French Macarons

We agreed to have a low key, inexpensive Christmas last year. I wanted to make something nostalgic and special for my husband and his sister. I've often heard my husband talk about his grandmother's Anise cookies that were hard as a rock. (not exactly what I look for in a cookie...) When I questioned his sister about it, she too talked enthusiastic about those cookies. Aha! I can kill two birds with one rock cookie. :-) Now all I had to do is find a recipe.

After searching on the internet for an Anise cookie, I found the Caramel Cook's blog site with this Anise cookie (excuse me, Macaron)

Picture courtesy of Caramel Cook's website.

I had great success with his recipe and without realizing it, I had fallen under the spell of the French macaron.

Was the French macaron the rock hard cookie my husband and his sister remembered?
No, but they didn't care.... they really liked the macarons... and so did I.

When the Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary contacted me this month and asked me to contribute something for a coffee they were hosting on March 2, I thought, what could be better than a French macaron. (did I mention the coffee would host 150 people? Yikes!)

I decided on a chocolate macaron and started searching for a recipe so I could practice making them. I started with David Lebovitz recipe.

Picture courtesy of David Lebovitz's website.


I appreciate the fact that he gives weights on most of the ingredients, however, I wished he would have included the weights for the egg whites too. (if you love to bake and you don't have a kitchen scale, buy one. You can find an inexpensive one at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I recommend one that has 1 gram increments. Read this article on scales that Rose Levy Beranbaum wrote for more information) I tried David's recipe using 50 grams, 62 grams and 68 grams of egg whites. I was successful at getting a foot on them each time and I loved the flavor but the batter seemed too thick each time.

Next I tried a recipe from Coco & Me

Picture courtesy of Coco & Me website.


She gives a lot of helpful insight into making macarons. The recipe's outcome was successful and tasty with a light chocolate flavor.

"Warning From Coco & Me:
This dessert is very difficult to master.
A perfect Macaron MUST have ‘THE FOOT’. It mustn’t come out cracked or wrinkled or have a gap between the shell and the foot. It must be round and be of the same size. (but they still taste great even if you don't master it) it’s all about trials & tribulations!"


Now, if like me, you become obsessed with Macarons, you need to visit Syrup & Tangs blog site. He wrote 5 excellent articles on Macarons. With this type of detailed explanation into the world of Macarons, I believe he could work for Cook's Illustrated.

Are you ready to begin your obsession?

Equipment you will need:
3-4 cookie sheets (you will start with cookie sheets stack on top of each other for the first 5 mins)
piping bag (you could use a freezer ziplock bag)
coupler or tip for piping bag that has a 1/2" opening
whisk (I use a hand mixer with a whisk attachment)

Final recipe I used:

90 grams powdered sugar
50 grams blanched almond flour
20 grams dutch processed Cocoa powder
68 grams egg whites, room temperature (old eggs, not fresh)**
65 grams fine grained sugar (caster*)

The day before making macarons, crack and separate 3 large eggs. (to store the yolks for use later, dissolve 1/2 tsp of castor sugar into the yolks and mix well. You can freeze them if you won't be using them right away)

On baking day, place a rack in the middle and top position of the oven and Preheat to 375 F /190 C

Place the powdered sugar, almond flour, and cocoa in a food processor and process for 1 minute. Place to the side for use later.

Stack two or three heavy baking trays on top of each other. Line the top tray with parchment paper or a silpat. (I use parchment paper and draw 1" circles on the back so I can achieve the same size)



This is what happened when I forgot to use the extra baking trays. :-(

Whisk egg whites starting on low speed for first minute, then increasing the speed a little bit at a time every 15 seconds until you are at a medium high to high speed) When the whisk starts to leaves a trail through the egg whites (soft peak stage), gradually add the 65 grams of sugar. (You can add the sugar after the egg whites are foamy but it'll take you longer to get to the firm, glossy, compact meringue you will need)




When the meringue is at the stiff peak stage, sift half the dry mixture over the meringue and fold in with a spatula using a circular motion around the bowl and under the batter. Repeat with the remaining dry mixture. (It's better to undermix than overmix) The final mixture should be smooth and thick but flowing. (A ribbon of batter dropped from a spoon on top of the remaining batter should take about 30 seconds to disappear)

To keep the baking paper from slipping, dab a little batter under each corner of the parchment paper to anchor it to the baking trays.

Spoon the batter into a piping bag (I use a Pringle can or tall glass to hold the piping bag)



Pipe evenly onto the parchment paper. Mild peaks should settle back into the batter eventually. If they don't disappear, tap the tray repeatedly on the counter top until the peaks have largely disappeared.

Place the tray in the oven on the middle shelf. Set timer for five minutes. (a foot should form at 5 or 6 minutes) When the timer goes off, remove the extra baking tray(s), place a piece of aluminum foil on the top shelf to protect the Macarons from browning, change the oven temperature to 340 degrees F / 170 C, and crack the oven open with a wooden spoon. Re-set the timer for 5 minutes.


Remove Macarons from the oven and leave on the tray for a minute or two. Gently try to lift one of the outermost shells. If the shells stick badly, but are firm, try spraying or brushing a little water under the baking paper. Don't use too much water or the shells may start to dissolve around the edges. Cool on a wire rack face up.






When completely cool, apply a small dab of ganache or buttercream to the underside of one shell and gently press another shell on top of it.








Refrigerate for 24-48 hours. They taste better on day 2. After three days, they become softer.
(You can freeze the shells without ganache & buttercream for a couple of weeks)





Eat macarons at room temperature.



*you can make your own caster sugar by processing granulated sugar in a food processor for 1 minute
**because of the protective nature of egg whites, you can leave them out on the counter top for 1 day

Other websites to check out on Macarons:
Here's a Video of a charming French chef demonstrating how to make them.
Serious Eats

Baby Shower Cupcakes

The ladies at our church (Winchester Corp Salvation Army) pitched in to throw a baby shower for a member that grew up in the church and I had the honor of making the cupcakes!
I found my inspiration on the web.

The ducky ones I found were used to advertise these cute cupcake wrappers. However, at $1 a piece, the wrappers were not even considered. Instead I made cupcake wrappers using doilies given to me by a friend. (Thanks, Gale)

I used a 12 inch doily to make the cupcake wrapper

picture courtesy of AlamoSweets on cakecentral.com


A lot of people must have liked the edible pearls shown in the duck picture above because they were sold out every place I looked. I decided to make my own using royal icing. I tried piping orbs but they did not come out perfectly round. After a few trial and errors, I found that letting the odd shapes dry for 2-4 minutes, I could round them using my index finger and palm. When they were completely dried, I tossed them in Super Pearl dust to give them a wonderful sheen.

Since the baby was going to be a boy, I went with blue frosting and pearls.


Here's the finished product. Cute, aren't they?

I found the ducks at http://stores.ebay.com/Monkey-Dog-Balloons. They were easy to work with and they shipped my order very quickly. They even combined the postal charges on multiple items I ordered. I like that!


I fell in love with this baby bird cupcake from Martha Stewart's web site.



Unfortunately, my birds turned out looking more like the Michelin man. I overheard one person asking her friend "Is this a frog?" Back to the piping board for me. :-D
I used tip #12 for the birds. Next time I'm going to make the birds using the coupler without a tip and use longer strands of coconut for the nest.


The daisies were made using gumpaste. It's a lot of fun to work with.... it's a lot like play dough. It brings the kid out in you.

Rustic Apple Pie

I don't know why but I bought a lot of apples a couple of weeks ago. A LOT! I couldn't help myself. I went a little crazy when I saw all the different varieties available. I meandered around all the crates and containers picking up a couple of each variety as I went and before I knew it, I had a boat load! What's a girl to do? Make a pie!


Instead of making the typical pie, I went with a more rustic looking pie. (aka galette)

I keep extra pie dough in the freezer at all times for such an occasion. You can use any pie crust recipe you would like for your galette. If you want an easy (and tasty) recipe with photos, pop over to Simply Recipes.


Peel, core and slice your apples. (I used 4 granny smiths, 4 golden delicious and my favorite apple peeler/slicer) Toss the apples with 1 TBS fresh lemon juice and a 1/2 cup of sugar. Let them rest on the counter for an hour, then drain the liquid off into a sauce pan.



Caramelized the liquid over medium heat for 5-8 minutes.

To prevent a flood of juices from collecting in the bottom of the pie/galette, pre-cook your apples in the caramelized liquid for 10 minutes over medium heat to a temperature of 120 to 140 degrees. (This stabilizes the pectin and prevents the apples from becoming mushy when cooked for a second time in the oven. Temperatures over 140 causes the pectin to break down and you'll end up with an applesauce pie.)


Remove the apples from heat, adjust the flavoring to your liking (I sprinkle in cinnamon, a tablespoon or two of brown sugar and a slash of vanilla)

Let the apples cool for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Roll out your dough and place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Put your cooled apples in the middle of the dough and fold the dough up leaving most of the fruit exposed


Mix a splash of water with an egg white and brush it on the exposed dough then sprinkle it with sugar and pop it in the oven.

Bake on the bottom rack 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees (until crust is brown and fruit is bubbly) Check the bottom of the pie after 35 minutes, if it is getting too brown, move it to the middle rack and lower the temperature to 350.

TWD: Chocolate chocolate cupcakes

After living vicariously through all the "TWD" bakers out there, I finally have jumped on the bandwagon. (Yes, the October deadline had a lot to do with motivating me)

This weeks recipe, Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes, was selected by Clara of I Heart Food4Thought You can find the recipe on her website or on pages 215-217 of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking From my Home to Yours"

Although I carefully weighed all my ingredients and took the cupcakes out of the oven the second the tops of the cakes were dry and springy to the touch and a knife inserted into the center came out clean (21-22 mins) as Dorie described, I found these cupcakes to be on the dry side.

I only had one issue with the recipe... the step where you fold the melted chocolate into the batter, ...I scraped all the chocolate into the batter at once, grabbed my spatula to fold it in, and hit a big lump of chocolate! The entire amount of melted chocolate had solidified! grrrrrrrrr. (the chocolate was around 74 degrees, the cake batter around 66 degrees when I merged the two.)

I removed the big lump of chocolate out, wiped off all the cake mix that I could, and stuck it in the microwave until it was pliable again. Then I mixed it into the batter slowly. I think there were still some small pieces of chocolate that solidified but they seemed to have melted when I baked the cupcakes.

I wanted to do something different with the cupcakes so I used the vanilla cream filling that Baking Bites posted on her site. For half of the cupcakes, I used her method of filling the cupcakes ,

for the other half, I used a faster method... I shoved the piping tip into the cupcake and squeezed the pastry bag until the cupcake swelled. (some of them cracked because I squeezed too much. See the one on the left below)

The cupcakes using Baking Bites method (shown below) looked nicer and more symmetrical than the ones I filled by shoving the tip into. (shown above) However, I'm probably the only one who noticed.

I'm have a lot to learn when it comes to baking... especially when it comes to chocolate. I really, really don't like chocolate. Not only does it end up all over my kitchen, but it doesn't behave the way it's supposed to. Please leave me a message on what I need to do differently to get chocolate under control. Perhaps there's an obedience training class out there that you could recommend?

Tyler Florence Banana Bread

While visiting our daughters in Florida, the youngest, Carey, made this awesome banana bread. It was light, fluffy and delicious! As much as I love her and visiting with family, I couldn't wait to get back home so I could make it myself!

My first batch turned out heavy and dense (like most of my banana breads) It was tasty but I wanted light and fluffy. (picture a kid at the checkout stand at Wal-Mart pitching a fit because they wanted something... yep, that was me)
Exhibit A:

I emailed the above picture to her and asked her what I did wrong. I followed the recipe to a tee and it came out heavy and dense. :-( It turns out that she didn't follow the recipe to a tee. (She is so much like her Father... He makes little changes to a recipe and it comes out mouth watering... me, I follow a recipe to the tee and... well you get the picture) Anyway, Carey explained that she was out of plain flour that day so she used self rising flour plus a pinch of salt and baking soda instead. Amazing how little things make such a big difference!

While I was baking batch #2 (this time with self rising flour) I remembered that we ate the bread while it was still quite hot. Aha! Another clue! I let the 2nd Banana Bread cool for 15 minutes before I sliced it.
It was closer to hers but still not quite right.
Exhibit B:

I had 3 bananas left, so on the 3rd and final batch I sliced the bread as soon as I took it out of the pan. (10 mins)
Exhibit C:


You can find the original recipe at:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/banana-bread-with-pecans-recipe/index.html

The changes I made from the original recipe for the last batch of Banana Bread were:

I used:
2 cups (10 oz) Self rising flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
3 bananas (about 13oz /381grams)
and I folded the flour in instead of using the mixer.

In all three batches, my banana / sugar mixture never looked what I'd call a "light and fluffy banana cream" as described in the recipe. Maybe you can tell me where I went wrong...

Wilton Fondant and Gumpaste Final

Peninsula Grill's Ultimate Coconut Cake

This cake is the signature cake belonging to chef Robert Carter of The Peninsula Grill in Charleston, SC. It is based on his grandmother's recipe and it has become the cake-of-choice for Charleston brides. After tasting it, I can see why. It is heaven.



I believe you either love coconut or you hate it. There's no in between.
My younger sister, Belinda, hates it. She can detect a teeny-tiny drop of coconut in a huge vat of anything. While growing up, I got everything she tasted that had even a hint of coconut in it. Life is good. :-)

I love, love, love coconut.
There, I've said it. I'm Tammy and I'm a coconut-a-holic. (is there such a thing?)
If a dish has coconut in it, I guarantee I will love it.

I love to bake, I love coconut, I was in the mood to try a new recipe, so I did a google search for the perfect coconut cake recipe. After reading through several blogs and seeing this recipe come up over and over again by other coconut lovers, the decision was made.

Since the cake looked very intimidating, I thought about ordering this cake from the Peninsula Grille and having it shipped to me. I justified that the $100 price tag would be well worth it 'just once' for a very special occasion. However, to have it shipped to my location, FedEx wanted $100. Time to go to plan B... make it myself!

Chef Robert Carter was generous enough to share his recipe and to show us how to make it when he appeared on Martha Stewart show. Good news for me because I learn better if I can see how it's done first! To view the video of chef Robert Carter making the cake, click here then on view video (I couldn't download the video so if Martha has changed the link, try searching on Martha Stewart's website for the Ultimate coconut cake.)

There are a lot of steps to the create this masterpiece but none of them are hard to do and it is well worth it! I took this cake to our Wednesday night Bible study and you would have thought I discovered how to walk on water. Everyone was absolutely amazed with the presentation and the taste.

Typically, I don't post recipes that others have posted on their sites but since Martha keeps updating her URLs, I'll give you the recipe at the very end of this post. That way if the link doesn't work, you still have the recipe. (Nothing frustrates me more than a broken link! ...or a bad recipe!)

Important things to note:

• You must use Plugra butter. (it has more butterfat... a key ingredient)
• You must cut this cake while it is cold (else the lovely filling squishes out...trust me on this)
• Let it come to room temperature before serving. (2-3 hours)
• You are not allowed to leave a negative comment if you made any changes to the recipe. Baking is a science and all the ingredients and measurements are essential.

The cake has five steps:
1. The filling: You make it the night before assembling the cake.. and it is awesome. (to whip it the next day, I had to divide the filling into 2 parts. My 5 qt couldn’t handle the full load) click here for recipe

2. The cake: Two 10” cakes. (At first, I was disappointed when I took them out of the pan. They reminded me of corn bread… large crumb and very yellow. I may try less baking powder next time… what do you think? When you watch the video, Rob said a tsp and a half of BP, but the recipe on Martha’s website has 1 1/2 TBS… (P.S. The final cake tasted great so maybe no change is needed) click here for recipe.

3. Simple syrup (can be made ahead of time and stored up to 1 month refrigerated in an airtight container) Click here for recipe.

4. The frosting… (warning: This is very addictive) click here for recipe

5. The assembly: click here for directions

Here's a picture of my final cake. I got a bit wild when applying the coconut to the sides and ended up covering the whole cake with coconut.



Side by side comparison:

If the URL's above are not working, use the recipes below.

Coconut Filling
This delicious coconut cake filling is courtesy of Robert Carter from the Peninsula Grill, in Charleston, South Carolina.
Ingredients
Makes enough for 1 cake .
5 cups heavy cream
3 cups sugar
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 T water
9 cups shredded sweetened coconut

Directions

1. Place coconut in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until coconut is finely chopped. (this will make it easier to slice the cake. Don't skip this part)
2. In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water and set to the side. (the ratio of liquid to cornstarch doesn't seem right... I added 2 more TBS of water)
   Place cream, sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved
   Add the cornstarch mixture to the cream mixture and bring to a boil. Simmer until thickened, about 1 minute.
   Remove cream mixture from heat and stir in processed coconut until well combined.
3. Transfer to a large baking dish or bowl; let cool.
   Cover filling with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
4. When you are ready to assemble the cake, place half the mixture in the bowl of an 5 qt electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat for 4 to 5 minutes. (should be smooth and creamy) Do the same process for the rest of the mixture.
   

The Cake

Makes two 10-inch round cakes. (you'll be cutting each layer into 3rds later)

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray with flour (I like Baker's Joy)
1 pound unsalted PLUGRA butter (can purchase at Fresh Market or other high end store)
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

1. Spray two 10-inch round cake pans with cooking spray with flour; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a small bowl, mix together cream, vanilla, and coconut extract.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5 to 6 minutes.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until creamy, occasionally scraping down sides of the bowl using a spatula.
6. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture, alternating with cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour; beat until just combined.
7. Divide batter between the two prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
8. Let cool completely on a wire rack before removing cakes from pans.

Simple Syrup

Makes enough for the entire cake (two 10 inch layers)

Ingredients

3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar

Directions

1. Place water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved.
3. Remove from heat and let cool.
4. Store up to one month refrigerated in an airtight container.

The Frosting

makes enough for the entire cake

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted PLUGRA butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 cups confectioners' sugar
1 vanilla bean, scraped

Directions

1. Place butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until creamy.
2. With mixer on low speed, slowly add vanilla extract, seeds from vanilla bean, and confectioners' sugar.
3. Continue beating until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.

The final assembly:

Makes one 6-layer cake

Ingredients needed:
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut flakes, toasted
2 Coconut Cake
Simple Syrup
Coconut Filling
Coconut Cake Frosting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spread coconut flakes in an even layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden, 5 to 7 minutes; set aside to cool.
   Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level; discard trimmings.
3. Cut each cake into 3 even layers. (also known as torting)
4. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan.
   Place one layer on the cake plate. Brush with about one-fifth of the simple syrup.
5. Spread 2 cups (4oz) of filling on the cake.
6. Place a second layer on top.
7. Repeat process with the next four layers and top with last remaining layer.
8. Spread top and sides of cake with frosting, keeping in mind you may not need to use all of it.
9. Press toasted coconut into sides of cake; remove parchment paper strips.
10. Chill cake at least 5 hours and up to 5 days. (the syrup is more evenly distributed after 1 day)
11. Slice immediately; bring to room temperature before serving
12. Sit back and listen to all the praises.

Bobby Flay from from the TV show THROWDOWN! challenge Robert Carter on this recipe ...and Bobby won… The next time I make a coconut cake, I’ll try his recipe and blog about it… http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/throwdowns-toasted-coconut-cake-with-coconut-filling-and-coconut-buttercream-recipe/index.html