How to make macarons - some tips and tricks For those of you who read this blog regularly, you will know that macarons are one of my obsessions. Some of you may remember a couple of my early attempts (here, here, and here), then the epiphany of the class at Lenôtre in Paris. Following that class, I had a number of successes and I found the recipe to be very similar to Helene’s (of Tartelette blog) and I used a combination of the Lenôtre techniques with Helene’s recipe most of last year, with varying success. Being a Taurean (stubborn) and A-type (a planner) what bugged me about macarons was how unpredictable they were. Until recently. Encouraged by Stella, I tried my hand at these just before the end of my spring break. I followed Stella’s instructions to a T – even down to the timing of the beating of the whites. The next part that is tricky is the macaronage – the folding in of the dry ingredients to the egg whites. And voilà: The “lunch duty” macarons. Enjoyed by all on the first day back at work after the break.
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. Instead you’ll find bakers fervently insisting on an assortment of essential steps to prevent failure, while simultaneously conceding failure as both inevitable and incomprehensible. 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. 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.
Blue-Eyed Bakers - Blue Eyed Bakers Raspberry Macarons and Cake Pops Look at that reflection in the table! How adorbs is he? Macarons, like you and me, are unique. One of these raspberry macs went surfing in the California sun and the other sat at home snacking in front of Food Network. Some macarons are too sweet, but these combine the complex bittersweetness of quality dark chocolate and the bright floral tang of raspberries. Chocolate raspberry ganache (fills 20 macarons)100g dark chocolate, finely chopped100g heavy cream30g butter, room temp10g raspberry powder (ground freeze dried raspberries) Shells (makes 36-40 shells)90 g almond flour120 g confectioner's sugar35 g granulated sugar70 g egg white (2 large whites)2 g raspberry powder, plus more for dusting For ganache: Heat cream in microwave until just about to boil. For shells: Pulse almond flour, confectioner's sugar, and raspberry powder in food processor until very finely ground. Assembly: Match them based on size and fill with ganache. It appears that cake pops are harder than macarons to make.
Nutella-Mallow Pillow Pockets When I tell you this, take me very seriously…..run, don’t walk to your nearest grocery store and make these today! I knew I wanted to make a Nutella treat the other day and when this simple idea came to mind I had no idea how crazy good it would be! The pastry with the gooey disappearing marshmallow and nutella make for a treat that you just must try for yourself! Enjoy! Can you handle this line up?! Um….this stuff should be illegal. Ok, easy easy. Take a little fork and crimp those edges, nice and firm. Next, you’ll brush with an egg white wash and sprinkle with sugar, mmmmm! Get a load of this! I sprinkled mine with a little powdered sugar Oooey, gooey and delish! Nutella-Mallow Pillow Pockets 1 package puff pastry, 2 pastry sheets thawed 1 Cup Nutella spread 1 Cup mini marshmallows Egg white wash: 1 egg white whisked with 1 Tablespoon water Powdered sugar for dusting 1. 8 pockets Have a great new week! Other recipes you may enjoy...
Artful Food: Blueberry Mascarpone Pistachio Macarons I had a tub of mascarpone and no idea what to do with it...until a certain genius, the same person who introduced me to macarons, chef 陈彦强，suggested that I make these. Evidently he overestimated me because they look nothing like the inspiration. ;) But... ...I learned several indispensable life lessons from these little guys (which, I should mention, are rather dangerous - I dare you to hover over them for more than 9 seconds without salivating/devouring one). 1. Don't trust Martha Stewart. I thought I trusted this woman...but alas. 2. 3. 4. I'm very good at keeping the kitchen clean. The near empty tub of mascarpone pictured above was left in the wake of the Deadly Duo: the Rubber Spatula and Cream Craver. The mascarpone filling is deadly. Blueberry Mascarpone Pistachio Macrons 1 batch of macarons, colored purple, sprinkled with pistachios (Huh? more ground pistachios 2 cups frozen organic blueberries 1/3 cup sugar juice of a lemon 7 Tbsp softened butter (3 Tbsp unsalted, 4 Tbsp salted) 1. 2.
Brown Sugar Blueberry Cookies Certain things happen when you bake cookies that taste like muffins. Cookies become breakfast food. Midnight snacks too. You pass them off as two servings of fruit. Or three. You sleep-eat cookies. You closet-eat cookies. They somehow disappear. You weep. Face, meet cookies. Few things in this house bring excitement like a soft, fluffy cookie filled with bursting, plump blueberries. Yeah. Who wants a cookie? Brown Sugar Blueberry Cookies makes 12-15+ cookies 1 stick butter, at room temperature 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 tablespoon milk 3/4 cup fresh blueberries Preheat oven to 375. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Remove dough from fridge and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls or scoop out with an ice cream scooper. Cookies > muffins.
Macarons with white chocolate and raspberry ganache Not all macarons are created equal. Just ask the people queuing outside Paris’s renowned Ladurée. Equally devoted are the patrons of Paris’s other famous purveyor of the delicacy, Pierre Hermé, who specialises in a more outré style of macaron. A true macaron should have a foundation of almonds – never coconut – and be sandwiched with just the right amount of filling, usually a flavoured cream or ganache. Old eggwhites work best and give a more elastic result. The consistency of the raw mixture is important. Once you’ve piped the mixture, tap the tray firmly on your benchtop to settle the mixture and knock any air bubbles out. The trick to obtaining the signature gloss and crust of the macaron is the standing time, which allows a thin skin to form before baking. You’d be right in thinking macarons are a little tricky to make.
How To Make Croissants [Chocolate Croissants, Pumpkin Spice Croissants, and Cinnamon Sugar Croissants] I hope you’re ready to see a billion underexposed photos of the same exact dough over and over and over again. Please say yes, because you will be rewarded with this. This was a… project. To say the least. I have been dying to try homemade croissants for ages, but after mention of them when I made almond joy scones, I could hardly wait. I have a very nostalgic reason for loving croissants: since I was young, each summer my grandma would always pick up a croissant from the Bread Box Bakery in Boyne City. But I also have a superficial reason for loving croissants: It’s Complicated. Too bad they don’t mention that it takes like 14 hours to really make croissants. I’m not about to tell you “oh! Oh… and I made four flavors of croissants: traditional, chocolate, cinnamon sugar and pumpkin spice. Easy enough… it all starts with some yeast and flour. I know you have all of the ingredients in your kitchen, which means you should probably start right now. No. Then you fold it up like a letter. 1. 2.
Tartelette Didn't expect to take this long to announce the winners of the cookbook giveaway but we had snow over the weekend. Snow! In Charleston! Anyways...Congratulations to Victoria N. winner of Amy's Bread and Rosa from Rosa's Yummy Yums, winner of Unforgettable Desserts. I wanted to hear that particular sound after the snow falls. I know it sounds crazy but the evening was made complete by a loss of power. I did make this Raspberry Mascarpone Macarons bouquet for my Valentine. We don't celebrate the sweetest day because each day we are together is well, pretty darn sweet as it is. We also know that for some folks it is a bunch of hopes all wrapped up in many emotions getting a chance to come out on V-Day. He went and got me roses. I've been toying with the idea of putting a macaron on a stick for a while. I think that more than love on Valentine's Day, I love when ideas come together completely by chance.
Cookies and Cream Peanut Butter...Midnight Snack Need a midnight snack? Or anytime snack for that matter, my cookies and cream peanut butter might just knock your socks off I was so lucky to have my sister and her family visit earlier this week and I got to have some kitchen time with her beautiful girls. They are just the sweetest things ever. Hope you’ll enjoy this naughty snack that’s good enough to eat by the spoonful! Here’s your 3 ingredient line up. Break out the Oreos. My sweet little helper, I miss her already! Here’s the second stinker that kept passing through the kitchen. Pour those Oreos in a large bowl. …as well as peanut butter Time to melt the chocolate chips Use either a double boiler or melt in the microwave. Add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter to the double boiler, helps melt the chocolate nicely. Add the chocolate to the bowl! Mmmm Give a gentle stir and place into a mason jar. Yes please. Double yes please. Cookies and Cream Peanut Butter 10 whole Oreo Cookies 2 Cups creamy peanut butter 1 cup white chocolate chips 1. 2.