Gluten Free Ladyfingers

What are Ladyfingers?

Ladyfingers are an Italian cookie, also known as savoiardi. They are light and airy sponge fingers with a slightly crisp exterior. Although they are also known as ladyfinger cookies, or biscuits, depending on where you are from in the world, but they have more of a cake-like texture interior.

Their name Savioiardi, comes from the region of Savoy (Savoia) in Northern Italy. They were created in The House of Savoy in the 19th century.

Ladyfingers or savoiardi are delicious served with fresh coffee but are more commonly used in desserts such as tiramisu, zuppa inglese, Charlotte cake and trifle.

📋 Ingredients Notes

• Eggs - Always use fresh room temperature eggs. To make ladyfingers the egg whites and egg yolks are whipped up separately.
• Sugar - The sugar is separated using half in the egg white mix and half in the egg yolk mix. I have tested with both granulated and superfine sugar, both work well, but I prefer to use superfine sugar.
• Vanilla extract - I like to add vanilla extract to my recipe because it adds a subtle yet delicious depth of flavor, enhancing the overall taste and making the gluten free ladyfingers even more delightful.
• Salt - enhances and helps balance out the flavors.
• Gluten free all purpose flour - I used a shop bought Gluten free Plain flour blend from Doves Farm Freee from range. Which is a flour blend of Rice, Potato, Tapioca, Maize and Buckwheat flour. I have had reports that others have used other Gluten free All purpose blends with my recipes that have worked well.
• Corn starch - Adds additional stability and texture to the ladyfingers. For more information on corn starch see my corn starch v corn flour post.
• Powdered sugar for dusting. Don't skip this step as the dusting of sugar will help the ladyfingers rise and prevent them from spreading.

See the recipe card below for ingredient measurements.

🥣 Step by Step Instructions

Below is a brief step-by-step process with photos of how to make gluten free ladyfingers.

See the recipe card below for more detailed recipe instructions.

Make the Gluten free Ladyfinger Batter

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 175℃/350℉. Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Separate the egg yolks and the egg whites into two separate bowls.

Step 2: With an electric whisk or stand mixer on a low speed, whip the egg whites until small bubbles appear for approximately 1-2 minutes (See image 2). Then gradually add in ½ of the sugar and salt.

Tip: Be careful not to get any egg yolk into the egg whites, as this will prevent them from whipping up well.

Step 3: Turn up the mixer to high speed and whip until glossy with stiff peaks (See image 3).

Step 4: In a separate bowl with clean beaters, whisk the egg yolks, remaining sugar, and vanilla until it is thick, fluffy, and light in color.

Tip: The egg white mix should stand up straight when you lift out the beaters.

Step 5: Gently fold ¼ of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture at a time with a spatula until all the egg white mix and yolk mix are combined and no streaks appear.

Step 6: Sift in the gluten free flour, corn starch and xanthan gum into the egg mixture, Carefully folding until no steaks of flour can be seen.

Tip: Be careful not to deflate the batter during this process.

Step 7: Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip.

Step 8: Pipe the batter onto the baking sheets around 4 inches long, leaving a 1½ inch gap between each finger (See image 8).

Tip: To achieve uniform ladyfingers, you can use a ruler to draw straight lines on the parchment paper as a guide. Once done, flip the parchment over so the lines are facing down. The lines will still subtly show through, providing you with a perfect template for piping evenly-sized ladyfingers.

Step 9: Generously dust the fingers with powdered sugar (This will help the fingers rise and reduce them spreading too much).

Step 10: Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until they are slightly golden and the edges are lightly browned. I bake one baking sheet at a time and repeat with the remaining baking sheets while the others are cooling. The longer you bake the ladyfinger the more crisp they will be (If you prefer crispier ladyfingers bake for a few minutes longer).