Foolproof Macarons

Peachy goodness

Owing to the overwhelming demand for my Macaron recipe on the Home Bakers Guild, I decided to blog my recipe out here, rather than emailing bakers one by one instead. I am humbled by the response my macarons got and it just drives me to keep at it. A big thank you to the members of the guild for encouraging me and patting me on my back for my efforts :) So here goes... 

Macarons: source, Ottolenghi, with a few changes here and there. 

Noir nostalgia

Ingredients:

• 122 grams icing sugar
• 50 grams blanched ground almonds
• 2 egg whites (approx 60g worth, room temperature), left to age for 2 days (I use non-aged egg whites and they don't make much of a difference either way for me, so you could use fresh egg whites if you are pressed for time) 
• 40 grams caster sugar
• A pinch of cream of tartar (optional)

Method:

• Sift the icing sugar and almond meal as many times as you can to get a fine mixture.
• Beat the egg whites. Once soft peaks form, add the cream of tartar (optional) and sugar, bit by bit. Stop once you reach stiff peaks..
• Add the almond meal/icing sugar mixture and powder food colour and fold. This technique is called macoranage. Click here to see a video I found on Youtube that shows you the process. The video is in french, but you can see the technique to get an idea if you are a first-timer at macarons. The batter should resemble lava many say. This is the tricky bit. It should fold back into the bowl smoothly when you lift your spatula but shouldn't be too runny that it becomes a puddle in the bowl. 
• Pipe your macarons onto your baking tray lined with parchment paper and leave to rest for 20 minutes or till a skin forms on the tops. Basically, you should be able to touch the tops and they shouldn't stick to your finger. 
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 140 C, for 10 to 12 mins, or till the tops are hard and the shells don't move around when you touch them. 
• Leave to cool completely before peeling them off the paper.. Fill with your choice of filling and enjoy . Here's the recipe for a super-easy filling to make - chocolate ganache.

Banana split?

Macarons are very temperamental, I should know. I've had disaster after disaster. From no feet at all to feet flowing all the way out to soft and hollow shells to what now. The only way you can perfect macarons is to keep at them and learn from your mistakes. From oven temperatures to humidity, a zillion factors can contribute to failed macarons. Having said that, once you achieve perfection or are almost there, your joy knows no bounds. Most importantly, don't stress yourself out too much. I have read recipes, tips, instructions and spend many a sleepless night trying to find ways to get good macarons. At the end of the day, it was a few simple changes that worked for me and that started with the right proportions that this recipe gave me. So go ahead and try it out for yourself.. This is the one dessert that failed me the most but also thrilled me the most when I nailed it.. 
I hope to start teaching whatever I know on making them after a few members from the guild suggested I do the same. So if you are in Bangalore, I'll be holding classes shortly, soon after I get batch upon batch come out perfectly and some good fillings to go with the same. Dp contact me if you have any queries during your macaron attempts. I'm always happy to help. And do post and send me pictures of your attempts. And lastly, hope the macaron gods smile on you and you achieve smooth domes, good feet and well-baked macarons that slide off your baking sheet.. 

Till then, like I always say, Get, Set, Bake... 

Sunshine on my plate

Macarons masquerading as burgers

Yellow gold

I completed a whole year of blogging a month ago and so caught up in life was I that I didn't even realize it :)

The year has flown by so quickly. I remember like it was just yesterday that I took baby steps in creating my blog and I can see how I've grown with each post. Yes, I'm a lazy blogger and have posted say, maybe, one post a month (hides under blanket to avoid blogger daggers for being so lazy).. But hopefully that will change this year.. 

I wanna say a biiig thank you to all my readers for supporting me and making me grow as a baker and as a person. This journey has just begun and I can only hope that my blog has helped you'll get more passionate about baking.. 

As always, I didn't quite plan on a special 'Anniversary' post, but what luck to have this post mark my bloggie's anniversary. The dreaded macarons form a tall summit on my plate and I have finally conquered them (well, almost :p). So here's my anniversary post, where I conquer my arch nemesis, the one dessert that eluded me, for quite a many attempts...

My quest for macarons kick-started off again after seeing numerous posts on them at the home bakers guild on FB and boy am I glad I ventured on that road again. I have these beauties to show for my efforts. I tried a new recipe and tweaked it a bit to suit my needs and I can't be happier with the result. So happy was I with the success the first time that the hubby decided to take me out for dinner to celebrate. The smile on my face said it all and he has witnessed my rants when batch after batch failed. Rest-assured, he knows I'll be making them almost every week now, trying to achieve perfection. 

'Flambe'd

What's better is that now that my macarons are coming out fine, I get to experiment with fillings and experiment I did. I tried making lemon curd for the first time and made it in the microwave if you can beat that... The tang of the lemon curd with lemon zest perfectly complimented the almondy-sweet macaron shells and I'm gonna me making macarons again so I can sandwich them with the tart lemon curd :)

Watch out for a detailed tutorial on macarons soon.. 

Till then, Get Set Bake...

Oranges and Lemons

Oranges and lemons, sold for a penny,

Oh, those school girls are so many!

The grass is green and the rose is red,

Remember me when I am dead-dead-dead-dead-dead!

Most of us have grown up singing/playing this rhyme and the game. Everyone holds hands in a circle, sings it and everyone falls down at the end of it. A simple, mindless game that has been an integral part of our childhood. But why am I mentioning it here you might ask?

That's because I have been on a cookie decorating spree lately and as always, I have to share my creations with you guys :) I found inspiration for these online, thanks to Google images, so I can't take credit for the idea, just for the inspiration and execution. Regardless, I'm glad that they turned out so well.. The oranges immediately reminded me of this rhyme and took me back to school days, playing with my friends in school :) Sigh!...

I made the baby feeding bottle cookies for a friend who is expecting and I'm mighty pleased with the results. Not too bad for a first time effort I would say, at the risk of blowing my own horn :p Jokes aside, currently, I feel there really isn't a greater joy than baking for loved ones and seeing their joy on receiving them. I packed a few goodie bags with these treats among others and hearing the gasps of joy made my day :) For all my guinea pigs out there, oops, I mean friends :p, many more goodie bags to follow. I've got a baking itch that just won't go away.

Do give me your feedback on them and also share any other ideas that you would like me to execute on a cookie.

As always, I have used a simple sugar cookie recipe (added orange and lime zest for the fruit cookies to give them that added flavour) and designed them using tinted Royal Icing. For the feeding bottle cookie, there's no tutorial as such, as it is self-explanatory. I made them without any fancy cookie cutter, it was completely freehand. The oranges and limes take a bit of know-how, so if you are interested in replicating them, do contact me if you have any queries, I'll be glad to help. I can make a step-by-step tutorial like I have done earlier and post that too if I get enough queries for the same. 

If these have inspired you, like I say always,  Get, Set Bake.

Rum and Raisin skewers

Boozy Chocolate Raisins

I loved Cadbury's Fruit & Nut as a child, still do in fact. I would always hunt for the squares with the most raisins in them and give the other pieces to mom :) There's something about the chewy bite of the raisin against rich chocolate that gets me drooling. Of course, now, its the adult version of it - Rum and Raisin chocolates that get me going... hic :p
There's a little story behind these rum and raisin skewers, one that I would love to share with you readers. I recently went to lunch with a few members of a Foodie group that I am part of. A restaurant was chosen and off we went, to meet fellow foodies. We got along like a house on fire and no one could say all the ladies were meeting each other for the first time. After three fabulous courses, we were stuffed like little Ballotines, almost to a point of no return, thanks to the amazing food at Chianti (a must visit if you are in and around Koramangala, Bangalore or even if you aren't as it's worth the drive). We barely managed to finish our dessert and out came a platter of drool-worthy Rum and Raisin skewers. It's safe to say that at the risk of having to lie down there thanks to over-eating, we managed to polish off the skewers as they were so delicious. I came home and days went by, but I couldn't get the skewers off my mind, among the other yum creations at the place. 
Thus, my second, third and many other trips to Chianti took place as I tried to sample all my favourites from the menu. The cherry on the cake were the skewers. But sadly, after my second visit there, the skewers disappeared. I still couldn't get them off my mind and so, I decided to try and make them myself. Seemed relatively simple and so much so, that making them was a breeze. And the taste? An empty plate in less than two minutes vouches for their yum quotient. Best of all, you don't need to bake them or spend hours on them and they are the perfect after dinner bites.
Here's how you can make your own Rum and Raisin skewers.

Rum-soaked raisins skewered onto toothpicks

Covered in a blanket of chocolate

Ingredients: 

• Dark chocolate
• Raisins
• Some rum 
• A teaspoon of water or so (I diluted mine with a wee bit of water as I didn't want them too strong, but you can do away with it for a skewer that packs a punch)
• Toothpicks

Method:

• Soak the raisins in the rum for about an hour or two.
• Pierce them into your toothpicks, about three on each, and place them on a tray covered with foil.
• Melt your chocolate and pour over the skewers
• Wait till they set or pop them in the fridge for 15 minutes if you are impatient like me.
• Gobble away.

Alternatively, you could just arrange the soaked raisins in small piles on the foil and pour the melted chocolate over them, making mini mounds of chocolate-covered boozy raisins.

Cake in a teacup

Who says tea cups are to be used for tea alone? Try chocolate cake instead 

Sometimes all you need is one simple change in your menu or in this case, mise en place. Ever been in the 'Must eat cake' phase? I go through it so very often. One can't ignore these persistent cravings I tell ya :) I wanted individual servings and small ones at that. Who wants to wait for the cake to cool and cut slices out when you can dig your spoon right in, yeah. 

But just because you are eating alone, doesn't mean you can't make it look pretty. So, I devised upon a plan. Pulled out my mini teacups that I never use and decided to bake in them. These lil teacups are oh so cute, they'd belong perfectly in Alice in Wonderland, after she drinks the label 'Drink Me' and shrinks. 

Anywhoo, I made a tiny portion of chocolate cake batter (did I mention the 'must have cake' craving coincides with 'must have chocolate' craving?. I tossed in some marshmallows and waited as patiently as I could for five minutes while this beauty baked and dug in, barely managing to save one cup for the hubby. The lil spills that came from adding a lil too much batter into the cup only made it look prettier I reckon, what say?

That's how simple it is to tszuj up a bite-sized portion of cake. Perfect for those romantic nights when all you need is your loved on, good food and a chocolatey treat to tie it all up together.

So the next time you don't want to pull out your baking trays for a tiny portion of batter or are too lazy like me, try this. Just make sure your teacup is oven proof. If not, use a microwave cake recipe and Get Set Bake!