Oct 15, 2010

first attempt: macarons

These are scary. I was frightened to even *move the air* around the oven while they were in, such was my intimidation of these light little treats. It turns out, I was being silly. My recommendation = dont be afraid of failure. Just have a go!

I took a few deep breaths and got everything out and of course - Murphy's Law - the baby woke up. Ok... *breathe* popped 6mth old in highchair in kitchen with toys and rusk, and prayed. (Turns out I needn't have worried! Kitty was perfectly happy watching mum make a mess of the kitchen, whilst making a mess of herself with said rusk.)

Took 2 attempts to whisk egg whites into stiff peaks as I over-whipped the first batch (*whoops*) but luckily had more eggs. Didn't have any caster sugar (*damn!*) so made do with fine Stevia sweetener (which worked fine, but is maybe a bit too sweet. Chalk that up to experience.).


Next problem (*sweat sweat*) cant find correct piping bag attachment (*bugger*) so settle on the one with the 'teeth' and had to accept the fact that my macarons probably wont have the requisite glossy top (IF they eventuate at all!)


 Post baking...omg. These look...OKAY. Omg. I think this may work out ok...


A word to the wise: Dont trust your baking paper. Next time will give it a light spritz with cooking spray, as macaroons stuck a little, and then wanted to crumble...

And voila! They don't look professional, but they dont look too shabby! They're a bit on the 'too sweet' side, but they're light and fluffy inside, with a nice little shell - even if a few are a bit cracked and brittle. not bad for a first attempt.

MORAL TO THE STORY: Be brave!!! I am never going to cook like a Michelin star chef, but I have fun and even the most catastrophic baking disasters are yummy on ice cream... :)

I - roughly - followed this recipe: http://www.masterchef.com.au/violet-macaroons-with-raspberries-and-butter-cream.htm

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