Imperfect Perfection - Macaroons

My Imperfect Macaroons!

I came across a blog by BraveTart, a baker who makes macaroons several times a day in a kitchen in the hot and humid climate of Florida.

What's so unique about another recipe or article about macaroons?  Well the fact that she says these little treats which can be so finicky to make and have a mystique surrounding them (they won't turn out if it is humid, the egg whites need to be aged for the best results, they must sit for at least 20 minutes to dry to help develop their feet before baking, etc., etc.) are really quite simple to make and most of the mystique is just nonsense.

BraveTart goes on to walk you through a recipe and also has an article on 10 Myths about Macaroons.  Check out BraveTart.com.

The point that stood out to me the most was that no matter what they look like they still taste great. You only need to be worried they are not perfect if you are selling them in a Bakery.  Otherwise give yourself a pat on the back for making them and give yourself a few times to get down the piping, the fillings and the correct consistency of your whipped egg whites and sugar before you give up.

I ate so many of my imperfects that I had to go for a walk and do one of those workouts you find on Pinterest that are supposed to scorch calories...and yes they were delicious especially the ones filled with the chocolate ganache.

So don't let these little babies intimidate you, everything needs practice and no matter their shape or size a macaroon filled with chocolate ganache, a little buttercream or even some nutella, is still perfection.  Or at least one type of perfection.  Let's not forget vanilla cupcakes, chocolate studded brownies, banana bread, shortbreads, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, toffee...

Pumpkin-Raisin Cake....So Moist & Flavourful

Pumpkin Cake warm from the oven

Well it certainly has been a while and I suppose the road to Hell is awaiting me...you know the road to Hell is paved with good intentions!  Believe me my blogging intentions are always good.

It just seems that between the idea of the recipe(s) I would like to bake or ice or decorate and the spare time to make it happen I seem to have a time management issue.  Or maybe it is having a full time job that interferes...which is a good thing...the job I mean.

Today's recipe is a truly easy, as in only a wooden spoon is needed to mix everything to perfection, moist and flavourful cake.  I tried this recipe from Nancie McDermott's book 'Southern Cakes' and it is a definite fav.

This book is filled with a little history on each cake such as it's origin or tips passed on from family or other cooks.  There are a variety of  recipes like Red Velvet cake, Ocracoke Island Fig cake, Tomato Soup cake, etc.  So this is not your everyday run of the mill cake book.

I have made this cake many times and I prefer to leave out the raisins.  I also ice it with my favourite buttercream instead of the offered Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting.  The cake is currently baking up as I write this.

Give it a try you won't be disappointed!

TIP: make sure to buy pure pumpkin NOT pumpkin pie filling!  As well check the ingredient label to make sure your pure pumpkin is not a blend of squash and pumpkin.

PUMPKIN-RAISIN CAKE

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease 2 8- or 9-inch pans.

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup raisins
1cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin

In a medium bowl, combine the self-rising flour with the cinnamon and nutmeg, stirring with a fork to mix everything well.  In another medium bowl, combine the raisins and nuts with 1/4 cup of the flour mixture and 2 tablespoons of the oil and toss to mix well.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and the remaining 1 cup of oil, and mix well with a wooden spoon.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the remaining flour mixture all at once and stir just until the flour disappears into the batter.  Add the pumpkin and mix thoroughly.  Stir in the floured raisins and nuts, gently mix them in well, and then quickly transfer the batter to the cake pans.

Bake at 325F for about 25 minutes, or until the cake begins to pull away from sides of the pan and springs back when touched lightly in the center.  Cool completely.

Ice with cream-cheese frosting, or glaze or icing.

SPICED TOFFEE CHIP COOKIES

 Spicy Toffee Cookies warm from the oven

On a hot humid day like today most of you are thinking about a cold beer or a pink lemonade on ice.  I waited until the sun was setting so I could turn my oven on and not overheat my house!  Mind you sipping on the iced beverage did help pass the time.

I have had this recipe sitting in a drawer for months with the intention of whipping it up when I had a few minutes.  These contain spices you often associate with the winter season, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger. In my mind warm cookies with a hit of toffee are great for any season.  Just remember if you know anyone with a nut allergy toffee chips contain almonds.

Today during a terrific yoga class the instructor was talking to the class about contentment and enjoying what you have.  We spend so much time thinking about what to do next, our to-do list, how to get more stuff and ways to run around and do more in less time so maybe, just maybe, we can have a half hour to ourselves.

How does this tie into Spicy Toffee Cookies....well it got me to thinking how happy I am in the kitchen and how very content I am in my new space and how happy I am when something I make turns out as tasty as I hope and that lead me to pull out this recipe that keeps getting put on the top of the pile of 'my bake it up soon' recipes but never seems to get done.  So today I took my yoga instructor's advice and enjoyed all my moments of baking up these easy spiced cookies.  I especially enjoyed the "quality control" portion of the exercise.

These are so quick and easy to make they will be added to my regular rotation.

Spiced Toffee Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar, light or dark
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup toffee bits (I used SKOR bits)
Optional:  3-4 tablespoons of granulated sugar

Beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light.  Add in egg and beat well.  Add in vanilla and mix in well.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.  Add into butter mixture and mix until incorporated (just until you no flour is visible).  Add in toffee bits and stir in well.

Drop by tablespoonful onto prepared sheets and DO NOT flatten.  (You could roll into balls but I find using a medium or small ice cream scoop is easier as the dough is quite buttery.)  Space cookies about 2 inches apart as they flatten out and spread during baking.

If you wish you can roll the blobs of dough or the little balls in the sugar before placing on the baking sheets.  I just sprinkled some sugar over top of the cookies before baking.

Bake about 12 minutes or until set.

Suggestion:  Instead of toffee bits chop up some Skor bars and add in the chocolate toffee bar pieces.

I don't think you can eat just one of these spicy toffee chewy cookies.
 

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

I seem to be craving chocolate more than usual, which is saying something believe you me, and I remembered a mouth-watering rich chocolate goodie I used to bake up.  I found this easy to whip up chocolate shortbread recipe back in 2006 on the 'Chipits' site.  

I did omit the white Chipits when I baked these up as I wanted to roll them and cut them out into shapes.  By all means add it some white chocolate chips, or mini chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips.  But these are definite winners on their own without the add ins.

The dough comes together nicely in a stand mixer and is fairly soft but can still be quickly kneaded together and patted out to about 1/4 inch thickness.  You could even drop the dough by spoonfuls and flatten slightly with the heel of your hand onto the prepared sheets to hasten the process.

Little Chocolate Angels

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup cocoa

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

chocolate chips if desired

Preheat oven to 300F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy.  Add in cocoa and blend well.  Gradually add flour, stirring until smooth.  (I did all steps in my stand mixer using the #1 speed when adding in cocoa and flour).

Roll or pat the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured surface.  (I patted out in 3 different portions for ease of handling.) Using cookie cutter cut out desired shapes and place about an inch apart on prepared sheets.  You can re-roll scrapes of dough.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until firm.  

Like I mentioned how easy is that and they are superb...well in my humble opinion.

These will also freeze well!  Great with a cup of tea or coffee on a beautiful Sunday in June.

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate and a Little Peanut Butter

Firstly I should say the opinions expressed in this blog after a week of dieting late on a Saturday night in no way reflect the views of my sponsors.  Oh wait a sec, there are no sponsors and I can say whatever the heck I want!

So before we get to the baking part of tonight's blog I have been ruminating on a recent advertisement I keep hearing over and over and over on the radio.  Now perhaps this ad is irritating me just a tad since I happen to be on my own this evening while each of my boys is out doing there own thing, my ex is on vacation with his latest squeeze and a number of women I know seem to be always on the go looking after everything and worrying about their husbands reactions in case things are not done just how they would like.  How does this tie into the advertisement....well it seems we are not quite busy enough looking after our children, our jobs, our homes, etc. we are now being held responsible for our men's nether regions!!  I have never had a penis nor do I currently have the use of one but it seems I or any woman who comes in contact with their friends/partners/spouses appendage is to be responsible for making sure this area is checked out by the doctor.  I always thought this part of a guy was of the utmost importance to them and as they handle it every day, several times I would imagine, shouldn't they be worrying about it instead of us?

Well I don't know about you but it seems we have enough to worry about with our own stuff since we were probably 10 or 11... like to shave or to wax or to laser...if we laser what happens if the trend changes to the au naturel look and the hair won't come back, what happens if we shave and we get an ingrown and it shows while we are at the beach in our swimsuits, and then there's periods...pads or tampons, leaks both from that and from our bladders due to birthing babies where everybody seems to need to poke around down there and then some (but no one seems to be to concerned about us laying there with a tissue paper sheet covering us and a cold clamp awaiting us) or, OMG, did you see the size of those shears they used to cut us when we're in labour!  As if we don't have enough responsibility with our own parts down there! Were your sweet fellas overly concerned when you were pushing out babies, getting stiched up, etc. etc.  Now imagine if they had to put their package on a tray and have 10 pounds of cold metal come down and squish it for about 25 seconds (you know, like a mammogram).  Probably even less men would go for their check up....but then probably the technology would be changed so they wouldn't have to endure that!  I just feel the ad should be directed at the fellow with the correct piece of anatomy.  So now I feel a bit better! Whew, that has been weighing on my mind.

So now on to tonight's chocolate, chocolate, chocolate and a little peanut butter.  The cupcakes are chocolate with some chocolate chips added in and the icing is chocolate with some peanut butter beaten in with the butter for a yummy mix of flavours.

Tonight's recipe is one my mom found I last Month's Toronto Sun by the food writer.  Since she took the time to cut it out and mail it to me I figured I should give it a try.  The recipe is celebrating 100 years of Hellmann's Mayonnaise and Rita DeMontis includes her tweaked version of the 1937 Hellmann's recipe.

Perfectly shaped Chocolate Cupcakes before Frosting

Chocolate \Peanut Butter Icing

These babies are so simple no mixer is required.  The icing you will need a hand mixer to whip it up but it comes together in a couple of minutes.

I did Google the Hellmann's site and found, what I believe to be the original recipe.  The original includes eggs and a little more sugar.  Try this adapted version designed to make about 24 cupcakes (I got 18)  and see what you think.  These baked up beautifully and came together in just a few minutes with 2 medium bowls, a whisk and a spatula plus 18 lined muffin cups.  I used a large ice cream scoop, I'd say about 1/3 cup size, and that was perfect.

Notice this recipe has no eggs but does require buttermilk and Hellmann's mayo.  Good luck!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes - Toronto Sun, Wednesday, May 29

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line 18-24 muffin tins with liners.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup good quality cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

In bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and baking powder and salt.  In separate bowl, whisk together sugar, mayonnaise, buttermilk and vanilla until well blended.

Add dry ingredients into wet mixture and stir until combined.

Portion out into prepared pans and bake for approx. 20 or until cake tester comes out clean.

Ice with your favourite icing.

To mix up the Chocolate/Peanut Butter Icing I used:
1/2 cup soft butter, about 1/3-1/2 cup smooth peanut butter and mixed it together well with a mixer.  I added in about 3 cups of icing sugar plus some cocoa powder and I also melted about 1/4 cup of milk chocolate chips just because I could.  I used a little bit of cream to make a spreadable icing.

Iced Smooth with Pastel Sprinkles

Sweetness & Light - Buttercream

It always amazes me how the combination of sugar, creamy butter and a little of this and that can combine into so many mouth watering, luscious and light confections.

With just the combination of egg whites, sugar, butter, a little flavouring and some fruit puree you can whip up a lovely buttercream to mound on top of cupcakes, spread over cakes or sandwich between macarons.  This rich frosting is in a category on its own and if you are used to a prepared product found on the grocers shelf, you know the one with the 30 ingredients, none of which you can pronounce, you may be intimidated by the couple of steps to make this.  But have no buttercream fears, give it a try and you will marvel at how incredible you are in the kitchen.

Spoonful of Whipped Buttercream

One tip before we get started...you need a stand mixer for this.  It takes quite a long time to whip up your egg mixture and to mix in your butter, probably 15-20 minutes in total, so you don't want to be standing with a hand mixer.  Well you could do it if patience is your virtue...it is not mine!  Also you do need to weigh your ingredients for best results.

This is a Buttercream recipe from Bonnie Gordon for a Brown Sugar Buttercream but I have used regular white sugar (not icing sugar) instead.  You can whip this up with brown sugar for an icing with a more caramelly (is that a real baking word??) taste.

Oh, there just seems to be more and more....I omitted the vanilla as I added in about 1/2 cup of smashed strawberries and about 1/4 cup of seedless strawberry jam after my mixture was complete.  Add in a little at a time and mix well to incorporate.  At first you may get the 'curdled' look but keep mixing.  If you are unfamiliar with the curdled look and it happens during your attempt with this recipe I think you will be able to identify it.  It sort of looks a little like cooked scrambled eggs...the mixture sort of separates instead of having a nice soft together consistency....sort of like a container of Cool Whip when you spoon it out.

Buttercream

200 grams white sugar
5 egg whites (I used pasturized egg whites found in egg section-conversion is on side of container)
2 cups unsalted soft butter
Pinch of salt
2 tsp. vanilla

Warm the egg whites, sugar and salt together over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the bottom of your mixing bowl doesn't touch the water or get too close (remember we are just heating up the egg whites and the sugar until the sugar dissolves, we are not cooking these eggs).  Use a whisk and keep whisking until all the sugar has dissolved and the whites are hot.  Now put your bowl onto your stand mixer and with the whip attachment whip this mixture on a medium-high speed until the mixture is cool and has tripled in volume. (The bottom of your bowl should not be warm when you are finished whipping.)  The mixture should also hold a fairly stiff peak.

Now have your softened butter cut into little pieces and with your mixer on a medium speed add in bits at a time and keep it going....toss some more in and mix, mix, mix.  Once all the butter is added you need to add in your vanilla if using or other flavouring and mix until there is no curdled look.  The appearance should be smooth and satiny.

Buttercream all done ready for my fruit puree!

Once you have reached this stage you can fold in melted, cooled chocolate or whip in some seedless jam or some fruit puree.  Not too much though.  The mixture cannot support a large onslaught of liquid or purees so add a little at a time.  

Now I took this yummy mixture and piped it onto my extra macarons and packaged some of them up real pretty.  I did manage to sample a few too many but I am a one-woman show and have no quality control staff to suffer through that dirty job! 

Strawberry Buttercream filled Macarons

Macaroons

Every country, or so it seems, has it own style of macarons.  Growing up a macaron was known as and still is that coconut, egg white and sugar concoction mounded up in a little pile to resemble a white snowy mountain.  Then it would be baked to a golden brown colour and cooled.  Maybe a little melted chocolate would be drizzled over the top to take it to the next level of beauty.

Today when you hear people refer to macarons, especially soon-to-be brides, they are probably referring to the pastel or brightly coloured egg white based  European cookies with a center of buttercream.  These tasty beauties have no coconut but still contain the egg whites and sugar of it's Canadian cousin plus ground almonds or almond meal or almond flour.  You know a rose by any other name....

So you may ask, what tickled my fancy to whip up a batch of pretty little macarons.  Well, somehow tonight I started thinking about my age and how in places like France woman of  'a certain age' are more appreciated for their beauty and experience (don't we just call these appreciated woman Cougars here...) and that made me think of France and of Paris and of French Meringue also known as Macarons.  So what started out as me feeling old and fat and tired ended up in light teal macarons with a vanilla buttercream filling.  My mind never ceases to amaze me!

These are not perfect and if I were in a classroom I would have my hand slapped as the tops (and bottoms) do have a little peak.  But after taste testing about 5, you know quality control is important, there was no flavour difference between the ones with the peaks and the ones without.  Plus vanilla buttercream makes the world a better place even if it settles in the wrong spots on 'women of a certain age' bodies.

I used the Swiss Meringue recipe I have as it is more forgiving than the French Meringue recipe.  Macarons are very sensitive to humidity and if you don't believe that try making them on a humid day even with your air conditioner on.  The recipes are similar but the method is not.  Please use a scale and weigh out your ingredients for this and using the egg whites you purchase in a container in the grocery store works well.

Today I have given you the recipe for the macarons I made above.  Please note you could easily 1/2 this recipe as I was able to make 3 large trays out of 1 batch.  

Almond Macaron (Swiss Meringue)

250g ground almonds or almond flour

250g icing sugar (powdered sugar)

200g egg whites

250g sugar

Pinch of salt

2.5ml almond extract

Line a couple of jelly roll pans with parchment and set aside.  If you wish you can draw circles about 1-2 inches on the parchment with about 1 1/2 inches of space between each circle and place the circle side face down on your baking tray as a guide for piping batter.

Place sugar and ground almonds in a food processor and buzz for about 1 minute until a fine powder forms. Put through a sieve and discard any large pieces.  Set mixture aside.

Place sugar and egg whites in heat proof mixing bowl, like your Kitchenaid bowl, and place over a bowl of just simmering water.  Using a whisk, whisk the mixture until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture reaches about 45-50C.  (Tip: if you rub the mixture between your fingers you should not feel any roughness or any sugar granules.)

Now beat the mixture on about medium-high until the whites form soft peaks.  Add in the pinch of salt and your gel type food colouring.  (Liquid food colouring doesn't work so well.) Keep beating until mixture forms medium-stiff peaks.

Using a large rubber spatula, fold in 1/3 of the flour mixture, and combine well.  Fold in the next 1/3, combine well and add in the final 1/3 and combine well.

Now fit a large piping bag with a large round tip and fill with mixture.  Pipe 1-2 inch circles on parchment paper and once piped BANG YOUR TRAYS ON THE COUNTER UNTIL THEY FLATTEN SLIGHTLY.  Now let sit on the counter for about 20 or more minutes.  The tops become firm or develop a slight skin.

Bake at 300F for about 10-12 minutes.  Bottoms should be set and the centre will be slightly moist.  You will be able to lift one right off the sheet without it sticking when they are baked!

Let cool completely and match up sizes so when you put your filling in they look uniform.

You can fill these with chocolate ganache, your favourite Swiss meringue buttercream or your favourite buttercream.  Flavour up your buttercreams with raspberry, strawberry, mango or whatever you love.  Go one step further and divide you batter into 2 or 3 smaller bowls and colour each batch a different colour and match up your fillings.

Starting out...don't be intimidated!

Ready to pipe

Ready to pop into the oven

Voila.