Macarons: Take 3

Hello...it's been a while! Yes, I am still alive. Sorry for my lack of blogging recently, but now I have finished uni FOREVER it means I have all the time in the world to blog away to my heart's content. It still hasn't quite sunk in that it's actually over for good this time and I won't be going back. There's secretly still a part of me that thinks after summer I'll be returning to my beloved Bham and I think I'll refuse to accept it until I've actually graduated. So now there's a huge void of emptiness ahead of me, which I'm not quite sure exactly what I'll be filling it with as of yet, but in the meantime I will bake! And of course, one way I celebrated finishing my exams was by baking. I gave macarons a go for the third time last week and ended up with these pretty pink almondy lovelies. 

And I have to say, I was very proud of them. I think it's been my most successful attempt so far and some of them even had the infamous 'foot' that macarons should have, which is basically just a technical name for the  ruffly edge at the bottom. The texture inside most of them had that light signature fluffiness and I could have eaten the whole lot myself (but I'd promised to make them for a friend, so I restrained!). Sneaking a bit of my housemate's red food colouring was definitely a good idea, because the vivid colours of macarons is part of their attraction in my eyes. Of course, they were not the perfect macarons and there is still a lot of room for improvement though - they stuck horrendously to the greaseproof paper and I had to literally peel them off and they were a bit wider and flatter than I'd intended them to be. I did manage to resurrect my piping bag and disinfect it from the slug trails though (one thing I will not miss about living in a student house!), which made it a lot easier to make them all a similar size. And making the sugar syrup was a better method, because the paste was far smoother. Finally, the chocolate ganache that sandwiched between the two layers was the perfect choice for finishing them off. I mean, put a chocolate ganache in (virtually) anything and it'll instantly make it taste a thousand times better!

So, yes, give them a go! Because practice makes perfect. And one day I will make macarons that look just like all those ones I saw last year in the windows of French patisseries!

Macarons with a chocolate ganache    (makes 20 if piped to the correct size!)

Ingredients:

Macarons: (adapted from Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook)

100g icing sugar, sifted

100g ground almonds

100g caster sugar

2tbsp cold water

2 large eggs

red food colouring

Ganache: (from The Hummingbird Bakery Home Sweet Home)

125ml double cream

110g dark chocolate, grated

Method:

1. Begin by making the macarons and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Combine the icing sugar and almonds in a bowl and set aside.
3. Put the caster sugar and water into a stainless steel pan.
4. Heat gently over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. 
5. Bring to the boil and boil for a few minutes without stirring, until the it becomes a clear, shiny syrup.
6. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
7. Put 1 egg white into a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until stiff but not dry.
8. Slowly pour in the sugar syrup, beating constantly until you have a shiny meringue.
9. Add the other egg white to the icing sugar and almonds, mixing to a thick paste with a wooden spoon.
10. Stir in a small amount of red colouring (depending on how pink you want your macarons!).
11. Add a tablespoon of the meringue to the paste and beat well.
12. Carefully fold in the remaining meringue mixture so it is an even pink colour, but be careful not to overmix.
13. Fill the piping bag with the mixture and pipe rounds of about 3.5cm diameters onto each baking tray.
14. Set aside to dry for about an hour until a skin forms on top.
15. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 150 degrees for about 25 minutes until firm and glossy on top.
16. Turn the oven off, but leave the macarons in to cool for about an hour.
17. Transfer to a cooling rack with a damp palette knife.
18. Now make the ganache by heating the cream in a pan until just boiling. 
19. Pour over the grated chocolate and stir until it has melted completely.
20. Set aside to thicken.
21. Once the macarons and ganache have cooled, spread about a teaspoon of the ganache onto a macaron and sandwich together.
22. Repeat with all of them and enjoy!

Malteser Macarons

Last week, I felt like it was about time that I got on the bandwagon and made some macarons. Everybody seems to be making them at the moment and as I didn't want to feel left out, I thought I should too. And actually, I don't know anyone who wouldn't want to give these beautiful little sugary treats a try, because number 1, they taste heavenly, and number 2, they look wonderful once they're made. As this very tempting recipe popped up on my news feed the other day, I knew the time had come for me to venture into the world of the macaron...!

Although actually, this wasn't my first attempt, as I did give them a go last year whilst I was in France, because obviously, being in France and having the opportunity to eat the real deal made it all the more tempting. I didn't discover them properly though until the end of the year, after deciding to treat myself to one from Paul when the French had yet again infuriated me with their lack of organisation. Taking one mouthful of a delightful macaron though, was enough to make me forget why I was annoyed. Having food like that on tap would be enough to make anyone. Light, airy, almondy, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside - just pure heaven really. Ahhh take me back. Anyway, I gave them a go and my first attempt was a bit of a disaster.

They should look like this...

Pistachio flavour :)

Such a beautiful green!

Can't remember what flavour this was, but something delicious!

Unfortunately, my second most recent attempt wasn't much better. I'd heard all the rumours about how hard they were to make, and believe me, they were not wrong! Making the actual mixture isn't the hard bit, it's piping them onto the tray and cooking them where the difficulty lies. Piping is not my strong point, and I am very sad to say that my lovely piping bag may have to be thrown away as it has been attacked by our resident slugs, who have left slimy trails everywhere - including my piping bag! I don't think they can be rescued - I just don't like the thought of slugs crawling all over my things. Anyway, enough about slugs. Basically, it meant I had to use a plastic bag for piping and as I cut the hole too big I think, the mixture just came out in blobs on the tray which is why the macarons were all oddly-shaped and a bit on the large side. But appearance isn't everything, of course...

However, not only were they not the perfect circles they should be, but they stuck to the tray horrendously. I think this was probably because I didn't have any greaseproof paper to line the tray with, and being the poor student I am, just replaced it with foil which I had in the cupboard. This meant that half the outside of the macarons was still on the tray, which isn't ideal when you have to sandwich them together with a layer of ganache. On the plus side, at least you can't see the middles! They also lacked the signature macaron 'foot' (basically a technical term for the edge of the macaron) which apparently is from overbeating, so folding in carefully is extremely important.

Having said all that, they did taste delicious! Honestly, the texture was just how I remember them being in France and the white chocolate ganache I made, well....that's another story. Perhaps a bit too sweet, but really, when is anything too sweet for me? They're small enough so that it's not too much of a sugar overload! Anyway, I will not let this mini disaster deter me from making them again, because after all, I got the flavour and texture right, it's just their appearance that I need practice with. And actually, I would be happy to make these over and over again if it meant that I could eat these for the rest of my life. Although even I might get a bit sick of them after a while! But watch this space for another attempt, because I do not give up that easily!

Malteser Macarons (adapted from The Little Loaf's recipe)

Ingredients:

For the macarons:

110g Icing Sugar

50g Ground Almonds

25g Horlicks Powder

2 Medium Eggs

40g Granulated Sugar

For the white chocolate ganache:

200g White Chocolate, finely chopped

100ml Double Cream

Handful of crushed Maltesers

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. 
2. Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper (not foil like I did!).
3. Sift the icing sugar, ground almonds and Horlicks into a bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until it forms stiff white peaks (not too dry though).
5. Fold a third of the meringue mix into the almond mix.
6. Fold in the rest of the meringue mix until fully combined - be careful not to knock too much air out of the mixture.
7. Fill a piping bag (preferably without slug trails) with the mix and pipe small shallow disks onto the baking trays.
8. Tap the tray firmly on a hard surface (this levels out the disks) and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
9. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
10. They should be done when the top is firm but not too coloured.
11. While they are left to cool, make the ganache.
12. Place the chocolate into a microwavable bowl.
13. Heat the cream until it just starts to boil. 
14. Pour over the chocolate and leave to stand for 2 minutes.
15. Stir until smooth - if all the chocolate has not melted, put in the microwave for 30 seconds and stir.
16. To assemble, spread a layer of ganache on the smooth side of one macaron shell and sprinkle some of the crushed Maltesers on top.
17. Sandwich together with another macaron shell and repeat with rest of shells. 
18. Enjoy!

Very chocolatey chocolate brownies

New Year's Resolutions aren't usually my thing, as firstly, I can never normally think of any and secondly, I can never stick to them. But this year all that is about to change, because I'm going try and make a bit more effort to keep up with my baking and blogging, despite the fact that this term is probably going to be the busiest and most stressful yet. So I've more than likely set myself a challenge which is going to be a bit impossible to achieve, but I'm going to try and blog at least once a week. And actually, baking something yummy and having the pleasure of eating it afterwards is definitely one of the best de-stressing methods ever invented. In my opinion anyway.

So I have started as I mean to go on and yesterday, all I wanted to do was bake the most chocolatey thing I could think of. For my birthday I got Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook, which will be my food bible from now on I think, because it has literally every recipe imaginable in there. Including perhaps THE best chocolate brownies that I've ever made. In fact, she does call them 'Best-ever brownies' and I can vouch that this is definitely true. (Although I did make a few little alterations of my own to them!) Gooey and chocolatey and nutty and just so so delicious. You really have to make them and believe me, if you do, you will not be disappointed. Bake these brownies and all those stresses that suddenly appear again after Christmas will vanish instantly in a mouthful. Honest. 

 

Chocolate Brownies (makes 16)

Ingredients:

100g Milk Chocolate

200g Plain Chocolate

230g Margarine

2tsp Instant Coffee

2tbsp Hot Water

2 Eggs

250g Sugar

1tsp Vanilla Extract

90g Self-Raising Flour

150g Chopped Hazeknuts

100g Plain Chocolate Chips

Method:

1. Grease a tin and preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
2. Melt the chocolate and margarine in a pan on a low heat (in a bowl over a pan of boiling water is better if you have a heatproof one that is the right size!).
3. Put the coffee in a bowl and pour in the hot water, stirring to dissolve.
4. Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract.
5. Gradually beat in the chocolate mixture.
6. Fold in the flour and hazelnuts, followed by the chocolate chips.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 40-45 minutes (until firm to the touch but still gooey in the middle).
8. Leave to cool in the tin, then cut into pieces and enjoy!

Meringue Rocky Roads.

 

Get ready for a chocolate overload if you're about to make these! But let's be honest, is there ever such a thing as too much chocolate? That question doesn't even deserve an answer. We all know that the presence of chocolate in our lives can only ever be a good thing. I even read an article recently that linked frequent chocolate consumption with weight loss. Now I am always very sceptical about studies of this sort, but for the purpose of this recipe (and because I hate to think how many calories are in each bite!), I am going to ignore all instinct and just go with it. So yes, eating one of these treats may just help you to lose weight*. 

Anyway, I digress. I came across a recipe for Le Gâteaux aux Petit Lu (what I like to call Meringue Rocky Roads) in April's issue of French Glamour and couldn't wait to give it a go. Basically, it looked just like Rocky Roads, except the marshmallows were replaced with meringues. Now, I can't really say I'm a massive fan of marshmallows, so this alteration suited me perfectly. When Abbey and I were together last weekend, we had a craving for chocolate and these chocolatey treats satisfied our need for something sweet. Of course, I didn't have my magazine with me, but I found this recipe on the Internet, which was virtually identical. They are soooo easy to make (and don't actually require any cooking!) and were the perfect addition to a night in watching Hairspray with a cuppa. 

We decided to be a little adventurous though and tried to make the meringues ourselves. Unfortunately, they didn't quite go as planned and it was another one of my mini kitchen disasters. After finding a meringue recipe, we realised that the quantities were too big, so we halved them. Except we used half the amount of egg whites and somehow got distracted and forgot to half the amount of sugar! When we were whisking the sugar in we thought something musn't have been right, because the mixture was just not getting stiff enough. Then it dawned on us that we hadn't changed the sugar quantity! Ooops. Thankfully, the meringues tasted fine and cooked all right in the oven...they were just exceptionally sweet and not quite the usual meringue-shape! We still used them in the Rocky Roads. I'll just know next time to be a bit more careful when altering a recipe. 

Meringues that don't really look like meringues!

Definitely give these a go if you're in need of a chocolatey boost. And a word of advice: they're best eaten as fresh as possible so the biscuits are still crunchy, not that I imagine this will be a problem of course...

*Just to set the record straight, I am sure this is defnitely not the case at all! I mean, it's just too good to be true. What it really means is eating a small amount of chocolate often is better than eating a lot all in one go.

Meringue Rocky Roads   makes about 10 slices, depending how big they are!

Ingredients:

40g Meringues

1/2 Packet Plain Biscuits (I used French Petits Beurres)

100g Dark Chocolate

50g Cocoa Powder

200g Butter

60g Sugar

2 Eggs

Method:

1. Break the meringues and biscuits into small pieces of about 1cm with the aid of a knife, but not so small they turn to powder.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter over a pan of boiling water and allow to cool.
3. In a bowl, whisk the eggs together.
4. Add the eggs, cocoa and sugar to the chocolate/butter mixture and mix well.
5. Add the biscuits and meringues and mix again.
6. Cover a cake tin with cling film and pour the mixture into it.
7. Cover with foil and place in the fridge overnight (we didn't because we couldn't wait, but it didn't matter!).
8. Remove from the fridge and cut into slices.
9. Enjoy! A cup of tea and Hairspray are not necessary but certainly recommended accompaniments!

A birthday means cake!

It was my friend's birthday today and my immediate thought was "let's bake a cake!!", so me and two other friends did just that. And it was beautiful. EXTREMELY sweet and chocolatey, but if you can't treat yourself on your birthday, when can you? The sponge was perfectly light and airy and the icing was (eventually) just the right consistency after a bit of trial and error with ingredients! I have to give all the credit  to Alex though for the decoration, who seems to be the queen of cake-decorating! We were in a bit of a rush and my hand is just not steady enough when under pressure - I think I need more practice at that. The birthday girl loved it though (I hope!) and it was a good excuse for the rest of us to sit in Parc Jourdan with a big slab of chocolate cake and a glass of champagne sparkling wine. The sun even decided to come out! I just won't mention the strange French chav who was practising his rapping techniques on a bench nearby - thankfully, we were too busy eating cake to take too much notice... 

Chocolate Birthday Cake serves 6 large slabs, for 6 greedy people!

Ingredients:

For the cake:

200g Butter

200g Caster Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

4 Eggs

150g Self-Raising Flour

50g Cocoa Powder

For the icing:

140g Butter

200g Icing Sugar

80g Cocoa Powder

3 tsp Nutella

Sprinkles or whatever decorations of your choice

[NB. I just guessed the quantities for the icing, but this is a real recipe that I found which is more exact!]

Method:

1. Grease a cake tin (1 large or 2 small) and preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the eggs and mix, one at a time.
4. Add the vanilla essence, flour and cocoa powder and mix again. 
5. Pour into cake tin and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when inserted.
6. Remove from oven and cool.
7. If using one large cake tin, cut cake in half once completely cool.
8. For the icing, cream the butter and gradually add the icing sugar and cocoa powder.
9. Add vanilla essence and a spoonful of Nutella if you're feeling really extravagant!
10. Spread half the icing on one of the cake layers evenly and sandwich together.
11. Spread the rest on top of the cake.
12. Decorate as you wish!