Soft Vegan Ladyfingers

This vegan ladyfingers recipe makes soft and delicate little sponge cake cookies with a hint of lemon and vanilla. Perfect for tiramisu and snacking!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Keyword vegan ladyfingers, gluten free ladyfingers

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 5

Total Time 25

Servings ladyfinger cookies

Calories 70kcal

Author Jamie

Ingredients

1 ⅓ cup all purpose gluten-free flour (182 grams) or regular all purpose flour
½ cup potato starch (60 grams)
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup aquafaba (182 ml)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
⅔ cup granulated sugar , vegan friendly
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons vegan butter

Instructions

Dry Ingredients: To a medium mixing bowl, add the gluten-free flour, potato starch, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together well.
1 ⅓ cup all purpose gluten-free flour, ½ cup potato starch, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
Whipped Aquafaba: To a large mixing bowl, add the aquafaba and lemon juice. Whip with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks are formed. Then reduce the speed slightly to medium high while adding the sugar about 1 tablespoon at a time. With the addition of sugar, stiff peaks will form and the mixture will turn shiny and smooth (similar to making meringues).
½ cup aquafaba, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, ⅔ cup granulated sugar
Ladyfinger Batter: Sift the dry ingredients into the whipped aquafaba about ¼ cup at a time, folding it in by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula until mostly mixed before the next addition. Do not use an electric mixer for this step. Be careful to mix slowly and only as much as needed. When about ¾ of the dry mixture has been added, fold in the vanilla extract and melted butter. Then sift in the rest of the dry ingredients and mix only until just combined.
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 4 tablespoons vegan butter
Shape the cookies: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line two large baking sheets with a silicone liner or parchment paper. Gently add the batter to a piping bag with a ½ inch piping tip or corner cut-out. Pipe thick 4-inch logs, moving slowly so that the width of the piped ladyfinger is actually wider than the piping tip (it should push into the previously piped batter causing it to expand beyond the tip width). Leave about 2 inches between ladyfingers.
Bake: Bake for 5-8 minutes until just set but not browning. Allow to cool for 10 minutes on the pan before gently moving to a wire cooling rack using a spatula (transfer as soon as possible to a cooling rack if over-baked). Let cool completely before assembling the tiramisu, or better yet use them after a day or two when they are stale.

Notes

While this is an easy ladyfingers recipe, there are a lot of little nuances that can take these cookies from good to exceptional. I recommend reading the full blog post for ingredient notes, substitutions, step-by-step photos, and expert tips.

This recipe goes perfectly with my Vegan Tiramisu and Dairy Free Tiramisu!

Storage: Store leftover vegan ladyfingers in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Flour: I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 All Purpose Baking Flour. Since gluten-free flour blends can vary slightly by weight, weighing your flour using a kitchen scale is the preferred method of measurement.Make sure your gluten-free flour has xanthan gum, or add ¼ teaspoon per cup of flour.

Looking to use regular all purpose flour? No problem! I recommend using the weight measurement for most accurate results, which is about 1 ½ cups of regular All Purpose Flour.

Aquafaba: Aquafaba is the liquid in a can of chickpeas. Separate the aquafaba from the chickpeas using a mesh strainer. Make sure that any bowls, measuring cups, or beaters touching the aquafaba are completely clean and grease-free since oil or grease can interfere with the whipping process.

Texture + baking time: The ideal ladyfinger has a sponge-cake texture with no darkening on the bottom. Baking times can vary based on the thickness of the baking sheet and if a silicone liner is used. For best results, use a thick pan with a silicone liner. This helps to prevent the bottom from crisping. Over-baked ladyfingers will still work for the tiramisu, but you will need to soak them longer in the espresso mixture and I recommend letting the tiramisu set longer before cutting into it to allow the crispness to soften. For over-baked ladyfingers that are solid throughout after baking, you may need to soak them in espresso for a full 10-20 seconds.

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