Raspberries and Cream Macarons

I've been really busy this week so I haven't had time to bake or blog. I had a bit of spare time yesterday evening and I thought I would participate in Random Recipes hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen.  The challenge this month was to count to book number 17 and then pick a random recipe from the book. So I went to my bookshelf and started counting and shook my head in disbelief. 

 

I'm pretty sure Dom and Choclette hatched a plot and secretly counted the books on my shelf when they chose the number 17!! So much for a nice, quick easy bake and an early evening. I was really hoping for a cake or a cookie.  Dom - please take note that there was definitely NO cheating involved as I would not have voluntarily picked this book at present given my recent macaron failures.  On the bright side, I've obviously never made anything from this book before and one of the great things about this challenge is making use of my ever growing stack of cookbooks so thank you :) 

It's a great little book all about macarons. There are pretty pictures and clear instructions with step by step photos. I particularly like the recipes in this book because there is no egg wastage.  The egg whites are used for the shells and the egg yolks for the filling. I would say these were a semi-success, far from perfect but I'm glad I tried them again. I particularly liked the filling - I could just eat it on it's own! I think I can now say with confidence that I've conquered my fear of macarons :)

 randomly opened to... strawberries & cream ... looks very pretty which makes me even more nervous. Plus, I've run out of strawberry jam so it's raspberries and cream for me

 I didn't have any vanilla pods either so I used a tablespoon of vanilla bean paste - smells amazing and you can see the flecks of vanilla seeds if you look closely enough

 you are supposed to mix to a ribbon like texture... so far so good.... 

 Glitter makes everything better

 A skin formed - honestly! 

 I couldn't resist peeking into the oven... looks good :) 

 ta-da! 

 look there's feet!! 

 whisking egg yolks, sugar and cornflour... 

 to make a custard like filling...

 ready for the fillings

 jam on one side, custard-cream filling on the other 

 mini macs just because everything looks better in miniature form!

 I'm so super proud of myself!! :) 

I'm also sneakily entering this to AlphaBakes even though the deadline has passed as Caroline has generously agreed to add my little macarons to the round up. What are the chances of picking a random recipe that begins with the random letter "M" that we picked for our challenge? It has to be allowed :)

 And to Sweets for a Saturday hosted by Lisa from Sweet as Sugar Cookies

Recipe from Macarons by Annie Rigg, published by Ryland Peters & Small, photography by Kate Whitaker - reproduced with kind permission from the publisher (with minor edits from me in the method section)

For the macaron shells

200g icing sugar
100g ground almonds
120 - 125g egg whites (approx 3 egg whites)
a pinch of salt
40g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod split lengthways (I used vanilla bean paste)
red edible glitter

For the filling


Raspberry jam (original recipe states strawberry jam)
3 egg yolks
75g caster sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour
250ml milk
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways (I used vanilla bean paste)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
100ml double cream

• Blend the icing sugar and ground almonds for 30 seconds until thoroughly combined and set aside. 
• Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold a stiff peak. 
• Continue to whisk at medium speed while adding the caster sugar a teaspoonful at a time.
• The mixture should be thick, white and glossy.
• Using a large metal spoon, fold the ground almond and sugar mixture into the egg whits. 
• Continue folding until a ribbon-like texture as shown above. 
• Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe evenly sized rounds onto a baking sheet (I used a silicone mat which you can buy online here)
• Tap the bottom of the baking sheets sharply, once, on the work surface to expel any large air bubbles.
• Scatter edible glitter on top (I used a small paintbrush which I tapped gently from a height).
• Leave the macarons to rest for about 15 minutes - 1 hour until they have set and formed a dry shell. 
• Preheat the oven to 170C. 
• Bake the macarons, 1 sheet at a time for about 10 minutes.
• The tops should be crispy and the bottoms dry. 
• Leave to cool on the baking sheet.
• 
  
• To make the filling, put the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a small heatproof bowl and whisk until combined. 
• Heat the milk, along with the vanilla pod (or vanilla bean paste) in a small saucepan until it only just starts to boil.
• Remove from the heat and pour over the egg mixture, whisking constantly until smooth. 
• Pour the mixture back into the pan and cook gently over low heat, stirring constantly until the custard comes to a boil and thickens.
• Strain into a clean bowl, add the butter and stir until the butter has melted. 
• Cover with clingfilm and leave to cool before refrigerating. 
• Whip the cream until it holds soft peaks and fold into the chilled custard. 
• 
  
• Take one half of the macaron shells and spread about 1/2 teaspoon raspberry jam onto each one. 
• Fill a piping bag with the vanilla cream filling and pipe it onto the remaining shells. 
• Sandwich together with the jammy macarons and leave to rest for about 30 minutes before serving. 

Mini Custard Pots

I had 4 egg yolks leftover from making these peanut butter chip pillows recently. I was debating what to do with them so I sent out a tweet asking for suggestions which did not include custard and got the following replies: lemon curd, lemon meringue, meringue pie/tart and golden cake (thank you to those who replied)

What did I end up making? Custard which I did not want to make initially but I honestly just couldn't resist having seen them on Laura's blog and tweets. I had to wait another day to make them as I didn't have any cream in the house so the anticipation had been building up and they were well worth it.

I made a few different flavours - vanilla, lemon, lemon and honey, coffee and chocolate. My favourite was the coffee one which was a surprise as I don't drink coffee but then again I do like coffee based desserts. Surprisingly, the chocolate ones were my least favourite.

These custard pots are really smooth and silky and taste much better chilled. Writing this post makes me wish I still have some in the fridge!

 first time baking in a bain marie

 forgot to take a picture until it was almost all gone! 

 my favourite coffee one - tastes much better than it looks! 

Recipe adapted from cakeandfeminism 

4 egg yolks (you can also use whole eggs)

140g golden caster sugar

300ml double cream

300ml whole milk

Flavour variations

For vanilla - add 1 teaspoon vanilla essence or 1/2 vanilla pod (for 2 ramekins) 

For lemon - add 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest and 1-2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice (to taste)

For honey and lemon - add 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest and 1 teaspoon honey

For coffee - add 1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon of hot water

For chocolate - add a few chunks of melted chocolate

• Preheat oven to 150C. 
• Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl.
• Bring the cream and milk to a boil in a large saucepan. 
• Pour onto the egg mixture, whisking throughout. 
• Pour the custard into ramekin dishes. 
• Add flavours as suggested above.
• Sprinkle ground nutmeg or cocoa powder on top depending on flavour used. 
• Bake for 1 hour in the centre of the oven. 
• It should be set around the edges but still have a wobble in the middle. 
• Allow to cool then place in the fridge.
• Best eaten chilled.