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. 

Weekly Bake Off: Devil's Food Cake

I'm really excited to participate in my first Weekly Bake off, the brainchild of Amy from Weekly Bake Off.  The premise is simple, to bake her way through Mary Berry's 100 cakes and bakes. A random recipe is selected by Amy every Monday and bakers have a week to bake and post a photo by Sunday evening. I bought this book months ago but due to other commitments was unable to participate at the end of last year. So I was really excited for the first January challenge which is a devil's food cake. However, all did not go to plan and I debated if I should post it or not. I think I'm often too hard on myself and this blog is about sharing my experiences - good or bad. So I present to you the Lopsided Artistic Devils' Food Cake :) 

I made this in a hurry (I never learn my lesson!) which is partly what cause the downfall (no pun intended!) I had a really busy week but really wanted to bake this cake. I had to go to a friend's birthday dinner and drinks and had less than 2 hours to bake, frost and get myself ready for a night out! Could I do it? Well I do like a challenge so I decided yes. I whipped up the cake quickly and it turned out beautifully. I was a little nervous about the icing as it involves a sugar thermometer and the last time I tried making a meringue buttercream, it didn't turn out well. Sadly, I have not perfected the meringue buttercream. Perhaps I should have whisked it longer as it didn't stand in peaks. Remember I was against the clock here so I just put the icing on and left it to set while I had a great night out. When I got back at 1am, the top layer had slid off! :( 

The plus point is the cake is delicious!! It's quite a sweet frosting but it works well with the cake. The sponge was light and moist and you can taste the cocoa in it. I'm dubious about chocolate cake that uses cocoa powder rather than real chocolate but it worked well here. It's a good cake to bake to impress (if you get it right of course) 

A note on the frosting - it really does set very quickly so you have to be quick. I would also half the frosting recipe next time as I had a lot leftover. I think I didn't whisk it long enough to achieve the peaks. Any thoughts on this? 

 cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy - i could just tell the sponge was going to be good :) 

 ready to go in the oven 

 using my sugar thermometer 

 the lopsided cake 

 I like to call this my 'artistic cake' :) 

 Glad I still managed to get a layer slice so really if you didn't see the above pictures, you'd have been none the wiser :) 

Recipe from Mary Berry's 100 Cakes and Bakes Page 162-163 

For the cake 

55g cocoa powder

280g caster sugar

115g butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

175g plain flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

For the American frosting

450g sugar

2 large egg whites 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Grease and line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins.
• Whisk the cocoa powder into 225ml water and set aside. 
• Whisk the sugar and butter in a separate bowl until light and fluffy as shown. 
• Add in the eggs until well combined. 
• Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl.
• Alternately fold in the flour and the cocoa mixture to the butter mixture.
• Divide the batter evenly between the tins (I usually weigh mine).
• Bake for 30 - 45 minutes until well risen and firm to touch.
• Allow to cool in the tine for a few minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely. 
• To make the frosting, heat the sugar with 135ml water gently until the sugar has dissolved.  
• Next, bring it to a boil and boil until it reaches 115C/240F on a sugar thermometer. The mixture will bubble and thicken. 
• Whilst you are heating the sugar, whisk the egg whites until stiff. 
• Once the sugar syrup is ready, allow the bubble to settle then pour slowly into the egg whites, whisking constantly. 
• Continue whisking until the mixture stands in peaks. 
• Sandwich the cakes together with a LITTLE frosting (I used too much which caused the cake slide plus the frosting was not stiff enough).
• Spread the remainder of the frosting over the top and sides. 
• Work quickly as the icing sets rapidly. 

Raspberry Ripple Cake

Today is my friend's birthday. I wanted to make an extra special birthday cake for her which we celebrated at the weekend. Warning this is a slightly long, rambly post but it was quite an effort making this cake!

I was really excited to receive my new book The Boy Who Bakes by Edd Kimber and decided I would make something from it. The first recipe is 'my ultimate chocolate cake' and I thought can't go wrong with a chocolate cake and it looks amazing so this is what I will make. Then I turn the page and see raspberry ripple cake. I got really excited and decided that I would make this instead.

Part 1 - the sponge went well. It rose beautifully and I could tell it was going to be light and moist. This recipe requires you to separate your eggs and fold in the egg whites at the end. 

Part 2 - frosting. Disaster part 1! This is my first time making essentially what is a cooked buttercream frosting where you have to whip the egg whites then add boiling sugar syrup and continue whipping. I'm not sure where I went wrong as the frosting turned out lumpy and almost curdled? Or like the fat had separated? I don't know how else to describe it. I used fresh eggs from the market and I tested the eggs for freshness before using. Does anyone have any idea/suggestions/tips about this? 

However the next morning, I kept whipping the frosting and the white chocolate frosting became nice and smooth but the raspberry half remained slightly lumpy.

Part 3 - decoration -Disaster part 2 - I ambitiously planned to make a sugar collar after seeing it on Lorraine Pascale's baking show on BBC. Sadly, it didn't quite work and yet Lorraine made it look so easy on TV! It didn't really set and as I was running late I decided not to wait and just bring the cake as it was. I piped some jam on top to have some sort of decoration. Sometimes less is more, right?

Fortunately, the cake itself turned out well. Everyone loved it including the birthday girl. It was a really light and moist sponge and I loved the jam between the layers. The frosting was not too sweet and quite smooth. I will definitely make this cake again but probably only for a special occasion as it was quite an effort and when I've left myself enough time. On the plus side, no one has been taken ill after eating this cake! 

If you're still reading, thank you for staying with me till the end. It really does end well :) To depart from tradition, I will not be posting the recipe on my blog as I think it would be nice to support Edd Kimber by buying the book and I can definitely recommend it. Don't let my attempt put you off, its not the recipe, it's the baker! Look out for more baking with recipes from the boy who bakes. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLOTTE!! 

sponge 

 cooking the sugar syrup for the frosting using my new thermometer 

 spreading jam between the layers 

 my 3 tiered cake 

 you can just see the raspberry frosting below- its supposed to be swirled for the raspberry ripple effect but I really didn't like the texture or look of the raspberry frosting so decided to cover it up. 

 I love the layers! 

 My attempt at 'graffiti collar' for the cake. Perhaps I didn't boil it to the right temperature or just needed to wait for it to set. 

Portugese egg tarts

Portuguese egg tarts were evolved from "pastel de nata", a traditional Portuguese custard pastry that consists of custard in a crème brûlée-like consistency caramelized in a puff pastry case. It was created more than 200 years ago by Catholic Sisters at Jerónimos Monastery (Portuguese:Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) at Belém in Lisbon. Casa Pastéis de Belém was the first pastry shop outside of the convent to sell this pastry in 1837. I remember having these in Lisbon and they were amazing!! I have tried to re-create it at home but it's not quite the same.  However, it's good enough to fill the void :) Plus you can make almond biscotti with the leftover egg whites! 

 heat milk and vanilla seeds 

 after adding egg yolks 

 pastry shells 

 ready to go in the oven

Makes 10 of size shown

1 packet puff pastry

170g sugar

250mls milk

1 vanilla pod

3 tablespoons cornflour

6 egg yolks, beaten

• Preheat oven to 180.
• Cut pastry into 4 pieces.  Roll to thickness of 3mm. Cut into 10 pieces and use to line muffin tins. 
• Heat sugar, milk and vanilla seeds in saucepan.
• When the mixture is hot, take 3 tablespoons from the pan and mix with the cornflour to create a paste. 
• Pour back into the milk and gently heat, stirring constantly until it thickens.
• Remove from heat and stir in egg yolks.
• Pour mixture into each pastry case and bake for 20 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is lightly browned on top.

Almond Biscotti

I got this recipe from my mum which is a great way to use up left over egg whites.  It's a really easy and simple recipe with great results.  They're even better than the ones at Starbucks! I have made countless rounds of this recipe in the past few weeks including this lovely jar that I sold to a friend. The biscotti is light and crunchy with the delicious taste of roasted almonds. Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. 

 beat egg whites until stiff 

 adding almonds 

 bake in loaf tin 

 or a mini loaf tin 

4 egg whites

110g caster sugar

110g plain flour

200g whole almonds

• Preheat oven to 170C. 
• Beat egg whites for a few minutes and then add sugar gradually until stiff peaks form. 
• Fold in the flour.
• Add almonds and stir in the mixture with a spatula. 
• Pour into a loaf tin or roll into a log. 
• Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes until light brown. 
• Wrap in foil and keep for 1-2 days.
• Slice thinly and bake again for 45 minutes at 130C until brown and crispy.