my mixing bowl in case I get any egg yolks in I’ve only ruined one egg and not all of them.
Use a clean grease-free bowl when whipping the egg whites so they whip up to their full volume. I like to wipe the bowl down with a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice to ensure it’s grease-free.
Always measure your ingredients using an electronic measurement scale. This ensures you are adding the right amount of each ingredient.
If you don’t have a piping bag or pastry bag, you can use a ziplock bag. Cut the corner to pipe batter out.
To prepare ladyfingers before making desserts, dry them overnight uncovered. And when you get that hard exterior, transfer it to an airtight container until you use them.

Recipe FAQs

How to store homemade ladyfingers?

To store ladyfingers, transfer them to an airtight container or cookie jar at room temperature. It can last up to two weeks. But remember, the texture will not be the same as freshly baked homemade ladyfingers.

Can I freeze ladyfingers?

Yes, you can freeze ladyfingers. Before freezing, ensure your ladyfinger cookies are cool completely. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. Place parchment paper in between layers to prevent sticking. Frozen ladyfingers can last up to one month.

Why are my homemade ladyfingers flat?

The reason why your ladyfingers spread flat is your egg whites are not fully whisked together or they are overmixed. When undermixed, the egg whites will not get the stiff peaks needed for this recipe. While overmixing will lead to deflating your batter.

What’s wrong with my egg whites? They’re not whipping properly!

There are many factors that affect your egg whites. A tiny bit of water or egg yolk will make it hard to whip your egg whites. Sadly, if your egg whites are not whipping properly, you will need to start all over again.