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Good morning ppl! Alhamdullilah we are now in KL and enjoying some R&R.. am having a blast with my parents so far and Sonia's been playing lots with Nyayi.. when i say lots.. i meant LOTS hahaha.. kesian lah mom! hehe.. Hairi came with us after two years of not being able to tag along cos of his NS.. so i guess hes having a blast too..

We stopped over at Malacca for a night and stayed at Casa Del Rio once again.. was nice to see Mat Noor again at the hotel.. anyway here are some pics taken yesterday bef we drove up to KL.. enjoy peeps and i will try to update again soon.. meeting Sue later at 1Utama.. cant wait!

Wet floor - cooling weather ... ahhhh winter in Malacca ahaks

Stayed for the second time.. the best there is in the heart of Malacca!

Different concept of brekkie served there.. Hairi couldnt make up his mind on which one to choose .. u hv to choose ur table served main meal and u hv an array of finger food/side dishes at their buffet area..

Right after brekkie we went for a walk at Jonker Street.. no one was complaining cos the weather was simply gorgeous.. windy and body not sticky at all lol


Hehe u think u can only find red walls in Beijing?? u can find one too in Malacca! Great Wall of Malacca op

Sonia was adamant on taking a trishaw ride.. mom had to gv in to her request :o)


Along Jonker Street.. there was this small lane.. i love how this pic turned out!

Last but not least.. I managed to bake CPAB and also CB bef our Malaysia trip.. ty Shidah for sharing this simple recipe with us and to all that have tried baking CPAB - good choice indeed!


Bef i head out to 1Utama i wanna gv my thanks to Shaz, Hidayah, Aina, Farhana, Puspa, Mazlina and also Nurazian for their orders... to Shaz.. hope to see u someday and I am so glad u liked the lapis legit prune.. to Hidayah .. ty for all the mac orders.. to Mazlina.. it was so nice to see u and ur hb.. enjoy ur macs! To Farhana.. hehe i hear ya.. if tinggal setengah box.. harus makan pelan pelan ok hehe.. to Nurazian and the rest.. i see u girls soon!
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Alhamdullilah.. everything went smoothly yesterday.. at first we thought hb had to hv laser surgery on his right eye to improve his sight there (the operation two weeks ago caused his eye sight to deteriorate).. but as it turned out the difference was only 0.5 diopters and the Dr suggested to correct that with a new set of glasses... but they did go ahead and do laser surgery on his left eye to fix his retina wall... his left eyes retina is also quite thin and to prevent a tear just like in the right eye they fixed all the pinholes he has on his left retina... final issue was that the pressure in his right eyes was high and right now hes on medication to level it out.. haishhh if things didnt happen i probably wud be clueless to things associated with our eyes..

I remember when i was preggie to Sonia at 6mths.. One morning.. out of the blue i lost control of my right side face.. went to see my gynae right away and found out that i had Bell's Palsy.. i read so much abt it that hb started to call me Dr Rima lol.. oh well... the bottom line is.. alhamdullilah.. after much effort (and $$$) and positive thinking (tks to hb!) my face went back to normal within 3 months.. arghhh u dont want me to get started on how i must hv felt back then :o(



Today i woke up pretty early.. managed to bake 600 odd mac shells.. tmrw morning i will hv to start baking layer cakes for all my KL orders.. yes yes.. finally we are set to go on a short hols.. a much needed one for all of us.. no work for him and no work for me hahaha.. taking along my parents and not forgetting Hairi since hes on his pre exam break till 2nd of Jan.

This layer cake was baked last night.. mom gave me a pack of durian and i didnt wanna keep it as i hv a big tupperware of frozen durian in my freezer.. took out my butter instead and whipped lapis legit durian.. didnt take too long for this cake to be baked as this recipe only uses 15 egg yolks... love the moistness, softness and the sweetness of this lapis legit.. everything abt this cake is two thumbs up hehe and i know of someone who will be happy when i gv her a pack of lapis legit durian ahaks



Ingredients
300g butter - i used unsalted Tatura butter
80g sugar
90g condensed milk
300g durian meat - blend
35g flour - i used HK flour
15 egg yolks
2 egg white

Method
Preheat oven to 170C.. grease ur 8" round pan
Cream butter and sugar till creamy
Add in ur condensed milk and blended durian meat - (i blended durian with condensed milk)
Add in ur egg yolk one at a time and continue to whisk - set aside
In another bowl.. whisk ur egg whites till soft-stiff peak
With a rubber spatula, fold in 1/3 of egg white into egg yolk mixture gently.. add the rest of egg white and continue to fold thoroughly..
Bake layer by layer using grill mode (upper fire).. bake each layer for 7mins yah.. last layer u bake using lower fire and bake a further 8 mins.
Pls refer to my old post abt layer cake if u need a clearer method on how to bake ur layer cake yah.

Recipe by Dodi Padmudgi
Source: Elly

Oh...and guess what appeared in the 15th December edition of Malaysia's LISA magazine... kwang kwang kwang.. wasn't expecting this but thank you Atiqah for the shoutout!




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I cant stay.. sending hb to hospital for his laser surgery in half an hr time.. wish us luck!



Oh bef i go.. if u do hv one dessert that u wud wanna try today or for this weekend.. this is the ONE!! heaven on earth! superb taste.. superb recipe! am in cloud9!




Method
Chocolate cake
Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals. Chocolate burns easily, so stir between every zap. Mine took about 60-90 seconds to melt. Set it aside for the moment.
Beat the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder together on medium high speed until smooth, creamy and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, until each one disappears into the mix. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Pour in the melted chocolate into ur butter/sugar mixture
Combine the milk and the water and microwave until hot, about 45 seconds.
In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients and add to ur butter/sugar mixture and mix using lowest speed.
Lastly with the machine still running, pour in the hot water/milk mixture.
Pour it into a 18″ x 13″ sheet pan that’s been first sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and lined with parchment.
Bake in your preheated oven of 175C for about 20 minutes
Let it cool to room temperature. (Cake layer can be made a day ahead, if you’d like to break up the labor of this recipe. Wrap the whole thing, sheet pan and all, with plastic very well, and refrigerate.)
Cut a cake circle with each ring mold, regardless of which size you’ve decided to use.
Prepare a tray with patchment paper.. Place ur cake circle into ur cake rings - set aside

Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate Mousse
Bloom ur gelatine by sprinkle ur gelatine powder evenly over a small bowl with the water... within 5 mins ur mixture will thicken
Next heat up the milk to a simmer in a small sauce pan. Stay close so it doesn’t boil all over.
Turn OFF the heat (This is important. When subjected to high heat, gelatin deteriorates and turns grainy) and then scrape the gelatin blob into the hot milk. Swirl the pan around until it’s completely dissolved. It’ll look like there’s nothing more than milk.
Pour milk/gelatin concoction over the finely chopped chocolate… Whisk it up into a smooth pool of goodness. Set it aside and let it cool to lukewarm. Don’t let it reach room temperature or the gelatin may start to set up.
In ur stand mixer.. whisk the cream till soft peak.
Scoop about a third of the whipped cream into the chocolate. Since the chocolate is kind of dense and heavy, this will help lighten it up. When we fold in the rest of the cream, it won’t deflate as much.
Once combined.. add the rest of ur whipped cream.
Pour chocolate mousse into pipping bag and pipe into ur cake ring (i sprinkle my cake with espresso syrup bef piping in my chocolate mousse)
Place ur tray into freezer and prepare white chocolate mousse.
Do the same method for the white chocolate mousse ok.
Lastly once ur white chocolate mousse has set.. pour chocolate glazing.. (make sure ur glazing is cold bef u pour it over ur mousse as to prevent ur mousse fm melting)

Chocolate Glazing/sauce
Heat up ur cream - not to boiling stage ok.. pour warm cream into ur chocolate and let it sit for a minute.. stir and add in ur corn syrup and also ur oil.. lastly add in ur vanilla.

Garnish
Melt the chocolate in a medium sized bowl by nuking it in a microwave. Start with 30 seconds, stir, then continue with 20 second intervals until it’s completely melted.
Throw in ur cereal.. (I used milo cereal) mix and spread it all out on a parchment-lined sheet pan, keeping it in little flat clusters. This way, the cereal bits touch each other, and can dry in chunks. Pop it in the fridge to set up.


Note:
- U can use any of ur fav dark chocolate cake for this recipe.. i found a chocolate cake stashed in my pantry freezer.. took it out and let it sit for a night.. sliced my cake into two and used it as base.
- I used dairy whip cream -38% fat - either Millac or Lescure
- I sprinkled espresso coffee mix with sugar on my cake circle.
- I used Valrhona chocolate and also Marmer white chocolate couverture for my mousse
- I decided not to use my cake ring but instead bought a plastic type of cake ring.. easy to peel hehe
- Keep ur triple chocolate mousse cake in ur freezer all the time.. take it out and place it in ur fridge an hr bef serving..
- Don’t let them sit in the fridge for more than a day. The longer a gelatin-based dessert sits in the fridge, the more rubbery it becomes.

Enjoy!


Source: Recipe is fm Pastry Pal and step by step pic fm here.


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We spent the past few days doing a bit of shopping and hubby has been resting quite a bit. Yesterday we took Sonia out to an indoor playground at Vivo City and asked Mom and Dad along. While strolling about we decided on an impromptu hop to Sentosa.. wasnt a planned one so theres no way mom and dad could have said no! lol

Anyway i think one of these days we might take them to USS.. see how!


So whats new peeps?? same old same old? well thats how it has been with us.. we are hoping to go to KL sometime end of this week but will hv to wait till after this wed.. if everything goes well with hubs laser surgery.. he plans to take us there for a short hols.. i guess he can see that his wife is in need of a short hols.. :op



Spekulatius (Germany), Speculaas (Netherlands), Speculaoos (Flamish), all the same but slightly different. Its a shortcrust biscuit filled with spices baked traditionally in Europe during early December. Its a very thin and crunchy biscuit filled with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamon and white pepper (depending on which recipe and country). In Europe they are baked with the image of St. Nicholas on the front with a flat back. The spices in this biscuit certainly gives it a very unique and enjoyable taste. I think hubby and I have finished one whole jar already! I decided to use round cutter for this cookies.. i wish i had their wooden forms but again with a price tag of EUR200 each.. u think its worth it? hmmm




Ingredients
500g flour
1 tsp baking powder
250g sugar
Seeds of 2 vanilla pods (or 1 tsp vanilla essence)
2 drops almond oil (I used almond essence)
2 eggs
200g cold butter, cubed
100g ground almonds
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
(I didnt hv ground cardamon and cloves so what i did was to use 2tsp of mix spices)

How to:
1. Preheat oven to 180˚C. Line two trays with baking paper. Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl.

2. Cream butter and sugar.. add in eggs.. add in both essence.. add in flour and also mix spices... wrap dough with clingwrap and place in the fridge for about 15 minutes... (i keep it overnight) The dough needs to be cold before you start cutting out shapes.

3. Roll the dough thinly, roughly 5mm thick, and use your desired cutters. Place cookies on the paper-lined trays and bake in the top half of the oven for roughly 10 minutes, or until golden brown... (i used 170C and bake it for 8mins)

4. Allow to cool down before peeling off the paper. Store the biscuits in a biscuit tin. The longer you keep them in the tin, the better they taste as all the flavours infuse throughout the biscuits.



Alrighty.. I hv to go now.. got to cook for my son bef he goes to school.. hv a blessed tuesday and bef i go i wanna thank Hairmi fm Brunei and also Liyanah for the macs order.. :o)

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Its weekend .. the weather is mighty fine and i hv two sickies in my family.. Sonia went to see Dr Kenny today (Dr Kumar is not around) and the moment she walked out of the clinic she was fine again.. geeeshhh whats up with us and docs.. the moment u see them.. u feel better lol.. anyway shes all ok now.. shes been going in and out the toilet since Thursday night and has not been going to the toilet since we left the clinic.. not complaining of tummy ache either.. Alhamdullilah..

Hb on the other hand has been having headaches.. sometimes hes feeling all good.. some days hes not.. hes gonna go for laser surgery in 4 days time .. hopefully its gonna be a smooth procedure..



So besides that.. nothing much happened for the past couple of days.. i hv been baking macs for two orders so this week was a breeze err well except yesterday after i received an email fm a kind soul telling me that someone stole my pics - again.. i quickly made a report to FB (which is really easy to do) and bef i knew it they (FB HQ) replied telling me my pics were removed.. this person seems to hv a lot of nerve stealing my pics (and others' too) for her business. Anyway this is what i wrote on my FB status to MISO.COM (page owner is Coco Bee) - the thief - sigh:

Dear Miso.com

1) I hope you have learnt your lesson to not copy and paste pictures that do not belong to you for your own marketing purposes. Facebook has been in touch with you about this. This is called IP (Intellectual Property). I have a copyright notice on my page and I expect you to adhere to that.
2) You not only copied my pictures, but you also cropped my watermark and pasted your own.
3) Finally you had the nerve, when somebody asked you on how you "make" the Jelly, to say "senang aje..". I think you mean "senang aje... just copy and paste"...
4) I notice too that there are some other pictures of other bloggers in your FB account. I strongly urge you to remove them before they get in touch with FB and your account is permanently disabled.

Rgds Rima



I know maybe some might think that its a little over the top for me to blog abt it but this is my right and my IP and if someone doesnt even wanna respect it.. i am gonna make sure this person pays for his/her wrong doing..

Note: As of 6pm 10th December 2011 it seems that she has removed quite a number of other photos too. So dear Miso.com, on the one hand, be happy that I am giving you free advertising for your store - on the other hand I am still waiting for an apology. If you do a business, do it sincerely and not at the expense of others by impersonating what you are not.

End.



So ok.. i actually had wanted to share this cake recipe yesterday but i was super busy that i had to blog abt it today.. cake is super super rich... buttery and oh god.. i told Yat Maria that i couldnt even be bothered to wait till my cake cooled down bef i sliced it.. the aroma of butter and the softness of this cake was killing me that i had to have it while it was hot.. i mean i had two hot slices of sultana butter cake at one go.. super yummy.. i loikeee!! tks babe for this wonderful recipe!



Well ok peeps.. i hv to go and get ready.. gonna go out for dinner and tmrw morning i hv to get up early to send my macs to Hyatt for a customer whos on a transit fm Myanmar back home to Brunei..




Source: My household capers
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Sonia.. she is in constant PMS mode eversince hb is at home.. shes like a box of chocolate.. u never know what ure gonna get.. happy Sonia.. moody Sonia.. cranky Sonia and cry cry Sonia..

Hb... this man ever since hes on MC.. he seems to be slowing down a little tho he still checks on his blackberry every half an hr.. i have to constantly ask if he needs to reply to his work email all the time??

Hairi.. this boy.. hes like M&M.. now u see him.. now u dont.. his exam is coming and i dont even know if hes prepared for it..


Why am i complaining today?? no particular reason.. its the yearly end of the year thingy.. reflection of oneself.. this year especially, whenever i started to sigh i will always look at the bright side.. Sonia may be a little over the top but shes one smart girl.. shes very opinionated and i think thats good.. hb may be a busy man but hes been working hard for the family.. well someone has to bring home the bread right?? Hairi may be a pain but hes a good boy.. so with all those thoughts.. i usually will sit back and count my blessings.. Alhamdullilah..



This year in particular has been a busy year for me.. busy with my online store and also baking for ppl.. i enjoy what i am doing right now.. i get to meet new ppl.. i get to meet other bloggers; and that my dear is something which doesnt come everyday.. its interesting to know that there are tons and tons of ppl that share the same passion as me and to simply connect is just awesome..

Anyway I just wanna let everyone know that i am thankful for this blessing.. i am thankful to everyone that has been following my blog.. thankful to all the bakers out there that have tried baking some of the recipes which have been tested and shared by me.. may this year end bring all the goodness in ur life..



Okies.. lets talk abt this Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte aka Black Forest Cake.. i think the last time i baked this was a year ago.... back then i couldnt be bothered to google for the originality of this cake.. all i can remember was hb complaining abt my non - black forest cake!

This time round i did a little homework.. why? Cos we will be in the Black Forest (in southern Germany) next month.. and I need to prepare myself food-wise for it.... hb said that when he was young.. his dad used to take him to the Marco Polo Hotel whenever they felt like a slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte so with that in mind i decided to do my typical mix and match thingy with recipe adapted fm different websites.. the result?? he said it tasted just like the one in Marco Polo except my cherry filling doesnt taste of kirsh .. gulp hahaha

Chocolate Sponge Cake
Ingredients
8 eggs
120g caster sugar
2 tsp emulsifier
1 tsp vanilla extract - i used vanilla essence

110g flour
30g cocoa powder - i used valrhona
20g corn flour
2 tbsp milk powder

100g butter
70g dark cooking chocolate - i used 55% valrhona
2 tsp black forest paste

Method
Preheat oven 180C.. greased ur 8" or 9" round pan
Melt butter and add into ur cooking chocolate.. mix and add in ur black forest paste - set aside .. let it cool
In ur mixing bowl.. add in the rest of the ingredients and whisk at high speed till thicken..
Fold in ur butter/melted chocolate mixture into ur egg mixture and continue to stir till well combined..
Pour batter into ur baking pan and bake it for 35 to 45 mins.
Cool cake and slice it into 3 or 4 layers

Cherry Filling
1 lb / 500 gram canned sour cherries
7 ounces / 250 gram cherry juice (reserved from the drained cherries)
1 ounce / 30 gram sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch or potato starch
5 tablespoons kirsch or black forest rum - i didnt use

Method:
Drain the cherries and put 12 cherries aside for the decoration (I used fresh ones). Mix the starch with two tablespoons of juice, then add the rest of the juice and the sugar and boil it. Add the cherries and wait until this boils again. When the cherries have cooled, add the kirsch.

For sprinkling the baked cake:
5 tablespoons kirsch - i didn't use
5 tablespoons water - i used 1/2 cup of cherry juice fm the drained cherries
1 tablespoon sugar - i used 1/2 cup of sugar

Method
Cook ur cherry juice and sugar till sugar dissolved.. add in ur kirsh or black forest rum if u like at this stage.

Stabilised whipped cream
4 tsp gelatin powder
16 tsp cold water
4 cup whipping cream, cold
1 cup icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla or 4 tbsp of kirsh

Method
Chill mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10minutes.
Put the cold water in a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water and let stand for 5 minutes. Place the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon just until the gelatin dissolves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and cool to room temperature.
Remove mixing bowl and beaters from freezer. In the mixing bowl, combine the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla and whip until slightly thickened. Then, while beating slowly, gradually pour the gelatin into the whipped cream mixture. Then whip the mixture at high speed until slightly stiff.




Assembling
Cut the cooled cake two times horizontally to make three layers.

Place the first cake layer on cake board and drizzle enough cherry syrup evenly to soak it... spread a ladle of whipped cream over, followed by a layer of cherry filling on top. Finally spread a thin layer of whipped cream on ur cherry filling and cover it with ur 2nd cake layer.. drizzle enough cherry syrup on your 2nd layer and continue with the same method till the 3rd cake layer.

Spread the remaining cream on the top and the sides of the cake. Garnish the top and the sides with chocolate curls (made by shaving the chocolate bar with a vegetable peeler or buy ready made). Pipe 12 rosettes of whipped cream around the top edge. Top the rosettes with the cherries.

Note: I divided my cake into 4 even layers and used the last layer to make Black Forest Cocktail Cakes in small containers..

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There are times when ur hb craves for something for so long that u cannot even get away fm it.. this is the dessert that hes been craving for eversince we got home fm Barcelona.. u dont wanna know how many times we had it while in Barcelona lol.. we will be heading there again next month but that doesnt stop him fm asking me to prepare it..

I found the Cazuela dishes while in Spain and hv not used them till today.. the tradisional iron device to melt the sugar was no where to be found so we decided to just get the mold and use our torch to burn the sugar... anyway the history says that Crema Catalana is served on March 19th in honour of San Jose which is a big hols in Spain..


The preparation is a little different tho the texture is similar to Creme Brulee except Crema Catalana is silkier.. it uses cinnamon stick and also orange/lemon peel instead of just vanilla beans...And dont ask the French or the Catalans which came first... :P


Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1 cup cream
1 vanilla bean
4 strips orange peel (can also use lemon)
1 cinnamon stick – optional
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup turbinado or raw sugar
3 tbsp corn flour

Method:
Bring the milk, cream, vanilla, orange rind and cinnamon (if using) to a boil over low heat.
Remove from the heat and let it cool down.
Strain the milk and cream mixture to remove the vanilla bean, orange peel strips and cinnamon stick.
Mix the egg yolks and ½ cup of regular sugar until you obtain a thick creamy mixture.
Dissolve the cornstarch in 4 tbs of milk mixture, the stir it back into the remaining milk.
Mix the milk in with the eggs and sugar, place it in a double boiler pan (or in a heat resistant glass bowl in a pan of water baño Maria style) over medium low heat, and stirring consistently until the cream thickens, do not let it boil.
Cool the cream and pour into the ramekins or cazuelas.
Chill for 24 hours or overnight.
When ready to serve sprinkle 1 tbs of the raw sugar over each ramekin or cazuela, heat the iron and press it against the sugar until it is burnt. You may also use a torch or place it under the broiler in the oven.
Serve immediately.



Source: Laylita's Recipes
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Sorry folks.. when i am quiet it means i hv been busy... not just baking for orders.. i am busy cos i hv a full load of ppl in my house.. its like running a full force kitchen.. a son, a daughter and a hb to feed all day long! hehe.. anyway i dont think i wanna go near my oven today.. its been working hard for the past three days and i am letting it rest for a day or two.... so enjoy Sonia weekend pics and ty to all that hv ordered!



Every morning activity.. watch okto and playhouse disney! she will hv her brekkie and lunch and only then she will go and have her shower - yikes kopet!


Play funny faces with mama.. running in and out of our kitchen asking for juice... pasta... bread.. etc etc etc


Her hair!! oh god! she got her first hair cut yesterday after this photo was taken.. now her hair looks much more manageable lol


Ty KZaiton for the macs and German layer cake order for an engagement party.. ty sis Rita and aunty for the macs order.. enjoy the gather gather ok hehe.. ty KAzizah for the repeat macs order.. u look young!.. ty Lisa for the Japanese cheesecake cake and Ensaymada bread order and lastly ty Zainab for ordering two lapis legit prunes.. see u soon!

Hv a pleasant weekend girls (and some guys...).. stay indoors cos this kinda weather makes u wanna snuggle and sip on hot chocolate... heavennnn :o)
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Orriiiight! Rima is busy baking; so since her one-eyed bandit is at home I will be posting something today. But this posting involves plenty of Rima-input.

Macarons. I-say-maaan.... those melt-in your mouth confectioneries with rich chocolate or salted caramel fillings.. Just as good as Se.....listening to classical music. There are many tips on the internet but most of them are for dryer northern or southern climates. Not our humid equatorial climate.

So I will certainly duplicate some of the known tips, but Rima has some "local" tips that may help in your macaron-making escapade...

1) Weigh everything - digitally. Many Asian recipes are quite forgiving. And so are the simple desert recipes. But when it comes to macarons, the ratio of eggs, sugar, almond powder is really important. If you don't have a digital scale and still rely on an analogue one, get one. For example HERE or HERE. (Free marketing)

2) When you see pimples on top of a macaron, they are caused by almond that was not ground fine enough. Also, almond "chunks" weigh down the macaron shell - so they will not rise. Make sure your almond is ground finely and if not, put it into a food processor.

3) Amount of sugar. In my opinion, if you want less sweet - then don't bake. But anyway - You can do less sweet in other deserts, but doing less sweet on a macaron will cause its stability to weaken as you will not get a full meringue.

4) Meringue: Make sure your bowl is tip top clean. And absolutely no oil or butter in it from your previous bake. The slightest bit of grease in your bowl and the egg white will not foam. Mix your egg whites well until soft peaks form. MEANING: when you pull out your whisk, the meringue will follow and after that not topple.

5) The macaronage: Its important to mix everything thoroughly and not leave stray bits of meringue on the outer edges which you then later on end up piping onto the tray. The meringue batter behaves differently to the macaron mixture in the oven - so if you have some meringue mixture in there, it will most likely crack your macarons.

6) After piping your mixture, you will need to let any air escape and also let the macaron settle. You do this by tapping the tray 3 times - hard - on your counter. Forget this step and your macarons will not turn out well.

7) Let your macarons sit for awhile - and that while can be the big deal breaker. You need to let it sit until a skin forms on the macaron. Meaning: Touching the macaron mixture with your finger will not dirty your finger. In the tropics this can be tough to achieve due to the humidity. So the options are: a) When it is raining - don't do macarons. b) Let your macarons dry in an air conditioned room b) let them dry and prior to putting them in the oven, let them rest for 2 minutes on top of the open door of your oven.

8) Make sure you know how your oven works. Many ovens don't burn at the temperature we require. But they can be up to 20-30C off. So learn your oven and work with it prior to attempting macarons. Finally: switch off the fan in a fan forced oven if you can.

9) Make sure your macarons are well baked. If you don't bake them enough, the soft goo inside will stick to your mat and you will have hollow shells.

10) Macarons taste best when they are piped and then left in the fridge for at least 24 hours. When you are ready, take them out of the fridge and they are good to eat after about 10minutes.

11) So how should the macaron actually look/feel like texture wise. It is not a biscuit - so its not crunchy. It has a crunchy shell and a semi-hard-goo inside.

12) So why can't they be posted? Because they are too fragile. Only the outer shell is crunchy; so if you post them the movement will almost certainly crush the macarons.

Anyway, good fillings generally need to be refrigerated. Courier services and postal services cannot give you a chilled environment - so the only way to have macarons is either in a shop, self collected and then you have to refrigerate them quickly or delivered in a chilled bag.

...and just before posting I was bloghopping and chanced upon Liyanah's blog Baking Abode on her first Macaron try. Well done!!




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About Me

My photo
Hi.. I am a SAHM to 2 kiddoes..19yr old boy n 2 year old girl.. met my Austrian hubby here in Singapore and hv been living here all my life... my love for baking started when i was 6mths preggie to my daughter, Sonia... my addiction to baking has not stop eversince.. I hope to learn as much as i can abt baking and decorating and then share it with u along the way..