Savoiardi (Ladyfingers)
Savoiardi, also known as Ladyfingers, are Italian biscuits made with a sponge cake batter. The egg whites and egg yolks mixed with sugar are beaten separately and folded together with the flour. The batter is piped with a piping bag and dusted twice with icing sugar before baking.
The recipe that I used is from one of Italy’s most renowned pastry chefs, Salvatore de Riso.
Savoiardi are used in desserts like tiramisu, trifles and charlottes. They are also great served with ice cream or with a cup of tea and coffee.
There is no comparison between store bought savoiardi and homemade. They are delicate, light and airy with a sweet crispy crust.
As they contain no baking powder, you need to beat the eggs well in order to get lots of air inside the mixture.
Be sure to fold the egg whites and the flour very delicately. You don’t want to deflate the batter.
You can replace the potato starch with cornstarch. I used a 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) round tip. If you don’t have one, use a piping bag without tip.
Savoiardi can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.
I will never buy ladyfingers again and you shouldn’t either. They are easy to make and you will not be disappointed with the result.
Enjoy!
Savoiardi, also known as Ladyfingers, are Italian biscuits made with a sponge cake batter. They are light, with a sweet crispy crust.
- 3 eggs separated
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar divided
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice divided
- the zest of 1 lemon grated
- 65 grams (1/2 cup) cake flour sifted
- 30 grams (2 tablespoons) potato starch
- powdered sugar for dusting
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Prepare a pastry bag fitted with a round 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) tip.
- In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites, 50 grams (1/4 cup) of sugar and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice until stiff peaks form.
- In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and salt until thick and light yellow.
- Sift the flour and potato starch over the egg mixture and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula until smooth and well combined.
- Gently fold in the egg whites.
- Transfer half of the batter to the prepared piping bag. Pipe the batter into lines about 10 cm (4 inches) long, keeping distance between them.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter.
- Sprinkle the cookies lightly with icing sugar. Let them rest for about 5 minutes and sprinkle again with icing sugar.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until lightly golden.
- Let the ladyfingers cool for a few minutes then release them from the parchment paper, with a flat spatula, while they are still warm.
- Serve the savoiardi immediately or store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.
Did you make this recipe?
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Your lady fingers look so tempting.Elena! I am pretty sure that they taste better than the store bought ones
Thank you Hadia! They are much better than the store-bought ones 🙂
Can I use regular flour instead of cake flour?
Hi Katie! Yes, you can but the result will not be the same.
You can make your own cake flour, check this tutorial 🙂
Is cake flour the same as self raising flour?
(Australia)
Hi Carol! No, they are not the same. Cake flour is lower in protein than normal flour (usually 8-10%). You can make cake flour at home, check this post by Joy the Baker
Can’t seem to find potato starch anywhere, may corn starch be substituted? if so, in what amounts? Thanks so much! 🙂
Hi Angie! You can use corn starch instead of potato starch. Same amount 🙂
Thank you very much Elena, appreciate the response and the recipe! Happy holidays! 🙂
Happy holidays to you too! If you have any more questions I am here! 🙂
Just made these! Turned out delicious!! And so simple! Thanks again. 🙂
That’s great! Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
I was searching for a really good lady fingers recipe. This is the one.
I made these today and they turned out so delicious. I am going to make more
another day as I want to use these in a tiramisu. Thank you for sharing such a
yummy recipe.
You are welcome, Diana! I am glad you like this recipe. 🙂
Hi.. If we are using these as the base for Tiramisu, should we add lemon juice and rind as well?
Hi Swapna! Lemon zest + juice are optional. You can just use vanilla. 🙂
Thanks a lot Elena for the response.
Approximately how many will this recipe make?
30 🙂
Hello, thanks for this wonderful recipe. My batter was a bit runny coming from the pastry bag although the end product was delicious. How can I make the batter thicker so I don’t lose as much as I did. My best to you and thanks again!
Hi James! Did you beat the egg whites to stiff peaks? If you did, try to add 1 tablespoon of flour.
Let me know how it goes 🙂
I will. Thank you for the quick response.
Just made this recipe and it is soooo good! I didn’t have potato starch or corn starch on hand so I substituted it with tapioca starch and it turned out beautifully. I accidentally left a batch in the oven for 10-15 min more than the timing stated and the biscuits came out really crispy like the store bought kind, which was what I was looking for. Thanks for this great tasting recipe!
I am glad to hear that, Liam! Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
I recently moved and no longer had my source for ladyfingers to make tiramisu. Made this recipe using cornstarch and no lemon. They were so much better than the store bought ones. Rave reviews from my family! Thank you! And I have bookmarked your website for future reference.
Glad to hear that, Sara! 🙂
Hi Elena, I followed your recipe as I wanted lady fingers for a tiramisu. Instead of making the fingers I just spread the batter onto a tray and after the sponge was cooked I cut it up into the fingers…it worked perfectly! I had no trouble finding the cake flour in the supermarket. Thank you for the yummy recipe. Susan
That’s a great idea Susan! Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Hello Elena! I live in a town with two stoplights…. I literally have to drive an hour to find any lady fingers, and they’re still just store bought cookies (bleh). So, yesterday I was craving tiramisu and I had no lady fingers. It takes me right at an hour to get home, so I really didn’t want to go to a store after work. I found your recipe and I already had all the ingredients and thought I should give it a try! I made lady fingers for the first time ever, and they’re delicious! I used a cake flour substitute, omitted the lemon zest and juice, and used corn starch rather than potato starch. They. Are. Delicious. My tiramisu turned out magnificently, and I have plenty leftover cookies! Thank you so much for this recipe! I will definitely be checking out some of your other recipes!
I am so glad to hear that, Amber! 🙂 Thank you for your feedback!
Can you double the recipe?
Yes, you can.
I love your recipe as the taste is perfect. By mistake I missed the step 11 but it did not change that much and I loved it in my Tiramisu.
I am so glad to hear that, Laleh! 🙂 Thank you for the feedback!