IN MY KITCHEN: APRIL 2019

Posted in In My Kitchen by sallybr

I blinked twice, and three months have passed since the last virtual tour of our kitchen. This tradition started many years ago with Celia and is now hosted by Sherry, from Sherry’s Pickings. I haven’t stopped writing these posts since my first time (that was July 2011), although I do not participate every month. I prefer to let things accumulate a bit, so there’s more to talk about.

Starting with gifts…

We were in Brazil a couple of weeks ago, and my niece Raquel, Baker Extraordinaire, opened her many boxes of baking items and twisted my arm really hard so that I would bring a few goodies with me.

These are food dyes, colors I did not have, except for the red. But it turns out red is one tricky color, most brands require you to dump a ton of dye to get some hint of real red. Raquel really liked this brand and since she had two bottles… I did not feel too guilty bringing one with me.

Isn’t this the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? I thought so. Raquel has all sorts of mini silicone molds, from the time she was decorating cakes professionally. She insisted I should grab a bunch of them, but I decided to act with moderation and brought only this little owl. Now I need to design some dessert to feature it in all its cute glory. Oh, the struggles I face!

Most people who know me are aware that I adore elephants. Raquel always gifts me with little elephants (since bringing a live one in the plane would be awkward, and the pups might object to a new sibling). The pen holder is a few years old, but the two next to it just arrived. Inside each, lives a small additional elephant, so they are like tokens of good luck, representing new beginnings, renovation. Thank you, Quel!

From Phil…

Many years ago we were in California at a Farmer’s market, and a friend insisted we should get a bottle of their special white balsamic vinegar. It is truly delicious, but the last drop was consumed a while ago. I had no idea those could be ordered online, but my beloved husband surprised me not with one but three bottles of their vinegar: white, passion fruit, and dark. We consume a lot of balsamic vinegar, by the way.

A gift shared on my previous IMK post from our friend Cindy is now paired with a pitcher we’ve had for a while. I love how they look together, and how they make roses shine…

In our kitchen….

I don’t care for single-use gadgets at all. So why am I featuring exactly that? Because this strawberry huller is absolutely awesome and I hate doing the job with a paring knife. Life is too short for that. You press the green part in, it opens the sharp (but not too sharp) blades on the opposite end. Place that on the top of the strawberry, twist, and amaze yourself at the perfectly hulled strawberry you can call your own.

In our kitchen….

Another type of product I normally don’t fall for. These are flavored icing sugars. I read about them in a macaron-baking forum, every baker who’s used them raves about them. So many kinds available, it’s not even funny. I placed an order for two, and already tried the Cherry Bakewell on… you guessed it: macarons. Stay tuned. Very nice, subtle flavor, not artificial at all. Lemon Drizzle will be tried very soon. I ordered mine from this site.

In our kitchen….

Fruit puree made for babies. I said to myself, why not try this? Some brands have added sugar, some mix different fruits in the same bottle (and that could be also quite appropriate, depending on your cooking plans). This one is pure mango and it tastes quite bright and fresh, not “cooked” and bland. I used it to make jellied inserts for a mousse cake, but I bet it would work well as a base for macaron fillings, buttercream, all sorts of concoctions that ask for fruit puree. I don’t know why I did not think about this sooner. If you only need a small amount of puree for a recipe, consider a walk throughout the baby food aisle of your grocery store.

In our kitchen….

Freeze-dried lychee… I’ve been using freeze-dried fruit a lot lately in all sorts of desserts, and lychee seemed so wild and exciting. Reviews of this particular product were excellent, so I am now the proud owner of a little bag. Macarons are always a possibility, but who knows what the future holds for this baby?

In our kitchen….

Puffed Quinoa. I had to order it through amazon, as I had never even heard about it until a French food blogger came up with it to add crunch to a cake layer. I cannot wait to try it. Apparently the best way to use it is to toast it first in the oven, then incorporate in whatever preparation you want: melted chocolate, praline, or even just sprinkle over a layer of pastry cream. You can also just enjoy it with a bit of yogurt and fruit in the morning.

In our kitchen….

The microwave can be pretty hard on regular dishes, so we got a set of microwave-safe bowls and plates. The plates are small, perfect to heat leftovers for our lunch. The bowls are nice to melt chocolate, they don’t retain as much heat as Pyrex type bowls do. I love their pastel tones.

In our kitchen….

Yes, I am fully aware one can “easily” make preserved lemons, but I found this beauty at Marshalls and could not resist bringing it home. In case I have a preserved-lemon-emergency, I will be ready for it.

In our kitchen….

Yuzu Salt. Another Japanese ingredient that stole my heart. This stuff is incredibly tasty. I used it to season one of our favorite salads, that mixes avocado, roasted carrots and almonds. Check the blog if you missed it with a click here. I make it often, and from now on, it will always be seasoned with this magical little powder. Also amazing to season a simple carrot soup.

In our kitchen….

Parchment paper. I have a pet peeve to share. I love the quality of King Arthur’s parchment, but it always irritates me that their half-sheet size does not fit nicely into a half-sheet pan (see first photo of composite above). Why, oh why would they manufacture them this way? I sometimes buy other brands, and even though they fit perfectly, their quality is not that good. I notice it particularly when baking sourdough bread, they might stick to the bottom of the bread in ways that King Arthur’s type never does. Not too long ago someone was raving about this brand, Lagrange. I caved. And I am so glad I did. It fits (see last photo of composite), and it performs as well or better than KA. If you like to order some, amazon is your friend. Or your necessary evil, depending on how you feel about it.

In our kitchen….

I should actually say in our basement… I finally organized all my baking gadgets, and even made a full inventory of everything. Silicone baking stuff, baking pans, and my Sprinkle Emergency Box, all living happily together.

In our kitchen….

This is a mini-bowl for the Kitchen Aid, and I consider it one of the best acquisitions ever. Some recipes call for a very small amount of “stuff”, for instance egg whites for meringue. It is a problem to make that work in a regular size bowl, so I normally would start it by hand to get some volume, then let the Kitchen Aid do its job. Now, I simply grab Minnie and let her shine, while I perform a quick version of the Happy Dance.

In our kitchen….

Have you heard of Tonka beans? In Brazil they are known as “cumaru.” Think about a very floral vanilla bean, with touches of black walnuts, or so it seemed to Phil and I. In patisserie, it is use to flavor creams and mousses. Absolutely wonderful. Amazon sells it for an arm, a leg, and an eye (with 20/20 vision). Since we were going to be in Brazil, my sister and niece helped me out and I could buy this huge bottle and bring with me. BogeyQT™ was particularly mesmerized by its fragrance.

Note added after publication: tonka beans have been banned in the US since 1954 due to its blood-thinning properties. However, the substance associated with it, is present in minute amounts in the beans, and interestingly enough other foods also contain the substance (carrots, for instance). It is all a matter of dose, as usual. The amount of benzopyrone present in tonka beans is never going to be harmful, it is used as a flavoring agent. You can read more about it here. Quoting from the article: For a fully grown adult to reach a toxic threshold, they would need to consume about 2400 plates of tonka bean flavoured desserts, in which case liver damage would probably not be their major concern.

Wait, wait! What’s all this commotion all of a sudden?

I see you included The Dalmatian in your very wordy In My Kitchen post….
Care to explain that?

Go ahead, make your case. We are all ears and very quiet tails…

Bogey, they think we’re playing favorites, but we know that’s not true!

or… is it?

Nah, those are isolated incidents.

Let’s prove the point by starting this pup-party with your brothers…

We are Bad-Asses! We patrol our backyard like nobody’s business! No bunny rabbit will hop around, no toad, no snake, no turkey, no possum, no skunk, no cable guy will step on our premises without paying a huge price for it. We are Armageddon on Four Legs.

Patrolling the backyard is hard work, and it comes with dreadful consequences at times…

Usually it’s Osky Boy who gets covered in burrs, but recently Buck decided he would pull the same trick, maybe in an attempt to get some very special grooming attention… He does take the cleaning of burrs with a lot more bravery than his brother.

Bravery? Since when a little pulling of burrs means bravery? LOOK AT ME! Come for a ride in the car, they said. It will be fun, they said. The fun I got was a poke with a needle (they called it a vaccine) and I did not care for it at all. AT ALL.

Do I hear we are next in line for this vaccine thing?

I am not listening. And I ain’t going anywhere. They can’t make me.

You can worry yourselves to death now. The torturer said that I am free of that fun for 21 doggie years! That’s pure bliss…

But, thankfully, pups live in the moment, and it seems to me BogeyQT™ and Buck are not very bothered by what will come in a month or so.

After all, there’s enough excitement in their life… There’s a lot of baking….

Constant stalking of the kitchen island….

as well as some stalking of a different kind…

Then, there’s a lot of work to be done too…

Sometimes, when we really need to cook in peace…. the big boy must be kept at a safe distance. Those long legs are a constant threat to anything sitting on countertops.

That’s all for now, folks! We hope you enjoyed the Spring version of In My Kitchen, we’ll be back with another tour in a few months… Til then, keep calm, and bake on!

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2018

TWO YEARS AGO: First Monday Favorite

THREE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2016

FOUR YEARS AGO: Spring has Sprung with Suzanne Goin

FIVE YEARS AGO: Chai Brownies

SIX YEARS AGO: Pomegranate-Molasses Glazed Carrots

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Peach Glaze

EIGHT YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

NINE YEARS AGO: Spring Rolls on a Spring Day

28Mar2019

ANOTHER TWISTED SISTER OF THE SHEPHERD’S PIE

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Gastronomic heresy alert: I am calling Shepherd’s Pie a concoction made with ground turkey and cauliflower topping. And what’s even worse, I’ve committed this sin before an I am doing it all over again, without a hint of shame. This preparation is filling but moderately so. It won’t let you go into a state of total lethargy once you move away from the table. It is also low in carbs and saturated fat, in case you worry about those details. I used a trick quite popular in keto-type recipes to give ground turkey a more pleasant texture upon cooking. It involves baking soda and a few minutes of your time. Absolutely worth it. Read on the comments for full explanation on the baking soda trick.

TURKEY SHEPHERD’S PIE
(adapted from several sources)

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 head cauliflower, core removed, florets cut in pieces
½ cup water
Salt and pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 pound 93 percent lean ground turkey
¼ teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 tablespoon harissa
¾ cup homemade or low-sodium chicken broth
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan until ver hot. Add cauliflower and cook until softened and beginning to brown. Pour 1/2 cup water, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook until the cauliflower is fully tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, and process until smooth. Add the egg and paprika, and process a few more seconds. Reserve.

Prepare the ground turkey: in a bowl, add the meat, one tablespoon water, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and baking soda, mixing everything together. Set aside for 15 minutes. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Make sure to use a skillet that can go under the broiler. Add mushrooms and celery and cook until no liquid remains. Stir in harissa and cook for a few more minutes.

Add broth, carrots, and Herbes de Provence, and bring to a simmer. Add the turkey meat, breaking it up with a fork. Cover and cook until turkey is cooked through, about 10 minutes, stirring and breaking up the meat every few minutes. Whisk cornstarch and the 2 tablespoons water together in small bowl, then stir mixture into filling and continue to simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Pat the meat mixture to make it leveled, and spread the cauliflower puree all over the surface. If you like, use tines of fork to make a pattern of ridges on the surface. Place skillet under the broiler and broil for about 10 minutes, if necessary move the pan around to get homogenous color on the surface. Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Quite often ground turkey develops a dry, unpleasant texture when cooked, unless you use alternative methods such as pressure cooking, or the crock pot low and slow for a long time. The addition of baking soda changes everything, by raising the pH. This has two benefits: it reduces the interaction between protein molecules in the meat (by a mild denaturing effect) and accelerates browning. Since the proteins are not able to interact with each other very efficiently, they acquire a more tender texture. It is important to not overdo it. You don’t want the meat to get all mushy, it is a delicate balance. In other words, don’t add the baking soda and walk away for a couple of hours.

This recipe can be assembled all the way and kept in the fridge. When it’s time to eat, place it covered in a low oven to warm up, then uncover and run under the broiler. Leftovers are superb, and as usual, they showed up as my lunch two more times that week.

Note added after publication: a dear friend of mine from UK brought to my attention that a lesser sin would have been to call this a Twisted Sister of the Cottage Pie, as that at least involves other kinds of meat, whereas the Shepherd is always made with ground lamb. So there you go, a bit more culinary trivia for us all. I will keep my title, since one sister was already out there… (wink, wink)

Before you leave, grab a pin!

ONE YEAR AGO: Cashew Chicken, My Way

TWO YEARS AGO: Two Deliciously Simple Salads

THREE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2016

FOUR YEARS AGO: Spring has Sprung with Suzanne Goin

FIVE YEARS AGO: Chai Brownies

SIX YEARS AGO: Pomegranate-Molasses Glazed Carrots

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Peach Glaze

EIGHT YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

NINE YEARS AGO: Spring Rolls on a Spring Day

23Mar2019

EXTREME CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Posted in Cake, Desserts by sallybr

This is chocolate going where no chocolate has gone before. Total cocoa intensity. With each bite of these babies your mind will buzz a little. A buzz of joy, that only real chocolate lovers will understand. If you join this cake with a good cup of java the world will be yours to conquer. Or at least it will feel like it.

SUPER-MOIST CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
(slightly modified from Sally’s Baking Addiction)

3/4 cup (95g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (42g) natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla paste
1/2 cup (120ml) milk soured with a squirt of lemon juice (or commercial buttermilk)
frosting (recipe follows)
sprinkles to decorate (optional)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. If you have a second pan, line two more muffin tins, the recipe will likely make 14 cupcakes.

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla paste until completely smooth. Pour half of the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Then half of the home-made buttermilk. Gently whisk for a few seconds. Repeat with the remaining wet ingredients and buttermilk. Stir until just combined; do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the liners. Fill only halfway. Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

BLACKOUT CHOCOLATE FROSTING
(from Kara’s Couture Cakes)

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup black cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
a little less than 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
black gel food color (I used Chefmaster)

Melt the butter and stir in the cocoa with the paddle attachment on a stand mixer.

Add powdered sugar and mix on low-speed. Start with 1/3 cup heavy cream and add it to the mixer. Increase the mixer speed to medium. Add 2-4 tablespoons more heavy cream till you reach the desired icing consistency.

Add vanilla extract and black food color and turn the mixer to medium high and beat for 90 seconds.
.
Ice the cupcakes once they are completely cold. Have fun with sprinkles!
.
ENJOY!

to print the recipes, click here

Comments: Sally’s Baking Addiction is a fantastic site for bakers. I’ve mentioned before that one of my nieces in Brazil is a great cake baker, to the extent that for a while she was doing it professionally. She baked super fancy and decorated cakes for birthday celebrations, in a special-order kind of deal. One day we were talking about blogs and cookbooks, and she mentioned Sally’s blog (not mine, mind you) as one of her favorite sources exactly for the reason that her recipes are so reliable. It was fun to learn that we subscribed and faithfully the same site for years without knowing we both did. But I digress. Sally’s chocolate cupcakes deliver exactly what she promises: moist, decadent, and perfectly shaped little concoctions. The most important instruction in her recipe is to fill the muffin tins only halfway to the top. Not a teaspoon more. It will seem inadequate, but resist the temptation to add more batter. They will bake perfectly, without a super inflated dome that always sinks in unflattering ways as the cake cools.

The frosting. Normally, I am not wild about American buttercream, but this is not your regular kind. For starters, the black cocoa powder is so intense, that it can stand up to the extra sugar. Also, the addition of heavy cream is a game changer. If you are counting calories or saturated fat, this is not your best option for dessert. But if your life-style allows some room for indulging, this might very well be your best option for dessert. The cake with the dark cocoa icing is a match that will rock that world you are about to conquer.

I hope this photo conveys how deliciously moist this cupcake turns out. You can pile the icing higher if you dare, but I think a bit of moderation is in order. It is very rich and satisfying. As to decoration, I pretty much opened my box of sprinkles and had a blast with them. The dark background is friendly to so many color combinations! Pure white (those tiny marshmallows looked adorable on the cake), red, pink, coral, bright mixed colors, or you can use a color scheme geared to a particular occasion. Come to think of it, St Patrick’s Day could showcase some of these with green and white sprinkles…

I close this post with a daring statement. Ready? Here we go: these are the best chocolate cupcakes I’ve ever had. There. I said it. You must bake a batch…

ONE YEAR AGO: Sunflower Seed Kamut Sourdough

TWO YEARS AGO: The Joys of Grating Squash

THREE YEARS AGO: Auberge Pecan-Walnut Bread

FOUR YEARs AGO: Gluten-free and Vegan Raspberry Bars
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FIVE YEARS AGO: Lasserre, a French Classic
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SIX YEARS AGO: Sourdough Bread with Walnuts and Dates
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SEVEN YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Apricot Glaze
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EIGHT YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce
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NINE YEARS AGO: Pork Tenderloin and Blue Cheese

20Mar2019

LENTILS AND RADICCHIO? YES, PLEASE!

Posted in Salads, Soups, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

I bet many of my readers will consider clicking away from the blog right now, because… lentils? Not the most popular item in the pantry. Radicchio? Not the veggie that jumps into the grocery cart of most shoppers. Both together? Thanks, but no thanks. Can I ask you to trust me on this? Actually it’s not even me you should trust, but someone with a lot more gastronomic fame: Melissa Clark. And credit should actually go to my beloved husband who not only found the recipe but made it for our dinner. So basically I am giving to charity from other people’s wallets. But hey, I am the resident blogger. So there!

LENTIL SOUP WITH RADICCHIO SLAW
(adapted from Melissa Clark)

for topping:
half a radicchio head, thinly sliced
drizzle of olive oil
lemon juice to taste
1 avocado, diced very small
salt and pepper to taste
for soup:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 cup green lentils
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
Juice of 1 lemon, more to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Make topping and reserve in fridge by mixing all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Make the soup: In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and sauté for 2 minutes longer.

Add broth, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, purée half the soup then add it back to pot.

Stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve soup and add a generous amount of radicchio slaw on top.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This soup was excellent served with a mixed olive sourdough (recipe published not too long ago in the blog, click here if you’ve missed it). I find it a bit hard to decide if the topping made the soup or if it would shine as brightly on its own. A perfect combination. We had leftover radicchio slaw, and found ourselves munching on small amounts once our bowls of soup were appropriately empty. Next day we improvised a full salad with the other half of the radicchio head, adding a bunch of goodies we had in the fridge.

We mixed radicchio, tomatoes, olives, and avocados together. Dressing was kept simple again, olive oil and lemon juice, right before serving we added a tiny touch of white balsamic vinegar. OMG this was good. Later on we decided that capers would have been perfect, and of course some feta cheese or other sharp cheese of your choice.

Simple dinner… Red snapper, a little rice and this tasty salad…

The secret with radicchio is to allow it to sit with the dressing for a little while, or warm it up very very briefly to soften the leaves. But that is another method that I intend to share in the near future. The great thing about this preparation is that leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 24 hours. My lunch next day was this salad with a fried egg, sunny side up. I was a happy camper.

ONE YEAR AGO: Tres Leches Cake

TWO YEARS AGO: The Joys of Grating Squash

THREE YEARS AGO: Auberge-Pecan Walnut Bread

FOUR YEARS AGO: Gluten-free and Vegan Raspberry Bars

FIVE YEARS AGO: Lasserre, a French Classic

SIX YEARS AGO: Sourdough Bread with Walnuts and Dates

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Apricot Glaze

EIGHT YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

NINE YEARS AGO: Pork Tenderloin and Blue Cheese

16Mar2019

CARROT CAKE MACARONS

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

You read that right. Carrot Cake Macarons. I am a member of a Facebook group for Macaron-Baking-Addicts and a couple of months ago a very experienced baker raved about them. I am usually not that wild about store-bought products, but for some reason that recipe intrigued me enough to make me go for it. The product in question is a Carrot Cake Spread by Trader Joe’s. I added it as the main flavoring for a simple Swiss Meringue Buttercream, and that was the filling for coral-tone macarons. Living Coral, the Pantene color of 2019. I had to try and match it, just because macarons are by definition a celebration of color. At least in my mind they are…

CARROT CAKE MACARONS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

for the shells:
150 g almond flour
150 g powdered sugar
56 + 56 g egg whites
40 g water
150 g granulated sugar, super fine
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
gel food dye (2 parts red, 1 part yellow, 1 part pink)

for the Swiss meringue buttercream filling:
3 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
pinch salt
3 to 4 tablespoons carrot cake spread

Make the shells: Add the almond flour and the powdered sugar to the bowl of a food processor and pulse it 10 to 12 times. You want to have it fine but not allow the oil in the almonds to seep out and turn it into a paste. Immediately sieve it on a large bowl and reserve.

To a small bowl, add half of the egg whites (56 g), then add the food dyes and vanilla. Mix until it is all well incorporated, the dye sometimes resists mixing homogeneously into the egg white.

Now comes the fun part. You will add the other half of the egg whites to the bowl of a mixer and the granulated sugar and water into a small saucepan. Have an instant thermometer ready. Start beating the egg white in slow-speed, as you turn the heat and start bringing the sugar syrup to a boil, without stirring (this is important, or you risk crystallizing the sugar and having to start all over). When the sugar starts boiling, increase the mixer to medium-speed. You want it to be at the stage of soft peaks by the time the syrup reaches 244 F. Once that happens, slowly drizzle the syrup into the egg white-sugar, as you continue beating. Beat until the temperature cools down to around 115F, no need to bring it down all the way to room temperature. You don’t want to have a very stiff meringue at this point, or it will be too hard to incorporate into the almond flour.

The second fun part starts now, the famous macaronage. Add the dyed egg white and the meringue on top of the almond flour and mix gently but decisively. If you have never made macarons before, I advise you to watch some videos on youtube to familiarize yourself with the proper macaronage. You want the batter to flow from the spatula and form a figure eight on the surface as you allow it to drip, but it should not flow too rapidly. If you spoon some batter on parchment paper, it should smooth out in about 30 seconds or so. Once you get to the right stage, fill a piping bag fitted with the piping tip of your choice (I like a 1/2 inch opening), and pipe on parchment paper or Silpat.

Bang the baking sheet a few times to release air bubbles, and allow it to dry at room temperature for 30 minutes or until the surface feels dry to the touch.

Bake at 300F for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool before peeling off the baking sheet. Decorate either before filling them or after, depending on the type of decoration you choose. I used an air-brush and stencils (see my composite picture), with the color Sunset Orange from Chefmaster.

Make the filling. Place the egg whites and the sugar in a large metal mixing bowl set above a pot of simmering water. Whisk the mixture until the sugar melts and the mixture becomes warm and very thin in consistency, reaching a temperature of around 160F.

Transfer the contents to a Kitchen Aid bowl and whisk on high-speed until stiff peaks form. Now, change the whisk to the paddle beater, add the butter and salt, mixing on low-speed. Add the butter piece by piece and keep mixing. When the butter seems to be all incorporated, even if it looks a little curdled, increase the speed to high. The mixture will become smooth and totally creamy within a few minutes.

Add the carrot cake spread and mix on low-speed. Taste and add more if you feel like it. Put the mixture in a piping bag fitted with an open star piping tip and fill your macarons.

Place them in the fridge overnight and bring to room temperature 15 minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I have a lot of macaron recipes. They always involve the French meringue method because it is so simple and it has always worked for me. I had issues with the Italian meringue and several batches were a failure, but I know that many bakers find them better in terms of texture and reproducibility. Basically because the Italian meringue is much more stable and is less affected by humidity in the environment.

My main goal in macaron baking is maximize the proportion of feet, because I like them with bigger feet and a plump shell, so I like to try different methods and compare how they work for me. The Swiss meringue method should happen eventually, although for the time being I intend to play with the current recipe a few more times. I am happy that this batch worked perfectly. The main thing I changed was adding the food dye to one half of the egg white component, and add that to the almond flour together with the Italian meringue. In the past, I followed recipes that instructed you to add the egg white to the almond flour first, forming a thick paste and allowing that to sit while the meringue is prepared. I found that this approach makes it pretty tough to incorporate the meringue and probably negatively affected the macaronage step that follows.

The filling. O. M. G. These macarons will be so unique, different from any macaron you’ll ever have, I guarantee it. It is sweet, perhaps sweeter than most fillings I enjoy, but it has that spicy characteristic of carrot cakes, the cinnamon-clove mixture, that breaks the sweetness a bit. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s around, the product is available through amazon. The texture was perfect, no hollows, and with a nice “macaron-chew.” I will play with this method on my next mac-adventure, that will involve more than one color of batter. Let’s hope that the stars will align properly at the time…