boudoirs

Boudoirs may be private little sitting or bedrooms for ladies, but they are also the dry, light, easy to crumble biscuits given to babies.

They look identical to cuillers pâtissiers, or biscuits à la cuillère, although these, introduced to France by the endlessly talented pastry chefs of Catherine de’ Medici, are a bit bigger, have a softer texture, and are essential if you’re making a charlotte or tiramisù. They may come sprinked with powdered sugar.

Langues du chat (‘cat’s tongues’) are the thinnest version, and sometimes not very cat-tongued-shaped, and also often used in creamy or foamy desserts.