 Cat tongues: biscuits (top),milk chocolate bars (bottom). | |
| Alternative names | Ladyfinger |
|---|---|
| Type | Biscuit orchocolate bar |
| Course | Dessert |
| Place of origin | France (biscuits),Austria (chocolate bars) |
| Region or state | Worldwide |
Acat tongue is a small biscuit (cookie) orchocolate bar available in a number ofEuropean,Asian, andSouth American countries. The name comes from the fact that the biscuits are long and flat, somewhat like a cat's tongue.[1][2][3]
They are known locally askočičí jazýčky (Czech),Kattentong (Dutch),[4]kocie języczki (Polish),langue de chat (French),Katzenzungen (German),lingua di gatto (Italian),língua de gato (Portuguese),lengua de gato (Spanish),macskanyelv (Hungarian),limbă de pisică (Romanian) orlidah kucing (Indonesian).
Cat's tongue cookies are sweet and crunchy;[1] they are also very thin and crunchy.[5][6][7][8][9] The original recipe most likely comes from 17th centuryFrance.[10][11][12] They are produced fromegg white,wheat flour,sugar,butter (sometimes) andvanilla.[13] They arebaked in theoven until cooked.[4] Additional ingredients may include chocolate, citrus, and spices.[1]
In European cuisine they are prepared with aganache, cream or jam filling, and sandwiched together.[1][14] They are sometimes dipped in chocolate as part of their preparation.[14] In France, the cookie is often served with sorbet or ice cream.[14] In theCanary Islands, cat's tongue cookies are served withbienmesabe, a dessert dish.[15]
A cat's tonguemold pan may be used in their preparation, in which cookie dough is placed and then baked.[1] In French, this pan is known aslangue-de-chat.[1] This pan is also used in the preparation ofladyfingers andéclairs.[1] The mold is also referred to as a cat's tongue plaque.[16]
In Japan, langue de chat (ラング・ド・シャ,rangu do sha) are often circular or square and are ingredients in such confections asShiroi Koibito.[17][18]
They are produced frommilk chocolate,dark chocolate andwhite chocolate.[19]
The first cat tongue (Macskanyelv) was made inBudapest by the Swiss-born Hungarian patissierEmil Gerbeaud in the late 1880s.[20] The delicacy is still produced by Szerencsi and other companies such as Sweetness and Szamos. It is considered an authenticHungarian sweet.[21]
