Parmesan Cloaks Recipe
- 1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg white, at room temperature for 30 minutes
- 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
- Special equipment: 2 nonstick baking sheets or shallow baking pans; a muffin tin with 6 (1/2-cup) muffin cups
- Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter baking sheets.
- Stir together cheese, flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix together butter and egg white in a blender at low speed, then add milk and cheese mixture and blend just until smooth.
- Working in batches of 6, drop scant teaspoons of batter about 3 inches apart onto a buttered baking sheet. Spread each dollop with the back of a spoon into a 3-inch round (don't worry if batter doesn't spread evenly). Make a 1/2-inch hole in center of each round with your fingertip.
- Bake wafers, 1 sheet at a time, until golden, about 5 minutes. To form cloaks, immediately remove wafers with a very thin metal spatula and drape into muffin cups. (Wafers will crisp as they cool.) If wafers harden before draping, return to oven for a few seconds to soften. Cool baking sheets between batches and rebutter sheets only if wafers begin to stick. Make more wafers in same manner.
