Black Millionaire's Shortbread

This stuff is like a chocolate caramel slice, only with a more intense flavour in the caramel due to the addition of the treacle.  It's yum!! The recipe is from Dan Leopard's book Short and Sweet.  Tons of great recipes in there with lots and lots of tips on technique and method--very helpful!

Shortbread Base:

125g plain flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

75g muscovado sugar

100g softened unsalted butter

 Treacle Caramel

175g muscovado sugar

2 tbsp cornflour

1 tsp allspice

75g black treacle (molasses works too)

75g golden syrup

175g unsalted butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Topping:

200g dark chocolate

25ml sunflower oil

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 170C (335F) and line a square tin (20cm) with foil.

2. Combine together the dry ingredients for the shortbread base.  Add in the butter and mix together until the mixture forms a dough.

3.  Press into the base of the tin and bake for 30mins.

4. While the shortbread base is cooling, mix the sugar, cornflour, allspice, black treacle, and golden syrup together in a saucepan over VERY LOW heat.  You want all the sugar to dissolve completely so that the mixture is smooth.

5.  Then add in the butter and vanilla and bring to a boil.  Let boil for 3-4 minutes until the temperature reads 112C (soft ball) on a candy thermometer

6. Quickly remove from heat and let sit until all of the bubbles have stopped coming.

7. Now pour over the shortbread base.  Leave to sit for 3-4 hours to cool completely.

The grainyness in the middle is because I heated mine up too fast initially!!! Don't make the same mistake!

8.  Once cool, melt the chocolate and sunflower oil and spread this over the top of the caramel layer.

9.  Let this cool down and set for approximately another 30min to an hour.

Grab a warm cup of Joe and dive in to this baby!

Steamed Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

I had never had steamed pudding until coming to NZ, and after purchasing my own pudding steamer container this weekend, I had to try to make one!  I picked sticky date pudding because everyone seems to love it, but every single time I had it, it always was too dry...until now.  This cake is deliciously moist and oh so very good.  Seriously, we basically ate the entire cake between two of us in one night because it was just that good.  We.could.not.stop.eating.it.

       

 

Sticky Date Pudding

250g pitted dates

300ml water

1 tsp baking soda       

60g butter

2/3 cup caster (superfine) sugar

3 large free range eggs

1 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder 

 

Butterscotch Sauce            

1 cup (220g) brown sugar

125g butter

375ml thickened cream

1 tsp vanilla essence

 

Directions:

1. Combine the dates and water in a medium saucepan and bring it to the boil.  Mix in the baking soda and remove from heat.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in the eggs one at a time. Add in the date mixture and blend together for about a minute. Add the flour and baking power and blend until just combined.
3. Lightly grease a 1.5 litre (6-cup) pudding basin. Pour the mixture into the basin. Cover the pudding with a greased piece of wax paper or foil and then the lid.
4. Put the bowl inside a covered steamer with boiling water coming halfway up the sides of the basin. Boil for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Add in water as required. NOTE: If you don't have a covered steamer, this will take about 2.5 hours to cook like mine did...but oh so worth it!
5. Once the pudding is cooked and ready to be eaten, combine the sugar, cream and vanilla in a small saucepan. Stir constantly over medium low heat until mixture boils.  Let boil for 2 min and remove from heat.
6. Stir in the butter into the sugary cream mixture.(The sauce will thicken as it cools)
7. Serve the pudding drizzled with the sauce. (Our sauce is still quite warm because we couldn't wait!)

 

Yummy!

 

Yummier!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe provided by:

http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/611/steamed-sticky-date-pudding-with-butterscotch-sauce.aspx

Exotic Spice Cookie

I have no idea what the actual name of this cookie is, nor if it has one.  What I can tell you is that they are DELICIOUS and have their very own unique flavour....oh yeah, and the lady that created the recipe won $25,000 on the Food Network recipe challenge in 2008 (not me of course!!!) http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ultimate-recipe-showdown/exotic-spice-cookies-with-ginger-cardamom-and-rose-water-recipe/index.html Anything that dares to use rosewater, cardamom, loooots of ginger, AND coriander and black pepper is worth a try!  You won't regret it!

Exotic Spice Cookie

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
2¼ teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
 ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ cup chopped crystallized ginger
 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon rosewater
¾ cup turbinado (raw) sugar, for rolling

 

Whisk the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, pepper, and salt in a medium bowl until blended. Mix in the crystallized ginger. Set aside momentarily.
 

 In a large bowl beat the brown sugar, shortening, and butter with an electric mixer until fluffy (do not overbeat-it will add too much air). Add the egg, honey, and rosewater and beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon, mixing until just until blended. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
 

 Preheat oven to 180 C (350°F). Lightly spray 2 cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon the raw sugar in thick layer onto a small plate. Using wet hands, form dough into 1¼-inch balls; roll in sugar to coat completely. Place balls on prepared sheets, spacing 2-3 inches apart.
 

Bake cookies until cracked on top but still soft to touch, 11-13 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute. Carefully transfer cookies to wire racks; cool completely.

These are so yummy!  They taste almost like a gingernut, but so much more full of flavour!

English Muffins

Since my boyfriend, now newly fiancé, is English, it seemed appropriate to attempt to make these little babies.  (They were featured as the technical bake on Great British Bake Off--I like to tackle all the Paul Hollywood recipe challenges!  Bring it on Bread God!  This recipe is taken straight from the BBC)  Interesting fact: Even though it's an English muffin, the English still call it an English muffin.  I would have thought it would just be a muffin...anyway, I digress...

 

English Muffins
300g/10½ oz strong white bread flour, plus extra for flouring
6g fast-action yeast
6g salt
15g/½oz sugar
15g/½oz softened butter, cut into small pieces
1 medium free-range egg (about 22g/¾oz), lightly beaten
170ml/6fl oz milk (should make a soft dough – you can add up to about 30ml/1floz extra if needed)
oil, for greasing
15g/½oz semolina or polenta

 

Method

Tip the flour into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on one side of the flour and the salt into the other side of the flour. Add the sugar, butter, egg and milk, then mix all the ingredients together to form a soft dough.
Turn the mixture out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until soft, smooth and stretchy.
Lightly grease a large bowl with oil. Place the dough in the oiled bowl, cover and leave to prove for at least one hour to double in size.
Tip the dough out onto the work surface and roll out to about 1.5cm/¾in thick. Leave to stand on the work surface for 15 minutes, to prevent the muffins from shrinking.
Dust two baking trays with half of the semolina or polenta.
Using a 9cm/3½oz straight-sided cutter, cut out eight muffins. (I just used the top end of a glass) Place four muffins, evenly spaced apart on each of the dusted baking trays. Dust the remaining semolina or polenta over the top of the muffins.
Leave to prove for another 30 minutes. 

After 30 min proving.  (Ignore the wonky one in front...it was all my leftover dough and I didn't use a cutter!)

 Preheat the hot plate or a heavy-based frying pan on the hob to a very low heat. Griddle the muffins for approximately 5-6 minutes, then flip over and griddle for another 5-6 minutes on the other side.

 

 

Slap some butter and jam on.  Enjoy!
 

FairTradeAid Chocolate Pecan Pie

When I randomly found out about a baking competition using Fair trade products, I instantly wanted to enter...and so blossomed my very own recipe for Chocolate Pecan Pie using four different Fair trade products.

 

For the Crust:

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon Trade Aid cane sugar

1 teaspoon salt

226g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

PASTRY RULE #1:  The key to pastry is to keep everything REALLY cold until you are ready to put it into REALLY hot, meaning bake it!

 

 

 

Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt.  Add the cubes of butter and either using a pastry cutter, a food processor, or your good ole hands, incorporate the butter into the flour until it becomes meal-like.  Then add in the ice water, slowly, until the dough just comes together.  (I always use slightly less than 1/2 cup.) Form the pastry into a ball.  Wrap it in plastic wrap, and then pop it in the fridge to chill. Refrigerate for at least an hour. (See rule #1) 

 

For the Chocolate Pecan Pie, this crust will need to be blind-baked (put in some parchment paper over the crust, add in some rice, lentils, or ceramic pie weights), so heat your oven to 220C (425F) and bake for 20-25min.

 

Unbaked and before ceramic weights

 

 

For the Chocolate Pecan Filling:

2 cups pecans

1 cup Trade Aid cane sugar

3 free range eggs

1/2 cup liquid glucose (or light corn syrup)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla (I looked for the Fairtrade vanilla but couldn’t find it!)

1 1/2 teaspoon Trade Aid instant coffee

1/2 teaspoon salt

100g Green & Blacks Fairtrade dark chocolate

70g Green & Blacks Fairtrade milk chocolate

Adjust oven temperature to  190C (375F). 

Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 6-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until lightly toasted.

 

Whisk the eggs, sugar, glucose, butter, and vanilla until blended.  Chop both of the chocolates and melt in the top of a double broiler or in a microwave on medium (50% power) for 1 ½ to 2 minutes.  Whisk one quarter of the filling into the melted chocolate, then blend the result into the remaining filling. (Careful!!! Don't cook your eggs!) Stir in the chopped pecans.

 

 

Pour the filling into the crust.  Cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminium foil to prevent burning--this is a must!  Bake until the edges of the pie are slightly puffed and the center seems set but still has a slight wobble, 25-30 minutes.  Let cool on a rack for a good 2 hours minimum.  (It'll probably still be warm with a gooey center, but set enough so that it holds together--like the picture here...because we couldn't wait any longer for it to cool! Serve warm or at room temperature. 

 

This pie is so incredibly rich, so I like to cut the richness with some whipped cream....om nom nom.  Warning: To get through the piece of pie in the photo, you will feel sickly by the end!!! :)

 

SPCA Cupcake Day! Getting fancy with the fondant...

I'm an animal lover at heart, but when I heard about the SPCA cupcake day and realized that my passion for animals could be combined with my passion for baking yummy treats, I was delighted!  This post however, isn't actually about the baking, it's about the decorating! (I'll share my treasured cupcake recipe later...)  This is more of a keepsake for me than anything else because I worked so hard on these little buggers!

 

 

I wanted to have a cohesive theme, so I focused on making figures that highlighted all the wonderful things the SPCA does...the SPCA lists it as "SPCA in action."

 

First up we have my educated cat...

 

Followed by my adoption cupcake...

 



 

 

Here I did a cute palamino to represent horse welfare...

 



 

 

This is my superdog to display animal rescue...

 

 

The SPCA also prosecutes people that mistreat animals, so I felt this was appropriate...

 

 

To represent their BirdWing program where they rehabilitate wild birds, I did a Kiwi since it is NZ...

 

 

They also help to rehabilitate animals that have been injured...

 

 

And lastly, they help to reunite lost pets with their owners!

 

 

 

This was my first time ever really trying to do figurines with fondant, and although very time consuming...I'm hooked!!!

 

 

I also managed to raise $40 for the SPCA!  Fun and rewarding!!!



 











Pumpkin Bread

I adore pumpkin bread, and I love to have it all year round because it's delicious and shouldn't only be allowed during November and December.  I made these mini loaves because it meant I could just have a little pumpkin bread at a time and freeze the rest for when I want some more.  Good plan?  Gooooood plan.

Pumpkin Bread

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs 

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

 

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). Place 4 mini-loaf pans on a baking sheet, and spray with cooking spray.

 

In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and eggs. Whisk in pumpkin, canola oil, and vanilla until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet, being careful not to over-mix.

Divide the pumpkin batter evenly between the 4 loaf pans.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a couple crumbs. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Passionfruit Melting Moments

The best bikkie to go with a cup of tea!  These cookies are appropriately named because they melt in your mouth as you bite in.  If you love shortbread, you will LOVE melting moments.  Raspberry jam and vanilla buttercream is the more traditional filling, but I love the slight zing the passionfruit gives, and really, how often can you say you get to use passionfruit?

 

 

 

 

For the Melting Moment:

• 125g butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (115g) plain flour
• 1/4 cup (45g) pure icing sugar
• 1/3 cup (50g) cornflour
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

For the Passionfruit Filling:

• 5-6 tsp Passionfruit filling (usually can find near the ice cream toppings...not that I would know...)
• 60g butter, softened
• 1 cup (150g) pure icing sugar/confectioner's sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 160°C. (That's 320F for the fellow Americans.) Line an oven tray with baking paper. Use an electric mixer to beat butter until pale and creamy. Add flour, icing sugar, cornflour and lemon zest; stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Wrap in cling-film/plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30min.

 

Hand-roll 2 teaspoonfuls of mixture into balls. (Refridgerating the dough makes the cookies look neater) Place on lined tray, about 3cm apart. Use a fork dusted with cornflour to gently flatten. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden and cooked through. Set aside on the tray to cool.

 

To make the filling, use an electric mixer to beat the butter until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar, passionfruit pulp and lemon juice and beat until well combined.  You can add more or less passionfruit filling if you like, depending upon how much zing you want.

 

Place filling in a small piping bag fitted. Pipe a little filling onto the underside of a biscuit. Sandwich with a second biscuit. Repeat with remaining biscuits and filling.  Lightly dust the top of the sandwiched cookies with powdered sugar through a sieve.

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

P.S.: Yes, this is all the entire batch makes, which I think is a good thing because these cookies are dangerously good.



Key Lime Tartlets

I made these little beauties for a dinner party with a few friends over the weekend.  The original recipe is from Martha Stewart, but I added in some extra lime zest to give it more punch, and as her recipe was for one single pie, I've increased the crust ingredients in order to not be leftover with a whole bunch of filling and adjusted cooking times to eliminate burn-age!

For the crust:

• 2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs OR wheaten biscuits smashed with a teaspoon of cinnamon mixed in (you can also add in some more cinnamon to the graham crackers if you like)
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the key lime filling:

• 1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 4 large free range egg yolks
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated key lime zest, plus some extra for garnish if you like

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine graham-cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar in a medium bowl; mix well. Press into individual mini tartlet shells (yields 18) and bake until lightly browned, 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled. (I had to do this 3 times as I only had 6 mini tartlet shells to use)

Lower oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, gently whisk together condensed milk, egg yolks, Key lime juice, and zest. Spoon into the prepared, cooled crusts.

Return tartlets to oven, and bake until the center is set but still quivers when the pan is nudged, 4-7minutes. (It's fast because they are so small!) Let cool completely on a wire rack.

You can top them with lime zest as a garnish if you like or put some whip cream on top.  I thought they looked cute just like this.

 

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

These are my man's favourite cookie, so while I am not a huge fan, I felt obliged to find a recipe that would make these more to my liking...and here we have it!!!  They basically taste like my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe just no chocolate chips.

 

 

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
3 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter (126g), softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180C) to start.  Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl and set aside. Mix butter with sugars in a different bowl. Add vanilla and eggs and mix until smooth and fluffy. Now add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and combine. Stir in the chips and nuts.

 

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. The tops might still look doughy but they will cook as they sit on the cookie sheet. Let sit on cookie sheets for 5 minutes then remove to wire rack and let cool.

 

 

 

Grab a glass of milk, dip your cookie, and enjoy!

 

Italian Creme Cake

This is my favourite cake of all time, but I had only ever had it at an Italian restaurant where I worked as a waitress.  I could never get the recipe because we ordered it out from a patisserie.  When I found this recipe, I was so excited that I might actually be able to taste this cake again...Oh man...I am in trouble now!!! My boyfriend tried it and said it was the best cake he's ever had! Whoop Whoop!

 

 

 

For the Cake:

1 stick of butter (113g)
½ cup vegetable shortening
2 cups granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup shredded/dessicated coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
5 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks

Cream together the butter and shortening. Beat in the sugar. Next add egg yolks and beat. Then add the flour and soda in small portions,  alternating with adding in the buttermilk at the same time. Stir in the vanilla. Now you can add the coconut & pecans. Fold this batter gently into the stiffly beaten egg whites, adding a little at a time so as not to knock the air out of the egg whites. Pour into greased and floured 9 in cake pans and bake at 350 for 20 – 25 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to completely cool.

 For the Frosting:
12oz cream cheese, softened
 3/4 cup butter (170g), softened
 1 1/2 lbs. powdered sugar (750g)
1 tsp vanilla
 chopped pecans and toasted coconut, optional

Mix the cream cheese and butter together. Then add in the sugar and vanilla. You can now frost the cake however you deem fit!  I liked putting the mixed coconut and pecans on the sides.  Some people combine this into the frosting.  It's your cake...Do what YOU like!

 

Recipe compliments of Southern with a Twist

Ginger Crunch

I love this stuff but had never had it until I came to NZ.  My piece has to be more filling to base if I'm going to think it's any good, and the base shouldn't taste chalky.  I've looked for a good recipe with the right base to filling ratio for a long time...and I still hadn't found it...until now...thanks to some doubling and adding on my part.

 

 

Ginger Crunch:

 

For the Base

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
½ cup sugar
155g unsalted butter cut into cubes
 

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and mix until fine bread crumb stage.  Press this into a lined and greased dish and bake at 180C for 25-30 minutes.  Allow to cool to room temperature.

 

 

For the topping:

300g unsalted butter
½ cup golden syrup/dark corn syrup
4 cups icing/powdered sugar
3 tablespoons ground ginger
Chopped crystallised ginger

 

Melt the butter and golden syrup in a pot and bring to a boil on medium heat (must be at a boil if you want the cornstarch in the icing sugar to activate!).  Whisk in the icing sugar and ground ginger.  Mix well! Get rid of any lumps. Bring back up to a boil and cook for a further minute. 

 

 

 

 

 Pour over the cooked base and scatter on the crystallised ginger.  Allow to cool to room temperature (at least an hour)

 

Once cooled, slice into desired size pieces and enjoy with a cuppa!!!

Marshmallow Creme (Homemade!)

I LOVE marshmallow crème, but unfortunately it's hard to come by in New Zealand...actually that's probably a good thing...anyway, I didn't realize how easy and fast it is to actually make fresh marshmallow crème! and DELICIOUS--so much better than that processed crap!

 

 

This is a Paul Hollywood recipe (the silver fox from Great British Bake Off--obsessed with that show...)

Marshmallow Creme

2 large egg whites

100g/3.6 oz caster/superfine sugar

4 tsp light corn syrup or golden syrup

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla or the seeds of one vanilla pod

 

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water), and whisk with an electric hand whisk for 5-7 minutes, making sure it is smooth, silky and doubled in volume. (If you use golden syrup, it will initially look a bit brown, but as the volume in the mixture increases it will return to white!)  Make sure it is very stiff, the consistency of whipped cream, so it will hold - you don’t want it runny!

 

 

The mixture may look like it's done in about 3 minutes (picture below), but just keep the hand mixer going as that little bit longer will make it the marshmallow crème texture. It WILL get thicker.

This recipe will make about a medium jar full, which is ideal since it will only keep in the fridge for about a week.  If you need more, just double the batch!!!

 

 Look at all that deliciousness!

Alright, I'm going to yo yo yo, make a wicked cup of co-coa. :)  You can also use this as a great filling for cupcakes, whoopee pies...the possibilities are endless!

 
 
 
 

Lemon Meringue Pie Macarons

Oh to master the dreaded macaron....

I feel like I am a pretty decent baker, but I knew I could not consider myself as such until I took on the MACARON--the delightfully airy, sweet, crunchy, and chewy delectable treat...that costs a minimum of $2.50 per cookie!

I had heard they were tricky, but the first one I ever had I didn't really care for, so I thought, "Well, I don't really like them, so what's the point in learning how to make them?"  Then someone forced me into having a good great one, and it was on like Donkey Kong!

 

 

I tried on FIVE different occasions with FIVE different recipes to perfect my macarons.  First try: the tops cracked.  Second try: No feet.  Third try: burnt.  Fourth try: my boyfriend brought home this ridiculous book from the library all about macarons, but with the Italian method of making them...these were an absolute disaster (burnt, no feet, basically nothing good!) Fifth try: If all else fails, go for the lady that had to spend time in prison...she had lots of time to contemplate her macaron recipe--Thanks Martha Stewart!!! Perfection!  Beautiful, shiny, lovely feet, and deliciously tasty!!!

 

 

I am now obsessed with making macarons in any and every flavour imaginable, and I must say the Lemon Meringue Pie macarons are my best yet!  (So I featured them here in my pictures!)

French Macaron:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup almond flour (regular flour cannot be substituted)
• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• Pinch cream of tartar (optional)
• 1/4 cup super-fine/caster sugar
• Your flavouring and/or colour of choice (try to use paste colourings rather than liquid, but a little liquid colouring is ok and won't effect the batter.
• For the lemon meringue macarons, use the zest of one lemon

You MUST have all ingredients measured and ready before you begin if you want these cookies to work.  Also, it would be a good idea to get your piping bag ready for use, and if you are a perfectionist, get your circle template prepped so that you have equally sized cookies.  Line two pans with baking paper (silpat works too). Separate the eggs whites and keep at room temperature until ready to incorporate.

1. Combine the powdered sugar and almond flour in a bowl.  Sift the two ingredients together twice.
2. In a second bowl, whip the room-temperature egg whites on high with a mixer until foamy and then add the cream of tartar. Slowly stream in the superfine sugar and whip until stiff and shiny, about 2 minutes on high.
3. Gently fold in the food coloring and/or flavor extract of your choice, and the sugar and flour mixture into the egg white mixture. (Only a few drops of food coloring or flavor extract are needed. Add one drop at a time with the mixer on until the whites reach the colour you want.) Fold the ingredients as little as possible until it is smooth, shiny and slightly runny. If it holds its form, it is under mixed. It should look like a cake batter almost with the same sort of consistency.Scoop into piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
4. Pipe onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, holding the piping bag in one place while applying pressure. Release pressure when a 1” cookie has been formed and gently swirl the tip out of the mixture without forming a peak. This will allow the cookie to remain smooth on top. Let stand at room temperature 30-40 minutes.(Start preheating your oven at this point)
5. Bake in preheated oven at 325F/155C for 5-10 minutes, until cookies are firm and crisp. Be sure to keep a close eye on the cookies – they should not brown on top. Remove cookies from oven and cool on the baking paper.  (They will crumble if you try to move them straight away)
6. Fill with your desired filling (a buttercream, ganache, etc.) or if you are after the Lemon Meringue Macarons....READ ON!

Lemon Curd

I made this while I was letting the macarons "dry" before they were baked since it only takes about 20 minutes in total to make.  Click the link to see the super easy Lemon Curd recipe. Alternatively if you can't be bothered, you can use some store bought lemon curd.

Homemade Marshmallow Crème

This is another really easy recipe, and it puts all that canned stuff to shame!  It literally takes ten minutes and will CHANGE YOUR WORLD...that's right I said it.  Click the link to see the Homemade Marshmallow Crème Recipe.

Spread the lemon curd on one macaron, the marshmallow crème on it's sandwich buddy, and slap them together to complete the assembling!

Storage

Macarons are best enjoyed the following day after being in the fridge overnight.  Put them in a container, but be sure to use baking paper in between layers so that they don't stick to each other.  Take them out of the fridge the next day, and let them stand for 30 minutes before consuming. (Note: I can NEVER wait that long.)

 

 

Note:  The recipe makes a lot more than this...we ate some the night before, and I hadn't taken pictures yet!