Macaron Gifts and Deep Thoughts

I decided to go the minimalist route when I was packaging the macaron gifts.  This way they were the stars of the show, just as they should be.  Aren't they so pretty?  I love how they look like little jewels in a box.  The flavors I made were lemon, passion fruit, raspberry, pistachio and chocolate.

Some of you know that it was the mysterious macaron that inspired me to start this blog.  That was back in August of 2009.  Sixteen months and countless failures later, as well as a few triumphs, I would say my skill in macaron-making is a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.  Maybe 7 1/2 if I'm feeling generous. 

Why not rate myself higher?  Because no matter how often I think I've "got it"  the macaron gods laugh, sending me right back to the drawing board.   I have two Achilles heels: thin shells and pesky air pockets inside the macaron.  Despite my efforts to course correct they always seem to plague my cookies.  I'm not sure if it's me, my technique or the ingredients.   If only I had a better understanding of the chemistry of it all.   My journey continues.  But then again, isn't the imperfect process what  keeps me coming back for more?  Food for thought...

Pierre Hermé Pistachio Macarons

It only took about three years for me to finally get around to testing out Pierre Hermé's Macarons cookbook.  Call it procrastination if you like, but more than likely it was really macaron burnout on my part.  To say that I was maniacally obsessed with these French petit fours a few years ago is an understatement;  I was a fanatic and making them constantly.  It was great for my co-workers because I was bringing the macaron trials in to the office but after I found a fairly reliable recipe I stopped pretty much cold turkey.  

So what brought me out of hibernation after more than a year?  My brother's order of 200+ macarons in six different flavors.  Yikes!  I had been putting his order off for a few months and it finally got to the point where I couldn't delay any further.  

Up until that point I was using a macaron recipe that was French meringue based, i.e., no sugar syrup required.   Yes, it had its ups and downs but all the Italian meringue based recipes I previously made were far too sweet. It probably wasn't the most opportune time to try a new Italian meringue recipe, even if it was Pierre Hermé's, but I figured  if not now, then when?

My first attempt had to be Pierre's pistachio macarons, my absolute favorite flavor.   In hindsight had I known how fantastic and consistent his recipe was I would have converted ages ago!   Hermé is all about the filling which is where the real flavor of the macaron comes from and I couldn't agree more.   For the pistachio ganache I found this fantastic pure pistachio paste online that was 100% nuts, no added sugar.  Even better the company is based in the Central Valley of Northern California, miles from where I grew up!  

I highly encourage you to give this recipe a try if you want professional looking macarons from your own kitchen!

Triumph and the Chocolate Macaron

I know, I know..macarons again?  Aren't I sick of them yet?  I emphatically say, "mais non, pas du tout!"   It's been about four months since I started getting serious about making macarons and I can honestly say I never tire of them.  Their unpredictability keeps me coming back for more abuse..and triumph!

My sister asked me to make some macarons for a party she's going to and I was more than willing to oblige.  The flavors above are raspberry, chocolate & salted peanut butter and finally chocolate & bittersweet chocolate.  I can happily report that I've made some strides in my quest for the ultimate chocolate macaron.  I'd say I'm about 90% there - got the feet and the flavor, but the tops are still a work in progress.  For some reason they are still coming out thin and sometimes wrinkly unlike the regular macs that have thicker shells. It's the chemical reaction of adding chocolate to the equation that's causing me such troubles and unfortunately I'm not Mr. Wizard so I don't know how to compensate.  The research continues...

Here are the recipes I used:  

Raspberry: Used Tartelette's basic macaron recipe and flavored swiss meringue buttercream with raspberry puree

Chocolate and Salted Peanut Butter: Tartelette's chocolate macarons with Cannelle et Vanille's filling

Chocolate and Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache: Cannelle et Vanille's chocolate macaron with ganache filling

Daring Bakers tackle French Macarons

This month's Daring Baker's challenge, French Macarons, brought things full circle for me.   I initially started this blog to chronicle the trials and tribulations that go with making these little cookies.  Frequent readers of this blog know that macarons have been an obsession of mine as of late and I've made them numerous times; some ended in success, some not worth mentioning.  For the past few weeks I've taken a bit of a hiatus from macaron making because it seemed like they were the only things I was baking.  I'll admit, these treats are so finicky that I was fanatical about getting a consistent result.  But I guess that's what makes macarons so coveted and addictive to make..you don't always get it right, but when you do, you're on cloud nine. 

Lime and Raspberry Macarons

Wanted to try two new macaron flavors: lime and raspberry. I filled the raspberry ones with white chocolate ganache mixed with raspberry puree. I normally don't like white chocolate,and this is the first time I've used it in macarons, but with the fruit flavoring it came out alright. I'm in search of a recipe for raspberry marmalade that's not too sweet that can be used as a filling. I really LOVE the bright green color of the lime macarons. This won't be a surprise to some of my friends who know that it's one of my favorite colors...especially when paired with navy blue. I added white sprinkles to the shells , which I think really pops against the bright green. I made lime curd using some of the yolks left over after separating the whites for the macaron shells. Mixed the chilled curd with meringue buttercream so the filling is tart with a velvety texture.

Blackberry and Strawberry Macarons

My cousin's hair salon, Hair Cuts Etc., celebrated its 10th anniversary over the weekend so she ordered some macarons for the party she was having.  Her only request was that they coordinate with the purple and dark pink color theme.  For the macaron flavors I decided to go with something fresh and fruity, blackberry and strawberry.

The last time I made macarons was back in February so I was definitely feeling a bit rusty.  Apparently the macaron gods could sense my trepidation because the first batch came out terrible - paper thin tops and they kept sticking to the baking sheet.  Ugh!  Into the compost bin they went.   You'd think that after making them for the past few years I'd know what I was doing.

Determined to not let another batch go to waste I kept at it.  Much to my relief the next trays came out as they should have.  Just goes to show that baking is as much about perseverance as it is about skill.

Macarons for barter...

My friend Jessie just returned from a whirlwind month-long tour of Asia with her family. She's a great photographer, so in exchange for teaching me some DSLR tricks and tips I'm making her macarons and chocolate chip cookies. I think it's a fair trade.

Jessie's never tried my macarons before and I hope she likes them. Made her some classic flavors (lemon poppy-seed, pistachio and chocolate) and one I've never made before, mango. I added finely ground freeze-dried mango slices to the macaron batter and mango puree to the buttercream filling. It's a fine line between adding enough puree to get that mango flavor but not so much that the buttercream separates...think it turned out ok.

Still not satisified with the chocolate macaron, so my search continues. Tried several recipes but have gotten inconsistent results across the board: too brownie-like, no feet, super thin crust. When they say macarons are finicky they're not kidding and chocolate is, by far, the diva of them all. It's frustrating, but I'm determined to get it right...come hell or high water. I'll definitely be rejoicing when that day comes.

Macaron Flavors: Lemon-Poppy Seed, Strawberry and Pistachio

Stayed up late last night to bake the shells for the pistachio and lemon-poppy seed. Pistachio is my old standby and it's my personal favorite. But for the lemon I added the poppy seeds to the batter as a new twist. They turned out quite nice and I like the contrast of the black seeds against the bright yellow shell. This was my first foray into making strawberry. Added freezed dried strawberry powder along with powdered red food coloring to the batter. I love how the pink color turned out.

For the fillings I flavored buttercream with pistachio paste, lemon curd and pureed fresh strawberries. Really yummy!

I think I've done pretty well with the pistachio and fruit flavored macarons but I haven't found a chocolate one that's yielded good results. The search continues..stay tuned!

¡Viva España! Macarons

2010 has been a stellar year so far for Spanish athletes.  One of my favorite tennis players, Rafa Nadal, won the French Open and Wimbledon.  And the Spanish soccer team defeated the Netherlands today to win the World Cup for the first time in the country's history.  They'll be partying for days from Madrid to Malaga, and all points in between.   

In celebration of Spain's thrills of victory I made a red and yellow macaron in homage to their flag.  I actually had a ton of leftover egg whites in my freezer so I thought I'd make macarons this weekend, in five different flavors.  As providence would have it once I filled the macarons I was left with one lemon shell and one raspberry one.   Octopus Paul himself couldn't have predicted that one.

¡Viva España! 

Mini Fruit Tarts

The food section of today's SF Chronicle featured a recipe for a tart crust that is a bit unconventional. As luck would have it I happened to have some leftover vanilla bean pastry cream in my fridge, from a macaron filling experiment gone awry, and plenty of fresh fruit. What better time than the present to try out this unusual crust? Rather than making one big tart I decided to use tartelette pans because I think they're so cute. Plus, if the finished product turned out ok I could easily share them with friends and family.

The Sweet Caillat Crust is made in a similar manner to pâte à choux dough, except without the eggs. Butter is melted with oil and water and when it reaches a boil, flour and sugar are added. The dough is mixed until it becomes like a thick paste. Here's the best part: instead of rolling out the dough you simply pat it into the tart pan and bake in a hot oven. For someone like me who hates washing dishes this is a godsend. I have to admit I was rather skeptical about this technique when I initially read the article, but the results were great. The crust was really tasty with a nice brown color and flaky, crispy texture.

Filled the cooled crusts with the pastry cream and fresh strawberries and blueberries. The final touch was brushing the tops with a bit of melted apple jelly to give the tartelettes a beautiful sheen. I think they look like the ones you see in the boulangeries of France. They'll make a great after-lunch dessert at work tomorrow! :-)

Macaron Favors and a Packaging Obsession

If there's one thing I love as much as baking it's packaging.   In fact, it may border on an obsession.  But I figure if you've spent all this time making your delicious treats don't they deserve a beautiful presentation? There used to be a shop in San Francisco that sold a pair of macarons in the most adorable white gift box.  I was instantly smitten and wanted to replicate it at home.

Don't you think these boxes make the perfect party favor?  You can tailor the cutout to whatever occasion you're celebrating: weddings, showers (bridal or baby), birthdays, holidays, etc.  Your guests will definitely feel special when they take one of these favors home.

Pistachio Pound Cake

Pistachio has to be one of my all-time favorite flavors so when I saw this version of Tish Boyle's marble pound cake on Kokken69's blog I instantly wanted to replicate it, with just a few tweaks.  I recently bought a bavarian bundt pan but had yet to use it and thought this cake would be the perfect inauguration.  Furthermore I wanted to take another crack at making a cake with a zebra stripe pattern.

Kokken69's adaption calls for using pistachio paste instead of a cocoa mixture to achieve the marble effect.   After finishing a massive macaron order for my brother my supply of pistachio paste was completely exhausted.   Necessity is the mother of invention so I found the next best thing I could, Jell-O instant pistachio pudding mix.  I sifted out the pistachio nut bits before mixing the powder with 3 cups of the vanilla cake batter.

Unfortunately the zebra pattern I was after wasn't happening.  Rather than creating stripes, the two colors of batter blended together.   But, the cake itself was really delicious with a moist, tender crumb.   The pudding mix didn't provide nearly enough pistachio flavor so next time I'm going to use paste and also stick with the marble design!