CHERRY MACARONS

Posted in macarons by sallybr

And we are absolutely thrilled to have Prince ruling The Kingdom! Now, back to Cherry Macarons!

Shells were made using my default recipe, which you can find here. I added a mixture of red, orange and brown dyes, eyeballing everything, trying to get the color I had in mind. Never very easy to do with macarons, as the dye goes in the meringue component but then the almond mixture lightens it up a bit. Still, I am happy with the outcome…

CHERRY MACARONS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

For the cherry compote:
(you won’t use the full amount)
1 pound sweet cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped
50g sugar (1/4 cup)
½ teaspoon almond extract
zest of 1/2 orange
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tablespoon of water

Cook cherries, sugar, almond extract, orange zest, and salt in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cherries release their juices, and mixture is visibly thicker, about 8 minutes.

Add the slurry of cornstarch and add to the cherries. Cook for a minute or two, transfer to a bowl and allow it to cool completely.

White Chocolate Cherry Ganache:
200g white chocolate (chopped fine)
70g Cherry Compote (made as above)
70ml heavy whipping cream
Red Food coloring (optional, but nice)

Melt the white chocolate very gently in the microwave at 50% power, whisking every 20 seconds or so. Bring whipping cream and cherry compote to a boil and mix well with the melted chocolate. Add a touch of red food dye if you like. Use an immersion blender to emulsify it all together, place it in the refrigerator covered with a plastic wrap until fully set (I made it 6 hours before using).

Use the cherry ganache to fill macaron shells made with your favorite recipe, or using the one I linked in the first paragraph of this post. Allow the filled macarons to sit in the fridge overnight before consuming them.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

To decorate the shells, I made a simple drawing of two cherries and a couple of leaves. I used food safe pens to color them. The easiest, fastest way is to use one color at a time, and just do them all as in a little factory line.

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6Jun2024

LEMON GANACHE MACARONS AND ROYAL ICING TRANSFERS

Posted in macarons by sallybr

Super thrilled by this technique! I saw it on Instagram shared by the wonderful Melinda (see her page here). Basically she used Royal icing transfers right on the piped shells before crusting, and they stand well during baking, do not affect the shells and don’t get burned in the oven either. This opens up so many possibilities of decorating, and also makes it super easy. Once the macs are baked, they are already dressed up for party!

The recipe used for the shells is my default that you can find here. Simply divide the batter in three portions and dye one portion with yellow, one with green and one you can leave plain. Bake as normally, but right after piping and banging the pan to release bubbles, place your Royal icing transfer on top.

LEMON GANACHE FILLING
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

250g white chocolate, chopped very finely
75g heavy cream
zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon emulsion (optional, I used LorAnn)

Place the chocolate in a bowl. Heat the heavy cream until almost boiling, pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for 5 minutes, whisk gently. If needed, place in the microwave for a minute at 50% power. Once the chocolate is melted, add the lemon zest and juice, and the lemon emulsion, if using. Whisk gently again, then place in the fridge for an hour or so.

Once the ganache is set, you can whip it with a handheld blender or use as it is. If you decide to whip the ganache, make sure not whip for too long or it will go grainy and hard. Use caution here.

Fill the macaron shells, and let them mature in the fridge overnight before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

I don’t think I will ever get tired of baking macarons!

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3May2024

A DUET OF SPRINGTIME MACARONS

Posted in macarons by sallybr

The recipe used for the shells is my default that you can find here. Simply divide the batter in three portions and use the colors of your choice. For the Ruby Red Ganache Macarons, I used yellow, green and plain batter. For the Neapolitan Version I used brown, pink and plain. I added a small amount of cocoa powder to the brown component. Decorations were all made with fondant and a silicone mold, later painted with luster powder and vodka.

RUBY RED GANACHE AND JAM MACARONS

220g ruby red chocolate
80g heavy cream
pinch of salt
mixed fruit jam (store bought is fine)

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until bubbles form around the edges. Pour over the chocolate, add a pinch of salt, cover and let sit for five minutes. Whisk gently at first, continue whisking until the chocolate is fully dissolved. If necessary, place in the microwave at 50% power for a minute. Reserve at room temperature for 1 hour or place in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.

Fill the shells with a small dollop of jam and a circle of ganache around it. Proceed as normally, keeping macarons overnight in the fridge to mature.

The jam is a nice contrast with the sweetness of the ganache and the shells. We love this brand of jam, or I should say Phil loves it, I don’t eat jam that much, prefer to use it in recipes such as this one…

Moving on…

STRAWBERRY GANACHE MACARONS

230g white chocolate, finely chopped
80g heavy cream
1/4 tsp strawberry natural flavor (I used Olivenation)
a drop of pink food color
1 tbs strawberry jam (store bought is fine)

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until bubbles form around the edges. Pour over the chocolate, cover and let sit for five minutes. Whisk gently at first, continue whisking until the chocolate is fully dissolved, then add the jam. If necessary, place the bowl in the microwave at 50% power for a minute. Reserve at room temperature for 1 hour or place in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.

Fill the shells with a small dollop of ganache and keep the macarons overnight in the fridge to mature.

ENJOY!

to print both recipes, click here

Adding a little drop of pink food gel is a good idea, otherwise the ganache tends to have a pale brownish color. Ganache fillings pair well with fruit, so both recipes today take this approach, and they are perfect for Springtime.

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13Dec2023

TWO FESTIVE CAKES, PART TWO

Posted in Cake by sallybr

Another great option for the holidays, this time the most intense chocolate hit in cake form for those chocaholics out there…

CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE
(from Two Peas and Their Pod)

for the cake:
1 cup unsalted butter (226g)
1/3 cup cocoa powder (35g)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
1 + 3/4 cups granulated sugar (350g)
1 + 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

for the chocolate glaze:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 + 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
sprinkles to decorate

Heat oven to 350F. Prepare your Bundt pan by spraying it with cooking spray or coating with butter and flour.

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, salt, and water and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring, just until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking soda. Add half of the melted butter mixture and whisk until completely blended. Add the remaining butter mixture and whisk until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until completely blended. Whisk in the sour cream and the vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then invert onto a rack. Let cool completely before glazing.

While the cake is cooling, make the chocolate glaze. Place the chopped chocolate and corn syrup in a medium bowl and set aside. Combine the heavy cream and sugar in a small saucepan and put over medium heat. Stir until the cream is hot and the sugar is dissolved. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Generously drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Decorate with sprinkles while still soft.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This classic Nordicware pan will always have a warm spot in my heart, as that was the very first pan I used in the tent in the Great American Baking adventure of years back. I remember the thrill when the cake un-molded beautifully in front of the cameras, and I always have the same smile when it un-molds at home (the thrill is not as intense, but still there!).

Once again it was a cake I did not get to taste, as it was donated whole. But I got real nice feedback about it, it cut very nicely in thin slices so that lots of people could get to taste it. Everybody loved it, the flavor of chocolate is intense and the ganache coating a perfect complement for it. I hope you give it a try!

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7Nov2023

SILIKOMART RAGGIO

Posted in Cake by sallybr

I have quite a few Silikomart cake molds for the most part acquired before the Great Pandemic of 2020, when I was baking cakes to include in my donation box. Once Covid hit, I went through a long time of donating exclusively stuff that could be individually wrapped, and cakes went into the back burner. Now I am set on trying to bring my molds to play, and plan to bake one cake every week. Should be a fun little adventure. Today it is time for Raggio to shine! ( Mold available here).

RAGGIO VANILLA AND CHOCOLATE CAKE
(adapted from several sources)

for the cake:
3 large eggs at room temperature
140 g white sugar (about 2/3 cup)
180 g butter, softened (about 3/4 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
225 g all-purpose flour (about 1 + 3/4 cup)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
90 ml milk at room temperature (about 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon)
60 g dark chocolate, finely chopped

for the ganache:
60 g dark chocolate
30 ml whipping cream
sprinkles of your choice

Heat oven to 350F.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Reserve.

In the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer, cream the butter together with the sugar for several minutes, until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs to and mix each time until incorporated, then the vanilla extract.

Turn off the mixer. Add the sifted mixture of flour, and the milk, dividing the flour in three portions, and the milk in two. Start and end with the flour, eye-balling the amount it totally fine. Once all is incorporated, fold the chopped chocolate gently.

Spray your Silikomart or other Bundt pan (about 1.5 L volume). Pour the batter into the pan and level it gently with an offset spatula. Bake at 350F for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and wait until the cake is warm before removing it from the pan. I left it sit for about 30 minutes and it un-molded easily.

Make the ganache: Heat the cream until almost boiling and pour over the chocolate. Wait a few minutes, then whisk gently to combine. It should be smooth and shiny. Once it cools a bit, but it is still runny, pour over the cake. It is important that the consistency is right, so that it won’t simply run off the edges. Decorate with sprinkles before it is fully set, so they glue to the surface.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The cake has such a beautiful shape that it would stand nicely with just a shower of powdered sugar. But the ganache is a perfect way to make it even more luscious. I cannot give personal feedback on the taste, as I donated the cake whole, but I heard that people really loved it… It is a simple cake, but the bits of chocolate add a lot, and of course the ganache makes it very festive. I hope that if you are like me, and have some Silikomart pans hiding in the depths of your basement, you’ll bring them to play…. Stay tuned for more in the future!