Not macarons, but...

This was a real production! For a Birthday cake, I had a Strawberry Shortcake request. NEVER done this before, so this is how it went: Started out with some research on the internet and a sketch idea first. Got the supplies: Food coloring, Fondant and baked a regular round cake x2. One for the base and another for the top (Strawberry's strawberry house) Built the base with a layer of white fondant and sheet sugar that I bought at Michael's: Next, I wrapped the smaller cake in red fondant that I had rolled out earlier and poked some dents in it to resemble the dents in a real strawberry and added yellow sweet dots for the seeds. I then propped the strawberry on the white/green base. Then I proceeded to add the decorative details to the house. I used more sugar glaze, some sugar paper and candy. The green leaves were made out of fondant that had been colored, cut and dried the day before. At the base I added some grass out of frosting one by one then a few real strawberries and it was done!

With this batch I wanted to try a different coloring method. So instead of adding the food coloring and mixing it, I dropped a couple of drops into the piping bag then filled it with the macaronage. As I piped them out onto the baking sheet, they created pretty little swirl and their own shapes. I could now experiment with different color combinations of food coloring drops.

Heart Macaron

For the upcoming Valentine's Day celebration I wanted to see if I could make a heart-shaped macron. All I did was pipe out the batter in swooping arches (tiny ones) and baked the same way as always. Experiment was a success. Now I must make them in pink and red.

Pistachio Macarons

So these pistachio macarons turned out nicely. Though there was no time to fill them as they all disappeared before I was able to figure out what ti fill them with :). The last photo just shows the texture difference of the plain vs. pistachio flour.

More failed macarons

What happened here!!!!? Well, simple; the macarons didn't get a chance to grow feet because I used wax paper instead of parchment paper. They also got stuck to the paper :( Admittedly, they still tasted good, but were un-servable as they broke up as they were being lifted from the paper and the bottoms stuck. Oh well. Yet another lesson learned.

French Macaron Recipe

Macaron Recipe: For main ideas I have used http://www.amazon.com/Les-Petits-Macarons-Confections-ebook/dp/B005QBKXQO#reader_B005QBKXQO Les Petits Macarons book. I have since simplified and developed my own recipe. You will need: sugar: 165grams of powdered sugar and 150 grams of granulated sugar 165 grams of nut flour 4 egg whites That's it and that's all. Some recipes call for more ingredients, but this is all that is needed to begin with. Preheat the oven to 200F/105C Set up the cookie sheet and pan. 1. Sift together nut flour and confectioner's sugar. Set aside. 2. Beat the egg white until peaks form. 3. Stir in the granulated sugar. 4. Pour in the flour mix. 5. Pipe the macarons through a piping bag onto the trays leaving room for them to grow (maybe 1 inch in-between in a grid). 6. Let them sit 20-45 mins so that they have time to develop a skin or a shell. BAKE: 1. At 200F for 15 minutes 2. Up the temp to 350F for another 6 or so minutes (depending on your oven). 3. Open the oven door for 30 seconds and remove the macarons slowly. Let the macarons cool before removing them from the sheet. Voila! They're ready to be filled with any filling of choice

Angry Birds Macarons

For the Holiday break I had more time to experiment. Since I feel pretty confident making a typical macaron, I wanted to try using a different combination of nut flour. So I ground up some pistachios and mixed 100 grams of pistachio flour and 65grams of almond flour. It baked just the same as the traditional almond flour did. I did add a little green food coloring as the pistachio by itself did not provide much color in themselves. I have been shown a macaron in the shape of a pig from the Angry Birds game and decided to try making one myself. Well, my first try was a traditional fail as I added the ears and the snout right onto the macaron. The trick was to make the macaron then let it sit for about 20 minutes until it developed a skin. After the shell was slightly hardened, I then added the snout and ears. I had to be careful not to break them off after baking. Then I added the eyes (I used drop candy) and painted the mouth and eyebrows with an edible marker. Not so hard to make. I'd like to make bears next :)