Ranunculus and Succulents...say that ten times fast.

I keep calling it spring. Even though I know it is officially summer, I just cannot seem to get it through my head. Spring has once again flown by without notice, and all of the sudden it is 85 degrees and sunny everyday. Well, almost every day. Usually on my days off from work it rains, so there's that.

Cake season is in full swing, and I have been cranking out wedding cakes at the restaurant like it's my job. Because it is my job, or was my job I suppose. I finished up the last wedding cake I will be doing at the restaurant this past weekend, after some hard decisions were made. I have been pushing and pushing for the last year to keep wedding cakes on the table as an option for our events, because it truly is the favorite part of my job. I learned, however, in this past year that plating desserts and charcuterie boards for service while trying to do watercolor work on a 4 tiered cake or attaching 50 tiny little gum paste petals to a sugar flower, is near impossible. I wasn't achieving the quality of work on my cakes that I know I am capable of, and that is a big disappointment.

So, for now, it's back to regular service at the restaurant, and the wedding cakes will move back into my own personal kitchen for the time being. I have taken for granted how much easier it is to bang out a four tiered cake when you have a large mixer and lots of full size sheet pans. For the next week and a half, it is back to baking at the apartment for a 4th of July wedding in Wisconsin.

These two cakes were by far my favorite from this spring's wedding season. The clients on both of these expressed that they loved my cakes and pretty much let me do whatever I wanted, with a bit of inspiration direction. I was able to push out of my comfort zone a bit, doing gum paste flowers that I hadn't attempted before including the ranunculus, and succulents. I also took my first swing at watercoloring an entire cake. There is something truly terrifying and incredibly awesome about taking a blue soaked paintbrush to a perfectly white, fondant-covered cake 3 hours before the start of a wedding. It wasn't perfect, but I learned a lot in the process and hope that I get a chance to do it again soon.

So, happy summer to all, I for one can't wait to see what this season has in store. Changes, growth, and more new challenges, or perhaps just more rain on my off days. Only time will tell.

Buttercream Beauties

I think its safe to say buttercream is BACK. Not that it ever went away completely, but after years (decades even?) of playing second string to fondant, buttercream-covered wedding cakes are making a comeback.

Maybe its the blossoming culture of relaxed bridal "rules", or the trend of rustic-chic wedding decor, or it could be valuing taste over perfection, but more and more brides are eschewing fondant for the cake of their dreams.

I have a few opinions on fondant, some of them conflicting. There is a time and a place for fondant cakes. Many of these times and places happen to be weddings, but I don't see it as a necessity anymore . Once upon a time, and I was recently told this by a VERY traditional, VERY southern mother of the bride, the cake represented the 'bride', and therefore needed to be white. Pure white, inside and out. She was not very happy with the bride wanting my buttercream on the outside, and buttermilk cake on the inside, both of which are made with butter, and therefore not pure white. I explained that I do not use shortening or imitation vanilla extract which results in my frosting being a very slightly off white, but that the flavor and texture is unbeatable. For my cakes, if you want pure white, it has to be fondant, I simply will not compromise the quality of my ingredients for color.

If your primary goal with the cake is design, and tying it perfectly into the theme or color scheme of your event, then fondant may be the obvious way to go. On the other hand, I would say 90% of people end up peeling it off before consumption, or just eating around it. It truly is for aesthetic purposes only, albeit an edible one. Don't get me wrong, I love making edible artworks with fondant, but sometimes, buttercream is best.

Sometimes, simplicity makes for a stunning cake on its own, without all the adornment of details and adornments. These two cakes were my first of many this wedding season and I think they kicked it off with a great start. More to come, so stay tuned.

Cake Pop Winter Wonderland

I am a little lacking in the christmas spirit this year. I have no clue why, but it just doesn't feel christmas-y around here. I have the tree up, the candles burning bright, the oven is churning out goodies, Vince Guaraldi is playing on loop, and yet it is still not sinking in.  Perhaps thats how I ended up with pink and silver holly and christmas trees...

Maybe all I need is some snow, but the forecast here in Chicago is not cooperating with me on that front. From the looks of these pictures I took matters into my own hands and made myself a little snowy wonderland filled with cotton candy pink and shiny silver christmas trees. It seems as though I am only a few years away from a little christmas village taking over half of my living room. 

Thats not good. 

I figured since I was using gingerbread cake, that I should probably make some gingerbread people. I must say I had trouble deciding which would be less vulgar, to put the sticks in their heads or up their butts...heads it is. Now they look like a cross between the Michelin man and a tele-tubbie. Either way, they were tasty little buggars. 

Oh I also decided to go the more traditional route and make some green and red ones. 

But we can all agree the glittery pink disco trees are way more fun right?

Right. 

Gingerbread Cake Pops with Caramel Buttercream

adapted from La Cuisine d'Helene

makes 2 - 9 inch cake layers

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted then brought to room temperature

3/4 cup dark molasses

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup whole milk

Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and ginger.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the molasses, sugar, and butter until well combined. Add the egg, and beat until combined.

Slowly beat in the milk and buttermilk. It will look like it has curdled, but don't worry, this is supposed to happen. It will fix itself when you add the dry ingredients.

In a few additions, beat in the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Mix until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for about 20 minutes, then turn out onto a baking rack and cool completely.

Italian Meringue Buttercream

4 oz egg whites

8 oz granulated sugar

2 oz water

12 oz unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup caramel sauce, room temperature

Place your egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. 

Heat the sugar and water in a small sauce pan over high heat. Using a candy thermometer, bring the sugar to a boil and continue cooking until it reaches 230 degrees F. When it hits that temperature, turn your stand mixer to medium to begin mixing the egg whites until they are foamy. When the temperature hits 240 F, remove from heat and slowly pour into the egg whites on a medium speed. As soon as all of the sugar is in, turn the mixer to medium high and mix until the meringue is cool to touch. Add the butter a few tablespoons at a time and whip until thick, which may take a few minutes. Pour in the caramel sauce and mix until combined. 

Cake Pop Assembly

To make the cake pops, see my original post HERE on their assembly. For the Christmas tree and holly shapes, I pushed the cake dough into a mini cookie cutter and then gently pushed it out. There is enough butter in the frosting to make this quite easy and not sticky at all.  Once the shapes are formed, chill them and proceed as you normally would for round cake pops. 

Happy holidays, whatever color your trees happen to be this year. 

Another Brick in the Wall - A 100th Post

I must be crazy. In a good way, yes, but crazy nonetheless. I thought that working two jobs and going to school three nights a week would be a fine and dandy idea, but let me tell you, it's a bit harder than I thought it was going to be. At one point this week when my alarm went off at 6:00 it took me a good hard minute to figure out if I was getting up in the AM to go to work or if I was waking up from a nap in the PM to go to class. I am also crazy for sketching up this Pink Floyd cake even though I have only worked with fondant oh...twice ever? You can put another tick in the crazypants box for staying up all night sticking little teeny tiny fondant bricks together for 50 pink-floyd themes cupcakes.

But you know what? I revel in the crazy. I am at my best when I am stressed out and way too busy. I feel better about myself when I have stuff to do, it makes me feel more grown up and responsible. Just  getting up in the morning with enough time to make breakfast and coffee before work makes me feel like I accomplished something. It's sad, yes, but its the little things in life, am I right? It also helps that I actually LOVE going to class, and now, going to work. I am two weeks into my new job at a specialty cakes bakery, and each day I think to myself, I can't believe someone is actually paying me to do this all day. This is awesome. Those thoughts are what is going to sustain me over the next few months with this insane schedule of mine. Hopefully my body clock will adjust to it's new pattern, and I can make time for relaxation and spending time with the ones I love. Until then, bring on the crazy.

This is my 100th post on this blog. It seems nuts to think that it has been two years since I started writing, and when I look back it makes me laugh when I realize how much has changed over that time. I wouldn't do a thing differently either. Thanks to all my lovely readers, your comments brighten my day, and without them, the motivation to sit down and write a post at 1:30 in the morning just wouldn't be there.

Onto the cake! One of my co-workers approached me a few weeks back and said he was throwing a Pink Floyd themed birthday party for one of his friends and if I could make a cake and some cupcakes. I of course said yes, even though I wasn't sure when I would possibly have time to make all of it, or even how I was going to make the damn thing. Sure I can totally cover a pointy cake with fondant, and have a giant rainbow sticking out if the side unsupported, why not?

This was by far the most difficult thing I have ever made, but it was so worth it to see the grins on peoples faces when I delivered it. 'Thats a cake??' is such a compliment. The cake is black velvet with a white chocolate buttercream frosting. A small departure from the typical cream cheese frosting, but it turns out its another great pairing.

Black Velvet Cupcakes & White Chocolate Swiss Buttercream
frosting adapted from Krissy's Creations
makes 24 cupcakes

Cake: 

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 - 1 ounce bottle of black liquid food coloring

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon white vinegar

Butter and flour your cake pans and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, mix the food coloring and cocoa powder until completely incorporated. Set aside.

In a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer) cream the butter and sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat until thoroughly combined, being sure to scrape down the sides. Add the vanilla and the red food coloring-cocoa mixture and beat well to combine. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, beat on medium speed until combined, then add 1/2 of the buttermilk, and beat until incorporated. Add another 1/3 of the flour, beat well, then the other half of the buttermilk, scraping down the sides after each addition. Finish with the last 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

In a small bowl, mix the vinegar and baking soda, and immediately add to batter. Mix on high speed for just a few seconds until evenly dispersed, and pour right away into lined cupcake pans. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick entered into the center comes out clean. 

Frosting:

5 egg whites

1 cup sugar

2 cup butter (4 sticks) room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

8 oz. white chocolate, melted and cooled to room temp

In a medium sized heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, combine the egg white, sugar, and salt. Whisk constantly until hot to touch and foamy, it should reach about 160 degrees F. 

Transfer mixture to stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on medium-high speed until completely cooled. It should form a shiny meringue with stiff peaks, and it should take about 5-10 minutes. Once mix is completely cool, turn mixer to medium add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each incorporation. Once all of the butter is incorporated, turn speed to high and whip until buttercream comes together into a smooth creamy frosting. 

Pipe onto cupcakes, and decorate as you please. 

Here's hoping for another 100 fun, satisfying, and delicious posts. 

Going Pro

A little over a year ago, I began my journey into the pastry world. I made a few tarts for a bridal shower last spring, which turned into making a few hundred mini desserts for a wedding last summer, which then turned into my first wedding cake in the fall. Now, a year later I am halfway through pastry school and just finished my biggest baking accomplishment yet. A four tiered wedding cake for two of my best friends. Four flavors of cake, 200 macarons, and one amazing wedding weekend later, I have come to the realization of how much life has changed in just a few months. 

For a long time, I was insistent that baking and cooking was just purely a hobby, and that no, I would not be pursuing it professionally. As a food blogger, I am sure we all get it in our heads at one point that we would love to make our hobby into a career, but always hearing and believing that it was not realistic. Just because you write about food, and love to bake, that does not make you a professional. This is true, but why should that stop you from turning baking/cooking from something you do in your free time, to a fulfilling and satisfying career? I heard an interview with funny man Conan O'Brien a few weeks ago and he said something along the lines of 'turning the thing you love into a career is like playing with fire'.  It's true there is a chance that even though you love it, you may not be good enough at it to turn it into a profession. There is also the chance that if you start doing what was once fun and relaxing as a job day in and day out, it may turn into just that, a job that you no longer look forward to, and then you may have lost a hobby. 

Well, I am taking that risk. Life is too short to be trucking along on a career path that you don't love. It's rare that people can find something that they enjoy and can make a living at, and if you happen to stumble across that, I think you have to go for it. This week I was offered a job at an amazing bakery working for an incredibly talented pastry chef, and I didn't even have to think about my answer. The calm and collected energy in that bakery and the attitude of the owner and the other employees there, made me instantly feel ready to jump in. I am so excited to start this new chapter in my life, because if I get to make things like this cake EVERY week, I think I will be one happy camper. 

Now, about that cake and those macarons! All of the flavors turned out great, and they all kept their intense moistness even after a twelve hour journey up to northern Minnesota. Here are the recipes I used for the cake:

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Filling

Devil's Food Cake with Amaretto Buttercream Filling

Banana Cake with Banana Pudding Filling

I also made about 200 macarons, in four different flavors. Pistachio macs with white chocolate ganache, yellow macs with lemon curd, orange macs with peach marmalade buttercream, and my favorite, Earl Grey macarons with a orange buttercream. 

If you follow this blog at all you know that I have attempted macarons many times, and have been getting pretty close to getting them perfect. Each time I make them they get better, but I made two key changes this time that I think have made all the difference. First, I am using a different recipe that I found at Not So Humble Pie, I found that it works better for me in my kitchen than the one I had been using previously. Secondly, and most importantly, I left my stand mixer in the cupboard and used my hand mixer for the meringue. Previous to this change, my meringue never got that shiny smooth firm peak that you are supposed to achieve when making the macs. It's a wonder they ever turned out at all before this. 

Earl Grey Macarons with Orange Scented Buttercream

adapted from Not So Humble Pie

yields about 60-70 shells

120 grams almond meal

200 grams powdered sugar

100 grams egg whites

35 grams granulated sugar

tea from 2 earl grey tea bags

black food coloring

Line 3 baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper. 

In your food processor, combine the powdered sugar, almond meal and early grey tea, and pulse a few times to combine, until tea is ground finely. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium bowl beat the egg whites on medium high speed with your hand mixer until foamy, then gradually add the sugar and beat until a nice glossy meringue forms. This should take a minute or two on a medium high speed. It should look like shaving cream. Add your food coloring, and mix on low speed just until incorporated. 

Add half of the powdered sugar/almond mixture. With a large spatula, quickly fold the egg whites over themselves to let some of the air out, combining with the almond mixture. Add the rest of the almond mixture and fold gently until your batter has come together, no more than 50 strokes or so. You want a batter that if you let a clump fall off your spatula, it will spread and meld back into itself within ten seconds. If it stands up and does not spread at all, give the batter a few more folds until it does. My best advice here is to test it frequently when you think you are starting to get close to the end product, this will help you to not over mix your batter.

Spoon batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip (one with a fairly large opening). Pipe 1 1/2 inch rounds, evenly spaced, onto your baking sheet. Once all the macarons have been piped, pick up your baking sheet and drop it from about 6 inches above the counter. This impact will bring any air bubbles to the top of the macarons, and help them spread evenly. Do this a few times, then let the macarons sit at room temperature for about an hour before baking. This will create those nice crispy shells and will help prevent the tops from cracking while baking.

After the shells have rested, preheat oven to 290 degrees F, place one rack on the top shelf, and set an empty baking sheet on the rack. I have found this helps them not get too brown before they are done baking. Bake the macarons one pan at a time in the middle of the oven for about 18-20 minutes, depending on how big you piped them.

Honestly the best way to tell if they are done, is to sacrifice one of your shells, pop it off the parchment and break it open. If it is gooey inside, bake for another few minutes, if it is done, take them out. If they are overdone, not to worry, after filling them and letting them age in the refrigerator for a day or two, they will most likely still be delicious.

Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then using a small offset spatula if needed to assist, gently pop them off the silpat and let them cool completely on a cooling rack. 

Orange Italian Meringue Buttercream

4 oz egg whites

8 oz granulated sugar

2 oz water

12 oz unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed

1 tsp vanilla

zest of 1 large orange

Place your egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. 

Heat the sugar and water in a small sauce pan over high heat. Using a candy thermometer, bring the sugar to a boil and continue cooking until it reaches 230 degrees F. When it hits that temperature, turn your stand mixer to medium to begin mixing the egg whites until they are foamy. When the temperature hits 240 F, remove from heat and slowly pour into the egg whites on a medium low speed. As soon as all of the sugar is in, turn the mixer to medium high and mix until the meringue is cool to touch. Add the butter a few tablespoons at a time and whip until thick. Add the orange zest and mix to incorporate.

Pipe about a teaspoon onto half of the macaron shells, and sandwich with another shell. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before consuming. You can also freeze filled or unfilled macarons for a few weeks, just thaw filled macs in the fridge overnight. 

***Thanks to Mad Chicken Studio for the beautiful pictures of the cake and macarons, and to La Petite Fleur for the lovely flowers***

My First, and Hopefully Not Last, Wedding Cake

It ain't perfect, but in my opinion, it ain't too shabby for my first attempt. This was my first time working with fondant, my first time making a multi-tiered cake, my first time handling a 60-year old vintage cake topper and attempting not to break it. Early on this summer, two of my friends from college asked me if I would be so kind as to make their wedding cake. At first I laughed...then I realized they were serious.

These two blindly trusted my baking skills, and I thank them for it. This was an amazing learning experience, starting from scratch, with only a few online video tutorials, back episodes of "Amazing Wedding Cakes" from WE tv on my DVR, and a giant fondant rolling pin to assist me in this endeavor.

I spent a few months planning for this thing. I met with the bride and groom to discuss what they were looking for in their cake (size, shape, flavors, buttercream vs. fondant, colors, decorations etc.). From there we decided on a simple, two-tier, small-ish square cake. They were serving a tiramisu dessert at the end of dinner (they did get married at the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame after all) so they wouldn't need cake for everyone, just those who wanted a little extra something after a night of dancing and drinking. Also, we wanted to keep it simple because they were using the cake topper that their grandparents used back in 1954, and wanted to keep the focus on that, rather than any fancy decorations on the rest of the cake (not to mention that I have no business getting fancy on my first cake). Look at this thing, how awesome is this cake topper?

I cannot tell you how relieved I was to drop the topper off with the cake. The groom was teetering on one leg, and the bride was chipped at the hip, and I did not want to be responsible for destroying a family heirloom. I think I was almost more nervous about dropping the topper than the cake itself. Luckily none of the above occurred and everything got there in one piece.

We did a tasting about a month out from the wedding day. I presented them with four flavors of cake and four fillings, and they were able to mix and match and decide exactly what their wedding cake would taste like. The groom picked flavors for one tier, a devil's food dark chocolate cake with amaretto buttercream, and the bride picked flavors for the other tier; a banana cake with a banana cream filling. Hows that for cooperation? Now came the fun part...the baking!

Since I am no expert at this yet, I will show you my pictures and walk you through my schedule instead of going into detail with recipes and methods. Someday I hope to show you an exhaustive, detailed, perfect to the T, explanation of how to make a wedding cake, but I fear we are a long, long way from that day. So for now, here goes.

The wedding was on a friday at 3:00 pm. I needed to drop off the cake by noon that day to have enough time to go back home, get ready, and be presentable with no visible frosting in my hair in my pew at the church before the ceremony started.

Two weeks before the wedding, I began baking the layers. Cake freezes wonderfully, as long as you wrap it up well. Two to three coats of plastic wrap and a final layer of tin foil will do the job. One week before the wedding, I made and froze the buttercream, and made the fondant. Two days before the wedding, I made the banana cream filling and refrigerated it. I also cut all the cake boards to size and cut the ribbons to the correct length.

Crunch time. The day before the wedding, I torted, filled, and crumb coated both tiers. I also put the final, smooth-as-I-could-get-it layer of buttercream on each tier and left them in the refrigerator overnight.

If you are using non-perishable fillings such as a buttercream or ganache you can fondant your cakes a day ahead and leave them at room temp overnight. Since I had the banana filling, I had to refrigerate them up until right before the delivery.

It is apparently not a good thing to put a fondant covered cake in the the fridge. Bad things will happen, or so I hear. I chose not to push my luck.

I also made a little stand for the cake topper with a small round cut out of cardboard, covered with a piece of ribbon.

The morning of the wedding I woke up around 6 am to finish the cakes. I let the tiers sit out at room temp for about 20 minutes before covering them with fondant so that the buttercream underneath would have a little give and I would be able to smooth it better. I rolled out my fondant with a generous amount of powdered sugar, and covered my cakes. I had a good amount of air bubbles, so I got out a sterilized needle and went to town. I chalk this up to it being my first time using fondant if you don't count the styrofoam 'cakes' I covered a few months back for practice.

Using a small amount of hot glue, I secured the ribbon around the base of each layer. I then stuck some plastic dowels into each tier of the cake, removed them and cut them to proper size, the replaced them back into their holes. This helped support the second tier and the topper, making sure it they didn't sink down into the layer below.

Then I held on for dear life in the back seat of the car, yelling at my boyfriend every few blocks to drive slower and more carefully (in reality, he was doing a fine job, I was just really tired and scared that we were going to hit a pothole and the cake would going flying into the back of the driver seat. It didn't).

The cake was delivered without a hitch, and about fifteen minutes later I was a happy little clam with a strong bloody mary in my hand. I firmly believe that if you successfully make a two tiered wedding cake in your two-bedroom apartment kitchen, you deserve to drink hard alcohol before noon.

The wedding was beautiful, the reception amazingly fun, and the cake, delicious. Of course I was in the bathroom during the cake cutting...that just figures. Its okay though, hopefully, in time, there will be many more couples cutting into one of my cakes.

Here are the wonderful recipes I used:

Chocolate Devil's Food Cake
Banana Cake
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Banana Cream Filling
Marshmallow Fondant

I Win

I win!! I feel the need to do a victory lap around the apartment. Maybe even around the block. I made a near perfect batch of macarons to serve at the most recent bridal shower I attended. I ate enough of them myself that I should probably extend that victory lap a few miles...

I had the feet, I had the cake-like interior with almost no air pocket, I had the shiny smooth shells, and for the VERY first time, they popped right off the baking sheet. I felt great, I was elated, I was feeling pretty good about myself, then the next pan exploded. Oh well, I will always have the memory of that first pan to cling to.

What did I do differently this time? Well a few things. First and foremost, I went back to the basics. I made plain ol' almond macarons. No other nut mixtures, no fruit powder, just egg whites, almond meal, sugar, and powdered sugar. That's it. No fancy stuff (well except for a bit of hot pink food coloring). This helped to rule out any inconsistencies that may have been caused by said additions. 

Secondly, I baked one pan at a time. I put an empty pan on in the lower third of the oven, put the macs in the top third oven the oven for the first 10 minutes. Then I took the empty pan out, and put the macs in the bottom third. This, I think, allowed the heat to the bottom of the pan be a little gentler for the first half of baking (thus not cracking/exploding shells) but still allowing the strong heat from the bottom for the second half of cooking to fully bake the guts of the cookie, achieving the cake-like interior. This is purely hypothesis, further testing and tasting may be needed. I think my neighbors and co-workers will be just fine with that. 

As soon as I figured this out, I went straight for the chocolate macarons. These are still pretty basic on the spectrum of never-ending macaron flavors. Just substituting a few tablespoons of powdered sugar for a few tablespoons of cocoa powder created lovely deep chocolate cookies. 

For the fillings this time, I used a dark chocolate ganache, a vanilla butter-cream, and blackberry preserves. The jam filled ones were actually my favorite. I only made them since the groom is lactose intolerant, but I sure am glad I did. 

Plain ol' Hot Pink Macarons

adapted from Tartelette

90 grams egg whites (aged, loosely covered at room temperature for 24 hours)

200 grams powdered sugar

25 grams granulated sugar

110 grams almond meal (I used Bob's Red Mill, but you can grind your own almonds as well)

a dab of gel food coloring (or a teaspoon of powdered food coloring)

In your food processor, combine the powdered sugar and almond meal, and pulse a few times to combine. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy, then gradually add the sugar and beat until a nice glossy meringue forms. This should take a minute or two on a medium high speed. Tartelette says it should look like shaving cream, I'd take her word for it, she is the master.

Transfer egg whites into a large bowl, add half of the powdered sugar/almond mixture, and your food coloring. With a large spatula, quickly fold the egg whites over themselves to let some of the air out, combining with the almond mixture. Add the rest of the almond mixture and fold gently until your batter has come together, no more than 50 strokes or so. You want a batter that if you let a clump fall off your spatula, it will spread and meld back into itself within ten seconds. If it stands up and does not spread at all, give the batter a few more folds until it does. My best advice here is to test it frequently when you think you are starting to get close to the end product, this will help you to not over mix your batter.

Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats, and spoon batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip (one with a fairly large opening). Pipe 1 1/5 inch rounds, evenly spaced, onto your baking sheet. Once all the macarons have been piped, pick up your baking sheet and drop it from about 6 inches above the counter. This impact will bring any air bubbles to the top of the macarons, and help them spread evenly. Do this a few times, then let the macarons sit at room temperature for about an before baking. This will create those nice shiny shells.

After the shells have rested, preheat oven to 300 degrees, place on rack in the top third and one in the bottom third of your oven. Bake one pan at a time, starting on the top shelf with an empty pan on the bottom shelf, and after about 10 minutes remove the empty pan and move the shells to the bottom shelf. bake for another 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of your shells), or until fully cooked.

Honestly the best way to tell if they are done, is to sacrifice one of you shells, pop it off the parchment and break it open. If it is gooey inside, bake for another few minutes, if it is done, take them out. If they are overdone, not to worry, after filling them and letting them age in the refrigerator for a day or two, they will most likely still be delicious.

Dark Chocolate Macarons

Same as above, omitting the food coloring and substituting 2 tablespoons of dark cocoa powder for 2 tablespoons of the powdered sugar. You can mix the cocoa powder in with the nut mixture before processing. 

Dark Chocolate Ganache

1 cup dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 heavy whipping cream

Place chocolate into a small glass or metal bowl. In a small saucepan over medium low heat, bring the cream just to a simmer and then pour over the chocolate. Leave the cream/chocolate mixture alone for two minutes. Gently whisk cream and chocolate together until smooth. Let cool until spreading consistency, about 5-10 minutes.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Butter-cream
from Tartelette

1 cup of sugar
4 egg whites
3 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small metal or glass bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, whisk together the egg whites and the sugar, whisking constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture resembles marshmallow cream, about 3-4 minutes. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until the mixture has cooled a bit and has formed a thick, shiny meringue, about 5 minutes. Change over to the paddle attachment and beating on a medium speed, add the butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing until completely incorporated after each addition. After all the butter has been added, mix in the vanilla, then beat on medium-high speed for 8 minutes, until frosting is light and fluffy and smooth.


Fill macarons with about a tablespoon of butter-cream, ganache, or preserves, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. This will fully develop the cookie, making them moist and cake-y, and most importantly, delicious.