Raspberry & White Chocolate Macaroons!!

Ohh macaroons! I think its fair to say that macaroons have taken the pastry world by storm. These colourful little bundles of meringue wonderfulness have been around for many years & gained a high status. I've been dying to have a go at making these little beauties and after months of debating it i thought i would give them a whirl! And i must say i wasn't disappointed with the results! I was pretty sure these macaroons were going to turn out disastrous but by some random act of god they turned out perfectly! I made a basic macaroon mix by using the boiling sugar method, and then filled them with a raspberry & white chocolate cream cheese filling. Heres how i made them! 

You will need!

You will need a piping bag fitted with a 1cm/½in nozzle & a baking sheet lined with greaseproof, oh and a sugar thermometer would be handy!

125g/4½oz icing sugar

• 125g/4½oz ground almonds
• 90g/3½oz free-range egg whites
• 2 tbsp water
• 110g/4oz caster sugar
• food colouring (optional) (i used red) 
  
  
  This is a recipe from Lorraine Pascale, you can find it (here)
  
  
  As for the filling i made a basic butter icing 
  8oz Butter
  16oz Icing sugar
  Then i added 2 large tablespoons of cream cheese, now taste the frosting and add more if you would like a stronger flavour. 
  At this point you may find your butter icing has gone rather sloppy (don't panic) Just give it a vigour us whisk until it regains a stiffer consistency.
  Then add a handful of crushed fresh raspberries and some melted white chocolate 
  (about 3 tbsps) 
  
  
  Now to make the macaroons...
  
  
  1. Preheat the oven to 170/C/325F/Gas 5 and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Put the icing sugar, ground almonds and 40g/1½oz egg whites together in a large bowl and mix to a paste.
  3. Put the water and caster sugar in a small pan and heat gently to melt the sugar, then turn up the heat and boil until the mixture starts to go syrupy and thickens - I don’t use a thermometer but if you prefer to use one, it should read 115C/239F at this stage.
  4. Whisk the remaining 50g/2oz egg whites in a small bowl until medium-stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed from the bowl, then pour in the sugar syrup, whisking until the mixture becomes stiff and shiny. For coloured macaroons, add a few drops of food colouring. Tip this meringue mixture into the almond paste mixture and stir gently until the becomes stiff and shiny again.
  5. Spoon into the piping bag. Pipe a little mixture under each corner of the baking paper to stop it sliding around. With the bag held vertically, pipe 4cm/1½in flat circles onto the lined tray, about 2cm/¾in apart, twisting the bag after each one. The mixture should be quite loose to give a smooth finish. The piping will leave a small ‘tip’ on each circle so, when they’re all piped, give the tray 2–3 slams on a flat surface to flatten them. 
  6. Leave to stand for 30 minutes to form a skin then bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes with the door slightly ajar until firm. Remove from the oven, lift the paper 
     off the baking tray and leave the macaroons to cool on the paper.
     
     
     Now add a small dollop of your cream cheese frosting on one half of your macaroon and then sandwich it together with another half.
     
     
     Now enjoy....
     
     
     Joely <3
  
  
  
  

Red Velvet Cupcakes.

So like most avid bakers i've been on a never ending hunt for a foolproof red velvet cupcake recipe! And i believe i may of found one. Apart from the fact that these beauties are more of a burgundy than a bright red, but that can easy be adjusted by a few more drops of red food dye! These cupcakes are quite possibly the lightest cupcakes i have ever made, i put this down the the dubious amount of buttermilk this recipe required! The light chocolatey taste and the creamy silky cream cheese frosting that finishes these off are simply divine. Now i'm sure you are all wondering how to make these, here is how i made them...

(unfortunately the recipe is american so get out your cup measurements) 

2 1/2 cups of sifted cake flour (if you were like me i'm sure you are now wondering OMG WHAT IS CAKE FLOUR if you don't have any to hand here is a simple solution (cake flour substitute)

1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder

1tsp Salt

2tbsp Cocoa powder

56mls Red food dye

1/2 cup Softened unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups Caster sugar

2 Whole eggs

1tsp Vanilla extract 

1 cup Buttermilk

1tsp White vinegar

1tsp Baking Soda (Bi-carb)

For the frosting!

8oz (226gr) Unsalted butter

12oz (340gr) Cream cheese

3 3/4 cups Icing sugar

1tsp Vanilla extract

A small amount of red food dye

Method...

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line two 12-cup muffin tins or silicone pans with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside
3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Be careful as it will fizz so don't do it in a shallow bowl. Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Fill cupcake cups with cake batter until they are a little under 3/4 full. Place muffin tins in your preheated oven. Bake for approximately 20, rotating pans halfway through. The cupcakes are done when you are able to pat the tops and the cake springs back up. If it sinks down they are not yet complete. Or you can insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake in the center of the tin and if it comes out clean they are done.
5. Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.
6. Make sure all of your frosting ingredients are at room temperature.
7. In a mixing bowl, mix butter on medium speed until light and creamy.
8. Add cream cheese and mix until fluffy.
9. Slowly add the sugar, one cup at a time. Continue to mix.
10. Finally, add the vanilla extract to the mixture and mix until it has a creamy consistency. Put a small amount of the red food dye in the mix, mix only just so the dye swirls around the frosting. Use to cover the cooled cupcakes.

Original Recipe 

Hope you enjoy these as much as i did! Let me know how yours turn out! 

Joely <3

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