Dark Chocolate Macarons

Recently, a friend of mine asked me to show her how to make macarons.  She came over to my place last week and we made chocolate macarons.  However, they came out pretty bad.  I felt embarrassed and disappointing.

The first tray was a complete failure.  I think that was because the oven temperature was too low.  I have a double oven; but since the light in the top oven was out of order, I had to used the bottom oven (which is conventional, not fan-forced) to do the baking.  I baked the first tray of macarons at 130C for 15 mins.  They were all cracked while they were still in the oven baking.  It was the first time that I've ever had this problem.  I then baked the other trays at around 145C, they came out "alright" (at least they were not cracked and the little "feet" came up).  Well, I think they were just "alright" because they were not up to my usual standard.  Since I haven't made macarons for almost one year due to my busy lifestyle, I seemed to forget the correct consistency of macaronage (i.e. the combining of meringue & the almond mixture).  They were way "under-fold".  The macaron shells didn't come out flat & smooth, but rather with some "pointy" shape on the top.  They were edible of course, but not very nice looking. 

When it comes to baking, I'm kind of a perfectionist.  Since I was still feeling embarrassed by the "bad macaron baking experience", I decided to give it a go again a few days later.

This time I made sure I fold the batter just enough.  They came out pretty good.  Look at the photo below.  You can see how they should look like when you get the batter just right - no under or over-fold.  When you pipe them on the baking sheet, they'll naturally spread to a perfect shape and they should look shiny.

This is how macarons should look like after baking.  See those lovely little "feet" came up?  They look so nice :-)

Aren't they look beautiful when they have some ganache put in the middle?  Umm... yummy.....

So here is the recipe for these lovely dark chocolate macarons.

Ingredients for Macarons:  
egg white, almond meal, pure icing sugar (sifted), coco powder, caster sugar, water

Quantity of Ingredients: 
1 part of egg white, 1.33 parts of almond meal, 1.33 parts of pure icing sugar, 0.15 parts of coco powder, 1.33 parts of caster sugar, 0.33 parts of water

This is the basic formula for making macarons.  It's difficult to tell you how many egg white you need as you really need to weigh them.  The exact quantity of other ingredients depends on the amount of egg white you use.  For example, if you use 150g of egg white, you'll have to use 200g of almond meal, etc.

Method:

Generally, there are 3 parts.

Part 1:  Preparing the Almond Meal mixture

Put the almond meal, sifted icing sugar & coco powder together into a large bowl, mix well.  Then add in HALF of the egg white (remember to weigh it to get the exact or close to exact half quantity), combine well.  The mixture should become very thick & sticky.

Part 2:  Making the Italian Meringue

Put the caster sugar & water into a small saucepan, boil them on high heat, put the candy thermometer in the pan to keep an eye on the temperature.  Meanwhile, put the rest of the egg white into a large clean bowl (make sure it's super clean, no grease at all), sprinkle with a little bit of salt.  When the sugar syrup reaches 115C, turn on the electric mixer to start whipping the egg white.  Once the sugar syrup reaches 118C, take it away from the heat and pour it very slowly (in a thin stream) into the whipping egg white (pour from the side of the bowl, be careful or you'll get burnt by the hot sugar syrup).  Continue the whipping until the meringue reaches stiff peak stage.

Part 3:  Making the Macaronage

Now it's time to combine the almond meal mixture & the Italian Meringue.  Take about 1/3 of the meringue and mix it into the almond meal mixture.  You'll need to "beat the hell out of it" to loosen the thick & sticky mixture.  Once it is loosen, take another 1/3 of the meringue and start folding them into the mixture until it's JUST combined.  Finally, take the rest of the meringue and fold into the mixture again.  Be very careful and watch the consistency.  Do NOT over-fold.  The right consistency should be flowing like lava and look shinny.

Once part 3 is done.  Fill the piping bag with the mixture and pipe them onto baking paper.  Let them sit for 10 to 15 mins before putting them into the oven.

Oven should be preheated to around 145C (fan forced).  Bake the macarons for about 19 mins.

Ingredients for Chocolate Ganache:  

1 part of premium quality dark cooking chocolate, 1 part of thickened cream (e.g. if you're using 200g of dark chocolate, you need to use 200g of thickened cream)

Method:

Break the chocolate into small pieces and put them in a medium bowl.

Put the cream into a small saucepan to boil.

When the cream is hot, take them out from the heat.  Pour 1/3 of the hot cream into the chocolate, mix well. Then pour another 1/3 of it into the chocolate mixture, mix well.  Finally pour the rest of the cream to the mixture and mix well.  Simple!

Put the ganache in the fridge for 1 hour to firm it up before pipping them onto the macarons.

Good luck & hope you enjoy the challenge!  Expect to have lots of wastage as you'll need to try a few times before you get it right.  It's not easy to get the right consistency of macaronage.  But it's worth trying though! As long as you've the passion to do it, you'll get it right eventually!  I tried a few times and did lots of research before I could get it right :-)

Happy Baking!

Paris Brest

As I had a jar of unopened fresh cream that was going to expire soon, I thought I’d better make use of it.  So I decided to make a Paris Brest last night.

I made a little experiment this time.  As whipped cream is not stable, it often can’t hold the shape nicely.  Hence, I thought I might try mixing it with some shortening.  I put the fresh cream and shortening together and then whipped them.  Unfortunately it was a complete failure….the mixture “weeps”.  Perhaps I should have whipped the shortening first, then add in the cream and whip.  Since I put them all together at one go and did the whipping, it’s very difficult to mix them well without over-whip.  Or.. it could be that the two can’t go well together… Anyhow, I’ll try it again next time.

Since the fresh cream filling was a failure, I had to use all shortening to do it.  I could have used half butter & half shortening (for better flavour), but I was in a rush to finish the whole thing as I was so tired by the time I got to this stage….  So in the end, I just took out a jar of Crisco shortening and whip it (much more expensive then butter… sigh… about $8 for 250g!)  Well, actually, this Crisco shortening seems to be healthier than butter as it’s 50% less saturated fat and it’s trans fat free.  There’s a similar product called “Crème Cup” which is made locally (you can buy it from some cake decoration / specialty shops) and is a lot cheaper than Crisco, but it’s certainly NOT trans fat free.  I only used it once, the texture is very smooth; but for health reason, I dare not to use it anymore.

Paris Brest

Ingredients 

For the Choux Pastry:

250ml water
60g unsalted butter (chopped into cubes)
1 tbsp sugar
125g plain flour
3 medium size eggs
some silvered almonds

For the filling:

200g Crisco shortening or softened butter
30g sifted icing sugar
3 tbsp Bushshells Coffee & Chicory Essence


Method

Preheat oven to 200C (Conventional).  Line a baking tray with non-stick paper

Place water, sugar & unsalted butter into a saucepan, bring to boil and then remove the pan immediately from the heat & immediately add in all the flour.  Mix rapidly with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Add the 1st egg into the pastry and mix completely (note that at the beginning, the pastry looks slimy but as you continue to mix, it will come together eventually).  Add the 2nd egg and mix completely.  Last, add the 3rd egg and mix completely.  When the pastry all comes together nicely, check the moisture content.  If it's a bit dry, add an extra 1/2 egg and mix well.

Put the pastry in a piping bag with decorative nozzle and pipe a 20cm diameter circle on the non-stick paper.  Brush some egg yolk on top of the pastry ring, decorate it with some silvered almond & sprinkle with some white sugar.  Bake in the pre-warmed oven until the pastry is cooked (about 40 mins).

When the pastry is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it cool down completely.

Split the pastry ring into half (sideways) using serrated knife.

Place the shortening or soften butter into a bowl, add the sifted icing sugar and coffee essence.  Mix with electric whisk until it's light & fluffy.

Pipe the cream onto the base of the pastry shell, then place the other half shell on top of the cream.  Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.  

Healthy Savoury Muffins

This is such a healthy recipe for kids.  The muffins are packed with vitamin A & E, calcium & fibre.  I didn't add salt as I made these for my little girl.  She loves them! She was even trying to dance (moving her shoulders) while eating them, so funny... Next time I might also add some onions in to make them even more nutritious.

For adults, the taste is quite blend.  You'll need to add some extra ingredient like bacon in order to further enhance to flavour.

 
Healthy Savoury Muffins

Make 6 muffins

Ingredients:

75g wholemeal flour
37g wheat germ
2.5tsp baking powder
2 cups shredded carrots & zucchini 
60g shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium egg
80ml water (or milk)
80ml olive oil

Optional Ingredients:  bacon, salt & pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C (conventional, if fan-forced preheat to 165C).

Put wholemeal flour, wheatgerm & baking powder into a large bowl and mix well. then add in carrots & zucchini and cheese, mix until they are well combined.

Whisk egg, water & oil together in small bowl.  Add the egg mixture into the flour mixture, mix UNTIL THEY ARE JUST COMBINED (Do NOT overmix or they will become tough)

Put the mixture into the prepared muffin pan and bake for about 20 mins.

Best serve while they are still warm.  These muffins will turn hard when they are cold.  You can use microwave oven to warm them up again.

Orange & Almond Slices

My sister & brother-in-law made orange & almond cakes recently.  They were so moist & yummy.  So I decided to give it a go.  I like the fact that it's made of almond meal & it's FAT FREE :-)

The texture didn't come up as what I expected, perhaps they were a bit overbaked.  Anyway, I must try this again!

Orange & Almond Slices


Ingredients

450g to 500g orange puree (2 large or 4 small navel oranges)
5 medium eggs 
200g caster sugar
250g almond meal(i.e. ground almonds)
60ml Cointreau liqueur (optional)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate soda 

Method

Preheat oven to 170°C.  Grease & line a rectangular baking pan (or any shape you would like to use).

Place the whole oranges in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour.  Drain and cool. Chop the oranges into chunks, discard any seeds, then place them into a blender and puree until smooth. 

Beat the eggs with the sugar until light & fluffy, then add the liqueur, orange puree, ground almonds and baking powder and mix well.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45 mins to 1 hour (depending on the type of pan you use).

Leave the cake in the pan until it is cooled.  Cut into small slices & serve.

Raspberry Chocolate Brownies

I haven't done any decent baking since this winter as I've been sick and very busy with everything in my life.  Anyway, as I had a little time on Tuesday night and suddenly felt the itch to bake, I made Raspberry Chocolate Brownies. 

I brought them to the office the next day and surprisingly everyone loved it.  I thought they were overbaked as I left them in the oven for too long while I went to have my shower :-p

I forgot to take a picture after the brownies were cut into squares... what a shame...But I did take a picture of the mixture before it was baked.  I came out so sticky and I thought it would be a failure, but it wasn't, yeah!

It's very important to use good quality chocolate, don't ever attempt to use those cheap ones as they are just NOT the same! 

Here's the recipe.  Have a go and enjoy...... :-)

Raspberry Chocolate Brownies

INGREDIENTS:

150g butter

200g premium quality 70% cocoa dark cooking chocolate

100g premium quality white chocolate

165g caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten lightly
150g plain flour
1tsp bicarbonate soda
150g frozen raspberries

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease & line a retangular baking pan (or any shape you with baking paper.

Chop the butter & dark chocolate into small pieces and put them in a medium heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

In a large bowl, put the sugar, vanilla extract and eggs together, whisk until they become light in colour.

When the dark chocolate & butter mixture is melted and cooled down,  pour it into the sugar, vanilla & egg mixture and stir well.

Stir into sifted flour & bicarbonate soda , white chocolate (chopped into small pieces) and raspberries.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and bake about 35 minutes or until just firm (depending on the pan you use).

Cool in pan. Turn out & cut into squares.

One-Year-Old Birthday Cake

Last Saturday was my gorgeous daughter's one-year-old birthday. 

She loves animals. Whenever she watches the Baby Noah & the World Animals episodes of Baby Einstein, she gets very excited.  Lion (of course it's a little soft toy!) was her first friend since she came into the world.  Since she seems to like lion, I made her a lion birthday cake. 

During the process of decorating the cake, my husband took the following pictures showing the progess of different stages, aren't they look interesting? :-)

* It's winter time so that's why the lion's fur looks messy..... too windy.......

Madeleines

These gorgeous little cakes are called "Madeleines".  They are originated from France.  Their shell-like shape is acquired by baking in a special shell-shaped mould.  Traditional recipes use very fine ground almonds (known as almond meal).  However, I made these using only plain flour (well, you can call them the cheap version of Madeleins as almond meal is pretty expensive!).  Despite the absence of almond meal, they still taste pretty good.  They are a good afternoon treat.  Try it this weekend, sit back & enjoy them with a cup of tea or coffee with your family or friends :-)

Ingredients:

40g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
100g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
80g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or you can use vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped)
1 egg
30ml milk (I used soy milk, but if you want the real flavor, use full cream milk instead)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease the Madeleine tray with butter.

2.  Sift the flour & baking powder into a bowl. 

3.  In another bowl, beat the egg, sugar, vanilla bean paste and milk until they are light & fluffy. 

4.  Carefully fold in the sifted flour until they are just combined.

5.  Melt the butter in a small saucepan over high heat. When the butter turns brown, add to the mixture and combine well.  Do NOT overmix.

6.  Spoon the mixture into Madeleine moulds and bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden.

7.  Dust with a little bit of icing sugar (optional) 

* Makes 10 Madeleines

Lamb or Rabbit?

I know this is not related to baking or cake decoration, but I've to post this as it is such a funny photo.

This year, my husband bought me a French cook book as my Valentine’s Day present.  I hadn’t had a chance to try any of those recipes until last Sunday. 

In the book, there is a recipe for braised lamb shanks.  I’m not a lamb lover, but when I looked at the mouth watering picture in the book,  I said to myself “why not give it a go?”.

I could not find lamb shanks, so I bought a lamb leg instead.   Anyhow, just when I was searing the top part of the leg in the frying pan, I noticed something interesting........  It looked like a rabbit!!