Macaron Fetish Book is available in Korean version

Look, a surprise have come with in the mail box today.

My Macaron Fetish Book has been translated to Korean version and published in South Korea. T
he publisher has sent me the complimentary copies - Loving the design of the book !

You can preview the book here 
http://www.ezbaking.com/board/board.html?code=ezbaking_board10&page=1&type=v&num1=999883&num2=00000&lock=N

Christmas Tree Macarons

Merry Christmas 2014 Everyone :)

For the 12 Christmas Tree shells
Ingredients:

1. 40g egg white
2. 30g almond powder
3. 50g icing sugar
4. 30g castor sugar
5. 1/2 tsp green food colouring
6. 1/4 tsp red food colouring
7. 1/4 tsp yellow food colouring

1. In a blender, mix up the almond powder and icing sugar, sieve and set aside.

2.Beat the egg white until frothy, add in half of the castor sugar, keep beating till you get a soft peak and then add in the rest of the sugar. Beat to stiff peak.

3. Add the blended dry ingredients to the stiff egg white.

4. Roughly combine the mixture the scoop out 2 tablespoons of mixture, putting each in seperate bowl. Keep folding the main mixture until you get a mixture that flow slowly like lava. The mixture should be uniformed, shiny and when lifted it should flow down and form a thick ribbon.

5. Add in yellow and red food colouring in each bowl and mix well with a toothpick. 

5. Put a piece of baking sheet over a baking tray, pipe out triangular shapes. Repeat until all mixture is used up. Using a toothpick dip in the yellow and red mixture prepared earlier to decorate the triangular.

6. Let the macaron sit until a skin is formed and it's no longer stick to the fingers when touched. Depending on your room temperature, and air humidity this should takes somewhere between 30 minutes to 1 hour.

7. Pre-heat the oven on 130 C with top heating.

8. When the oven is heated up, put in the piped macarons. Increase to 140 C and continue baking for about 4-5 minutes, be sure to work with your oven and you might need a few test to know how much your oven heats up. The feet should already be forming after 4-5mins. Decrease the temperature to 130C, open the oven door quickly to allow hot air to escape. bake for another 6-8 minutes until the shells are baked.

9. To know if your macarons are baked, you could try it by gently touching the shells, when it's baked it should no longer slide against the feet.

10. If the macaron shells are not well baked, extend the baking time by 1 minutes and recheck.

11. Let macaron cooled before removing them from the baking sheet. You could speed up the process by lightly wetting your working area with a sponge and drag the baking sheets over.

12. Match up all the similar size shells. Get the ready for filling.

Bitter Dark Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

1. 50g bitter dark chocolate (70%)
2. 50g fresh cream


Methods:

1. Melt chocolate over water bath.
2. Warm cream and pour it over melted chocolate.
3. Stir and mix well until a smooth ganache is obtained.
4. Let cool until the ganache solidify slightly before piping onto shells

Mirabelle Plum Ganache Macaron

Hello hello :) Really sorry for my long absence, I had recently got back to work so meaning less time for baking !!

It is the season of mirabelle plum in Lorraine region in France. The mirabelle is a specialty of the French region of Lorraine, which has an ideal climate and soil composition for the cultivation of this fruit.

The mirabelle is identified by its small, oval shape, smooth-textured flesh, and especially by its dark yellow colour which becomes flecked in appearance. They are known for being sweet and full of flavour. The fruit is primarily used in jams and pies, and its juice is commonly fermented for wine or distilled into plum brandy.


For the shells:

Ingredients
* 1 egg white (40g)
* 30g castor sugar

* 50g icing sugar
* 30g almond powder
   (blend together)
* pinch of orange food colouring

* red powder food colouring

Methods

1. Mix almond meal, icing sugar and food colourin together and blend it up in the blender. Sift then set aside.

2. Using electric beater, beat egg white until foamy, then add in half of the castor sugar, continue until the egg white reaches soft peak then add in the remaining sugar, beat until stiff peak.

3. Add the dry ingredient to the meringue. Start folding each batter in each bowl until a smooth shiny batter is obtain. The batter should flow down smoothly and formed a ribbon when it's ready.

4. For details and FAQ on folding please refer to this post http://macaron-fetish.blogspot.fr/2010/02/basic-macaron-recipe.html


6. Using a pipette, suck up some red food colouring powder and then gently blow over the shell to give the shell an airbrush effect.

7. Preheat oven to 150 C while the macaron is resting. Bake for 12-14 minutes and let the macaron shells cool down before removing them.

8. Match up the shells by size and get ready to prepare the filling.

Mirabelle White Ganache Filling:

* 25g mirabelle pulp (deseeded, and mixed up in the blender)
* 60g white chocolate

1. Melt white chocolate over steam bath
2. Mix the pulp with chite choclate, mix with hand blender then let it set in the fridge
3. When the ganache is not longer runny, pipe it on the macaron shells.
4. Enjoy

Hope you like the post, and I would like to show you guys my new family member - Kaeleb - A bunny whose mother was abandoned and rescued, he was born in the shelter the next day his mother was rescued.

Macaron Party Cake

Hello everyone so sorry that I havent been updating the blog for a while

We had been extremely busy with taking care of my critically ill bunny Nestor and moving house. Nestor passed away sadly 4 days ago after a long battle with his illness. It is still very hard to cope with the loss and I miss him very much. he was very dear to our heart and a warrior.

RIP now my sweet angel, until we meet again....

I had made a cake for client who requested a Macaron party cake. this is the first time I ever make one and the result was not too bad :) It was for her son birthday party. what do you guys think ?

St.Nicholas Pain d'Epice (Gingerbread) Macaron

In the northern part of France, the children here celebrate Fête de St Nicholas in the first weekend of December. He is like the Santa, the children will write them and get to see him during the parade in which he gives candies to the children. We usually find St Nicholas form chocolate and spice bread in the shop to be offered to family and friends.

 

These are the macarons that were inspired by the flavoured and the festival :) Enjoy!!

Prior preparing your macaron, prepare the extra freezer bags. I use 2 plastic freezer bags, fold the bottom side up to the right, so that I can fill up the bag via the opening.I get a triangular which will make a cone when open up. Staple along the side. You will fill the batter in the opening of the freezer bag


Fold the bottom side (sealed side) to the right. Staple along.



FOR THE MACARON SHELL
1 room temperatured egg white(39-40g)
50g icing sugar
30g ground almond
30g castor sugar
1/4 teaspoon brown food colouring

Method:
1. Put ground almond and icing sugar in a food processor or a small blender. Blend them finely.

2. Sift the blended mixture and set aside

3. With an electric beater, Beat the egg white, start from low speed and increase slowly to maximum speed. Beat until frothy (you will see lots of fine bubbles)

4. Now it's the time to add in the castor sugar, add half of the sugar, continue to beat in maximum speed for around 2 minutes, add in the other half, continue until you get stiff peak meringue.

5. Mix the dry ingredients into the egg whites. This process is called Macaronage. Start folding with a rubber spatula. Mix just until you roughly incorporate the mixture

6. Divide the mixture into 2 parts. Add brown food colouring powder in one part,leave the second part without food colouring. continue folding each mixture until the batter flow like thick ribbon when lifted.

7. When you get smooth shiny mixture, stop folding, lift the mixture with spatula, if the mixture falls back slowly in the bowl means you're good to go. You could also check if the lines formed from the lifted mixture, they should slowly disappear in within 30 seconds. At this stage you're good to go. Do not over fold, it will be too liquid and becoming very hard to pipe.
if you're unsure, you could refer to my basic macaron recipe as a guide HERE

8.Use the freezing bags prepared earlier, fill each colours in each bag. Cut the tip of each freezer bags

9. Put those 2 bags carefully in the piping bag , pipe your macaron. The first few macarons might not have even flow of colours, depending on how well those bags are positioned. but don't worry they'll even eventually as you pipe.

10. Let your macarons sit for about 30minutes. This will depend on the humidity in your house and the day. Try touching the macaron softly, after 30mins. it should not stick to your hand.

12. Heat your oven to 140 C on fan heating. When the oven is ready, put your macaron in the middle level. Bake for 12 minutes, check them in the mid time of 6 minutes, the feets should already start forming. Turn the baking tray to the opposite direction to allow even baking. You can test if the macaron is cook, touch softly on the shell and when the macaron doesn't slide on the feet, it's cooked. if it's not add another 1 mins each time and check.

FOR THE FILLING
Ingredients

35g liquid cream
25g white cooking chocolate
25g spice /gingerbread



1. Crumble the gingerbread into tiny pieces.
2. Warm the cream in a small pot, while you melt the white chocolate over the waterbath.
3. Remove cream from heat, pour over melted white chocolate. Add in crumbled gingerbread.
4. Mix well, using a hand blender, blend up everything.
5. Pour into a bowl let it cool and set in the fridge for 1 hour before piping.