Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Heart Shaped Macarons
Macarons are always round for 2 reasons. 1. They are way easier to pipe and 2. Any other shape will risk you getting no feet!
But last Valentines day, by special request from a good friend's boutique, I tried my hands at heart shaped macarons. My first attempt did not turn out well. I tried pipping them into heart shaped moulds. Needless to say, they just blobed out and turned into a big mess the moment i took off the moulds. So there i learnt why macarons are always round.
But a promise was a promise and i had to make it work. So painstakingly, I sat through what was eternity pipping heart shaped macarons, one by one. It was the most excruciating ordeal. My fingers were numb by the end of the those 100 pieces. But oh well, it was Valentines day and I am certainly not a quiter, therefore I persevered.
The results.... were to die for...
Even St Valentines would be jealous of not thinking of this before.. =)
But last Valentines day, by special request from a good friend's boutique, I tried my hands at heart shaped macarons. My first attempt did not turn out well. I tried pipping them into heart shaped moulds. Needless to say, they just blobed out and turned into a big mess the moment i took off the moulds. So there i learnt why macarons are always round.
But a promise was a promise and i had to make it work. So painstakingly, I sat through what was eternity pipping heart shaped macarons, one by one. It was the most excruciating ordeal. My fingers were numb by the end of the those 100 pieces. But oh well, it was Valentines day and I am certainly not a quiter, therefore I persevered.
The results.... were to die for...
 |
| Heart Shaped Macarons with White Choc Ganache |
Even St Valentines would be jealous of not thinking of this before.. =)
Flavor your shells too!
Many people think that the flavor of a macaron comes from the filling alone. Personally, i like to flavor my shells as well. For example, my chocolate macarons are flavored with real melted dark chocolate, my raspberry flavored ones, with raspberry puree ( unsweetened unadulterated puree).
Recently, i made Earl grey macarons. I have to say that this was one of those times i just stood in the kitchen and enjoyed the wafts emitting from my oven. The tea made the macarons fragrant and reminded me of having earl grey tea and scones in the evening. For the filling, i made a simple vanilla bean buttercream with butterscotch bits. The results? Divine!
Macarons are expensive for a reason. Good macarons are made out of top notch ingredients and alot of hardship, precision in temperature and measurements. Good macarons means never stinging on the whole process. So the next time you make macarons, make sure you take time to flavor your shells too!
A simple touch of adding cocoa powder, vanilla beans, hazelnuts or lemon peel will do the trick!
Sandwiched with the world's greatest mood lifter
Ask Macaronites all over the world what their favorite flavor is, and you can't go wrong with Chocolate. Because Macaron shells are naturally intoxicatingly sweet, you might want to balance out the filling to make sure it ties in the flavors. There are hundreds of chocolate brands in the market, but a choc ganache for macarons should be made with chocolate which consists of 60% cacao and above. The idea of eating unsweetened chocolate may not be inviting, but it's essential in this case to make sure what you are making is not a pretty blob of sugar. Also, chocolate which have higher content of milk or cocoa butter ( regular cooking chocolate you find in the stores) will not solidify easily. It will be runny and cakey and you won't achieve the smooth silky texture of a good chocolate ganache.
Chances are, if you compromise the quality of your chocolate, your choc macarons will be ruined. Don't worry too much about it being too bitter. Ganache is made with heated up whipped cream and whipped cream is naturally sweetened.
Another tip for making Chocolate ganache for macarons' filling, is to make them a day in advance and put them in the chiller. You want the compounds to gel together nicely so that they don't start melting in room temperature.
A french woman once told me, "you've got to respect your chocolate, treat it with love and care". And going by those words of wisdom, it's always worked wonders for me.
=)
Chances are, if you compromise the quality of your chocolate, your choc macarons will be ruined. Don't worry too much about it being too bitter. Ganache is made with heated up whipped cream and whipped cream is naturally sweetened.
Another tip for making Chocolate ganache for macarons' filling, is to make them a day in advance and put them in the chiller. You want the compounds to gel together nicely so that they don't start melting in room temperature.
A french woman once told me, "you've got to respect your chocolate, treat it with love and care". And going by those words of wisdom, it's always worked wonders for me.
=)
Lights, camera, FLASH!!
Screening through the various pictures/concept of macaron photography over the net, i couldn't settle for the ideas i came across. Macro shots that showcase the details of the feet and piles of multicolored beauties just didn't make the cut for me. It felt almost impersonal, which was exactly the opposite of what my macarons were about.
While we were struggling to take pictures which did my work of art justice, my 2 year old nephew gravitated towards the kitchen, like a puppy sniffing out food. The rest was history. :) I not only found my perfect model to showcase my labor of love, but also a perfect storyboard to tell a story of a two year old boy, discovering macarons for the very first time..
The only thing cuter than these colorful babies, were the pudgy thumbs of my nephew. They say kids don't lie. LOL!
By the way, the first word he learnt when he pointed at the fridge was, well you guessed it! MACAWOOOOOON!!!!!
=)
While we were struggling to take pictures which did my work of art justice, my 2 year old nephew gravitated towards the kitchen, like a puppy sniffing out food. The rest was history. :) I not only found my perfect model to showcase my labor of love, but also a perfect storyboard to tell a story of a two year old boy, discovering macarons for the very first time..
 |
| Scheming.. |
 |
| Yay! I got one! |
 |
| Oh my.. OH MY... |
 | |
| This is better than getting a set of Thomas the Train for Christmas!!! |
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| This deserves two thumbs up! |
 |
| One more please? |
The only thing cuter than these colorful babies, were the pudgy thumbs of my nephew. They say kids don't lie. LOL!
By the way, the first word he learnt when he pointed at the fridge was, well you guessed it! MACAWOOOOOON!!!!!
=)
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Macarons and Humidity
Macarons are temperamental fellas, really they are! They are worse than menopausing women, you never know when they're going to explode, flacid or go all funny on you..There's a hundred and one reason why they don't always turn out well every batch and after more than a year of making them, I am still learning it the hard way. Trial and error. Pfft!
The biggest enemy of a macaron, is humidity. I've researched countless of articles and blogs on the net, figuring out if humidity vs macaron's failure is just a old folks tale. There're endless battlefields comments on the issue of humidity. Some say it's bullshit, and some swears that it plays a part. But if you must know, I am solemnly convinced that humidity is the make or break of making macarons.
For instance, if it is a rainy day, your macarons would most probably not dry. For those of you who have embarked on the macaron journey, you would know how essential it is to dry your macarons (to a point of being able to touch the top of the batter without it sticking to your hands) before popping them into the oven. The normal drying process takes about 15 minutes to 40 minutes ( largely depending of the humidity in the air, hence rainy day, longer drying time). If your macarons do not dry on the table top in the given time, you might as well toss the whole batch into the trashcan. They will NOT rise in the oven, trust me on that.
The biggest enemy of a macaron, is humidity. I've researched countless of articles and blogs on the net, figuring out if humidity vs macaron's failure is just a old folks tale. There're endless battlefields comments on the issue of humidity. Some say it's bullshit, and some swears that it plays a part. But if you must know, I am solemnly convinced that humidity is the make or break of making macarons.
For instance, if it is a rainy day, your macarons would most probably not dry. For those of you who have embarked on the macaron journey, you would know how essential it is to dry your macarons (to a point of being able to touch the top of the batter without it sticking to your hands) before popping them into the oven. The normal drying process takes about 15 minutes to 40 minutes ( largely depending of the humidity in the air, hence rainy day, longer drying time). If your macarons do not dry on the table top in the given time, you might as well toss the whole batch into the trashcan. They will NOT rise in the oven, trust me on that.
Drying process ( before they are popped into the oven)
Macarons on a humid day
Or like these...
Alas, there is little that we can do since macarons are not made for our weather, or can we? In Malaysia, we can never tell when it is going to rain. The mere wet wind that blows before a storm is enough to disrupt the chemistry of baking these babies.
My little secret is to foolproof your baking environment (even while mixing the batter). To ensure that your macarons will not turn soggy or look like a volcano crater, make sure you close all the doors and windows on a cloudy/rainy day. Turn on the air conditioner as the air is normally dryer than usual, which is ideal for macaron baking. That would do the trick most definitely, and the outcome will look just like these...
Now this is what i call... Happy feet!!!
Journey of the les petites...
Granted these are not actual pictures of how my initial 60 or so attempts of making macarons looked like, but they look exactly like the failures i had in my very own kitchen. The frustration was unbelievable!
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It is hard to believe that throughout these disasterous outcomes, B* and Kathy stood by me, and indulgingly tried every batch in the attempt to console me that I was one step closer to my goal. These days, my babies look like these.
Success, in this case, is truly sweet and colorful!
It is hard to believe that throughout these disasterous outcomes, B* and Kathy stood by me, and indulgingly tried every batch in the attempt to console me that I was one step closer to my goal. These days, my babies look like these.
Success, in this case, is truly sweet and colorful!
A Tribute to my humble beginnings...
This is a post I wrote not too long ago. Needless to say, what started as an obsession back then, is now my second income. Back then, a handful of people knew what macarons even looked like. Now, it's a craze, just like how the cupcake craze hit the town a couple of years ago.
I've come a long LONG way. It took me almost 1 year to get these babies right, and not to mention, make them one of the best in town! So this article, reminds me of my humble beginnings. It is also a solemn reminder to why i still slog away in the kitchen, and squat in front of the oven while saying a little prayer that each batch turns out pretty and perfect, so that my customers can coo at the beauty of these Parisian delights and enjoy each morsel with a new found wonder.
Because macarons to me, are not just some cookie. It is a labor of love...
August 5, 2010
I've come a long LONG way. It took me almost 1 year to get these babies right, and not to mention, make them one of the best in town! So this article, reminds me of my humble beginnings. It is also a solemn reminder to why i still slog away in the kitchen, and squat in front of the oven while saying a little prayer that each batch turns out pretty and perfect, so that my customers can coo at the beauty of these Parisian delights and enjoy each morsel with a new found wonder.
Because macarons to me, are not just some cookie. It is a labor of love...
August 5, 2010
So The obssession is back. Yesterday, Chatty K texted me, "Guess what's in my car?" I started flabbergasting and felt sweat trickle down my back.
No it wasn't a cute puppy. No it wasn't SLASH, though it could have been since he was in town for concert last night. I did consider Jeevan in a snide way, because she said "what" and not "who". The only time Chatty K would refer to a person as an object is Jeevan. Sorry, no offense dude..
I was right, her brunch trip to see her french chef friend, meant french macaroons!. Glorious crispy fluffs of heaven. So Chatty K resumes to spoil my day by changing her mind every few seconds to whether she would come by and pass me my macaroons. And then she proceeds to test my patience by informing me that she has "shared" my macaroons with some people and popped a few in her mouth. She then insults the macaroons! Biatch... by saying they weren't that great.
9.30pm was hard to wait for. She finally pulled up, and I skipped towards her like Merry Lou and gasped at what she was holding. It wasn't 1, or 2, or even 5 macaroons. It was 12! The macaroons had feet ( tiny jagged edges), I smiled.. I took a bite, crispy yet light as air on the outside, sweet and tangy and soft on the inside. No eggy taste, perfectly shaped dome, pretty feet, ganache made with real vanilla beans! I was in heaven.
SO here's the thing. I gave up making macaroons about months ago. After my almost 40 odd failed attempts, I grew tired of scraping them sticky failures off my pan, wasting baking paper, and i told myself. They were JUST cookies, I can live without them. I was bitter because there is not one thing i cannot learn how to cook. And this little buggers, wouldn't even rise and look anything like how they were meant to look like.
After my salivating affair with Fred's macaroons last night, I'm back with a reignited passion more than ever for these bite size fluffs of heaven.
No it wasn't a cute puppy. No it wasn't SLASH, though it could have been since he was in town for concert last night. I did consider Jeevan in a snide way, because she said "what" and not "who". The only time Chatty K would refer to a person as an object is Jeevan. Sorry, no offense dude..
I was right, her brunch trip to see her french chef friend, meant french macaroons!. Glorious crispy fluffs of heaven. So Chatty K resumes to spoil my day by changing her mind every few seconds to whether she would come by and pass me my macaroons. And then she proceeds to test my patience by informing me that she has "shared" my macaroons with some people and popped a few in her mouth. She then insults the macaroons! Biatch... by saying they weren't that great.
9.30pm was hard to wait for. She finally pulled up, and I skipped towards her like Merry Lou and gasped at what she was holding. It wasn't 1, or 2, or even 5 macaroons. It was 12! The macaroons had feet ( tiny jagged edges), I smiled.. I took a bite, crispy yet light as air on the outside, sweet and tangy and soft on the inside. No eggy taste, perfectly shaped dome, pretty feet, ganache made with real vanilla beans! I was in heaven.
SO here's the thing. I gave up making macaroons about months ago. After my almost 40 odd failed attempts, I grew tired of scraping them sticky failures off my pan, wasting baking paper, and i told myself. They were JUST cookies, I can live without them. I was bitter because there is not one thing i cannot learn how to cook. And this little buggers, wouldn't even rise and look anything like how they were meant to look like.
After my salivating affair with Fred's macaroons last night, I'm back with a reignited passion more than ever for these bite size fluffs of heaven.
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