How to Make Macarons Macarons in the oven. [Photograph: Robyn Lee] I'm ashamed to admit that while I have eaten many macarons, I've never made them on my own. Thankfully, plenty of other people much more skilled in the culinary arts than I am have bravely attempted to make macarons in their home kitchens and have shared their results on that massive virtual brain called the Internet. I'm going to list the most promising recipes I found while aggressively sifting through the web and, from those, pool together a list of tips and tricks for optimum macaron creation. Clement's recipe at A La Cuisine was the most often cited recipe I found while searching through blogs. More Macaron Recipes A Few Tips Sift your ingredients, multiple times if necessary. Use old egg whites. Cooked Italian meringue may be used instead of the uncooked French one. The final macaron batter should have the consistency of magma. If the cookies form peaks on their tops after piping, flatten them with a wet fingertip. by Dorie Greenspan.
Making French Macarons: Instructions & Recipes It seems like there’s a wave of macaron questions that are sweeping my way. Unlike les brownies or le gâteau weekend (poundcake), successful macarons are more the result of the technique, rather than following a mere recipe. There’s lots of tips and tricks around the web that will help you out with these little devils, including some interesting recipes, too. You can find my chocolate macaron recipe on the site, but here are a few links and places for further reading that I think are particularly helpful and insightful. Websites and Blogs *Not So Humble Pie offers extensive Macaron Troubleshooting and a Recipe. * Duncan at Syrup & Tang presents Macaronicité, and goes into detail with side-by-side photos of common errors. * Bravetart explodes some Macaron Myths. * Follow the online tutorial on making macarons by Helen of TartletteDesserts Magazine. * Béatrice at La Tartine Gourmand has helpful step-by-step photos, accompanied by her nontraditional recipe for Cardamom and Wattle Seed Macarons.
Broccoli Cheese Soup *Update (10/2011): We continue to love this soup (and eat it often)! I’ve edited the recipe just a bit to enhance with a bit of salt and flesh out some of the details. Enjoy! I could sum up this post by the following statement from my husband while devouring this meal: “This is the ultimate perfect dinner.” Of course it could have been atmosphere since it had snowed all day and was the perfect night for soup, but still, when we were fighting over the last scoops in the pot, I knew this had to be a winner. Note: To make my life easier, while the soup is coming together, I put the chopped broccoli in a large glass bowl, cover with saran wrap and microwave for about 3-4 minutes. Ingredients Directions Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Printed from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (www.melskitchencafe.com) Recipe Source: adapted very slightly from my friend, Liz K.
Apple Walnut Muffins — Our Life In The Kitchen Muffins are always good but with fall in the air it was time for a new variation. What can be simpler and more fall-like than apples and cinnamon? Throw in some walnuts, add a streusel topping and they’re even better. All Purpose Flour, 2 1/4 cups, dividedSugar, 2/3 cupBaking Powder, 2 teaspoonsSalt, 1 teaspoonEggs, 2Milk, 3/4 cupButter, 1/2 cup, dividedBrown Sugar, 1/3 cupApples, 2Walnuts, 3/4 cupCinnamon, 1 teaspoon plus more for sprinkling Preheat the oven to 400. Grease a muffin pan. Peel and core the apples. Dice them into small chunks until you’ve got about 1 to 1 1/2 cups. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, white sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon with a whisk. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup flour, the brown sugar and 1/4 cup butter. Whisk together the milk and eggs until well-blended. Very gently stir the liquid into the bowl of dry ingredients. Gently fold in the apples and walnuts. Sprinkle on a little more cinnamon. Serve warm and enjoy!
Macaron Mythbusters As I wrote in my first macaron post, I make macarons every day at work, learning something new with each batch. The most important thing I’ve learned is this: Macarons don’t have magical properties and shouldn’t require quasi-spiritual rituals as part of their mise en place. You wouldn’t learn that from reading up on macaron-themed blog posts, though. Everyone harps upon their fickle nature, making half-joking references to spiteful macaron gods. Um, guys? Yet uncertainty makes up a common thread among macaron blog posts. Did you age the egg whites long enough? Such tricks place the importance on ritual and obscure the role of technique, either good or bad. Instead of coming to recognize the qualities of a good meringue and the consistency of proper macaronage, you fret over how many days the egg whites aged. So I wanted to conduct an experiment (or rather, a series of experiments) to determine which factors “the perfect macaron” actually depended upon. 1. 2. 3. 4. Skinned vs blanched?
Rainbow Cake For Cake: 2 1/4 cups cake flour (9 ounces) 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature 6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature 2 teaspoons almond extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (12 1/4 ounces) 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon table salt 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring For Frosting/Filling: 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar 10 large egg whites 2 pounds (8 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, softened 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 pound best-quality white chocolate, melted and cooled Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended. Divide batter evenly between six medium bowls. Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. To make frosting, put sugar and egg whites in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer, and set over a pan of simmering water.
Pink Lemonade Pound Cake Pink Lemonade Cake Ingredients 1 cup homemade unsalted butter, softened 2 cups white sugar 4 eggs, room temperature 2-3/4 cups flour 2-1/4 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 1 cup frozen pink lemonade 1 TBS Lemon Zest Pink food colouring Frosting: 1 cup butter, softened 7 to 8 cups powdered sugar, sifted 1/2 cup thawed pink lemonade Lemon zest to taste Pink food colouring Directions Preheat oven to 350 Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside. Beat the butter for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat another 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat thoroughly after each addition.
Macarons A lot of people get the wrong impression about macarons and avoid making them because they’re supposedly the most difficult thing in the world to make. Truly, they’re not difficult at all. What is difficult is mastering them. But there’s no reason to master macarons on the first try. Each time one of those things happen, you have a chance to learn about what went wrong with your technique if you want to learn. If this is your first time making macarons, read through these posts to familiarize yourself with some common problems and mistakes. Macaron Mythbusters: 10 myths you don’t need to worry about (with my recipe, anyway).Macaron Ten Commandments: 10 important points to remember when macaroning All About Hollows: pointers for honing your macaron technique and minimizing hollow shellsAvoiding Brown Macarons: chances are, it’s not your oven.Macarons Are For Eating: macarons are crazy delicious; don’t forget that in pursuit of perfection! approximately 10 ounces (290g) Swiss buttercream .
Kit Kat Bars Recipe These homemade kit kat bars are supposed to taste like the popular candy bar of the same name. They do have the nice chocolatey crunch of a Kit Kat candy bar, but these bars have more of a salty-sweet flavor than the candy bar. The kids tell me they like the taste of these bars even better. Don't Miss: Brownies and Bar Cookies Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes Yield: 36-48 kit kat bars Ingredients: 60 buttery crackers, such as Keebler Club Crackers3/4 cup butter3/4 cup granulated sugar3/4 cup firmly-packed brown sugar1/3 cup milk1-1/2 cups crushed graham crackers2 cups semisweet chocolate chips1/2 cup peanut butter Preparation: Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. Don't Miss: Healthy Kit Kat Bars Recipe
Rainbow Cake in a Jar I’ve always had a penchant for sunshine in a jar. Doesn’t the very phrase itself, “sunshine in a jar,” roll off your tongue and fill your mouth with magic? While I’ve never yet found myself a sunshine in a jar, I think we may have just concocted it in our kitchen tonight. In this simple recipe, a basic white cake is turned into a slew of bright colors, baked to perfection, then topped with a creamy white frosting. Cakes baked in jars can be topped with traditional metal canning lids and stored in the fridge for up to five days. Rainbow Cake in Jar 1 box white cake mix made according to package instructionsNeon food coloring in pink, yellow, green, turquoise, and purple3 one-pint canning jars1 can vanilla frostingRainbow sprinkles Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop about 1/2 cups of cake batter into five small bowls. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the purple batter into the bottom of each jar. For even more great desserts in a jar, check out our slideshow “Contain Yourself!
The Ten Commandments Recently, I’ve gotten to know fellow Kentuckian Victor Sizemore. While his photography business has him in Los Angeles most weekends, Monday through Friday he’s a Lexingtonian and (convenient to my purposes) a consummate foodie. He bought my desserts-for-photos pyramid scheme hook, line and sinker. When I sent him a text along the lines of, “hey, if you want to turn a box of pastries into photography, let me know!” I had Victor Sizemore, of Mad Men in Vegas fame, en route to Table 310 to do free photography and nothing but laminated dough, a vat of caramel, and unbaked profiteroles on hand. Victor arrived at the restaurant just as I finished boxing these rhubarb St-Germain macarons, altogether about fifteen minutes after my first text. Which got me thinking about how I reached the point where I can say, “macarons save the day” when so many people experience the exact opposite. The Macaron 10 Commandmentsor, don’t say I didn’t warn you 1. What kind of quirks does your oven have? 2. Look.
Mexican Ceviche A Billion comments about ceviche,including all the different variations.Nothing is carved in stone when making this.Use whatever seafood you like,ie,you ONLY like shrimp,then just use that.====================================== www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000225ceviche.php The first time I made ceviche, I was amazed. I love ceviche rolled up in a freshly cooked, still warm corn tortilla with lettuce and salsa. Preparation time: 15 minutes to prepare, 6 hours to let sit. 2 lbs of firm, fresh red snapper fillets, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, completely deboned1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice1/2 purple onion, finely diced1 cup of fresh peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes1 serrano chili, seeded and finely diced2 teaspoons of saltdash of ground oreganodash of Tabasco or a few grains of cayenne pepper CilantroAvocadoTortillas or tortilla chips Optional: Can use shrimp and or scallops as a substitute for some of the fish. Comments Hi Alicia - Yum!
28 Muffin Recipes You’ll Want to Try I love muffins. I love them even more than cupcakes. Probably because they are so quick to make. It’s almost instant gratification from the time the muffin idea pops in your head until you’re pulling them from the oven. Of course, not all muffins are the sweet variety. Here’s a list of muffin recipes gathered from this site and all around the web too. Snickerdoodle Muffins – Just like the cookie, only in muffin form. Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins Cranberry Muffins with Orange Marmalade Glaze – The glaze would be really good on other kinds of muffins too. Chocolate Chip Muffins Blueberry Muffins with Orange Glaze Apple Brown Betty Muffins Poppy Seed Muffins Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins Graham Muffins Pumpkin Muffins Argan Banana Muffins from Maroc Mama Sweet Potato Spice Muffins from The Jammie Girl Pumpkin Muffins with Streusel Topping from Hoosier Homemade Banana Muffins with Tart Lemon Icing from Addicted to Recipes Apple Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins from Barbara Bakes Cheddar Muffins