Twilight, Travel, and Treats

I'm at the end of a three week vacation and I'm happy to report I've used my time appropriately. Read a bunch of smutty books while vacationing over two Hawaiian islands and renewed my love of crocheting miniature food. And finally got around to learning how to make macarons.

For years now I've been aching to return to Laduree in Paris for a macaron. In the meantime we've considered taking a class to make macarons but instead of forking out the money for one I decided to venture it alone first.
"Why make macarons?" you may ask. My hubby swears that they taste only 10% better than cookies but are 100 times harder to make. For me the macaron is kind of like the Holy Grail of baking. It's fancy and elegant with simple ingredients and just takes the right technique. The last part is the elusive thing that I hoped to capture.


I used two different blogs for my research. Both are written by pastry chefs who have each made thousands of macarons. They contradict each other a bit so it took some fiddling with my own oven to figure out what worked.

First blog is PastryPal which is a great resource by pastry chef Irina Kogan. She wrote a Master the Macaron PDF which is a free step by step tutorial with full colour photos.


Amazing that she posts this for free. The reviews for it were good so I followed it to the letter and got pretty good results.

Next blog was BraveTart and this pastry chef Stella Parks has a lot of macaron info including a Mythbusters page to debunk macaron myths. She also has of course macaron recipes.



Stella is super friendly and will answer baking questions very promptly via twitter.

First attempt

I followed Pastrypal's Master the Macaron PDF .

My results:

Before oven - piped free hand

Out of oven - 180 deg for 17 minutes. Notice the wide feet

Please disregard the scary ones kissing at the bottom - they were a last ditch to use it all up - not a good idea.


Please disregard the scary ones kissing at the bottom - they were a bad last ditch to use it all up.

A good variety of sizes to help me decide what's best - that's a quarter for reference

Too lazy to make a buttercream today

After following pastrypal's tutorial exactly I was ecstatic that what came out of the oven looked like macarons! They tasted great and looked good but needed tweaking - alas my shells were hollow and the bottoms were sticking.

Mistakes? I was very grateful that Pastrypal's pdf even has a troubleshooting section. She had suggested baking at 280 degrees for 17 minutes to start. Her oven must be better insulated than mine. Bravetart is lovely and answered my tweet and suggested to up the temp.

Also I hand whipped the egg whites like Pastrypal did in the pdf but I'm obviously a whimp and not an experienced pastry chef because my meringue must not have been as stiff as hers were.

I also learned that Bob's Almond meal/flour has a lot of particles the size of coarse salt. So much of the bag was made of these I had to include them after sifting for almost an hour. The macarons were only mildly grainy on the outside though.

Regarding size I followed the pastry pal guide but think I prefer a slightly bigger macaron than her pictorial shows. I had a lot of trouble finding info online regarding the right size. Apparently Laduree Paris small macarons are 1.5 inches so I used that as my standard.


Second attempt

Made the following changes:
- ran almond flour through food processor pulsed a few times before adding to powdered sugar
- all parchment paper used - less risk of sticking than my old silpat and ability to draw 1.5 inch circles on the other side of parchment for piping guides
- insulated cookie sheet and regular baking sheet didn't seem to make much difference so used both
- per Bravetart's advice I whipped the egg whites until they were so stiff I could turn the bowl upside down and they stayed put
- turned oven up to 300 and watched them after 15 min - it took 19 minutes with a pan turn halfway since one half of my oven is hotter than the other.
- used a more flexible silicon spatula to make sure I didn't deflate the egg whites while folding them with the dry ingredients.
- between batches in the oven I cranked the temp to 320 for a few minutes to compensate for heat loss from opening the oven door
Things I did despite Bravetart's debunking them as necessary:
- I didn't age my egg whites in the fridge but did microwave for 10 seconds to dry them out a bit
- I left them to dry after piping until the skins formed - took min 45 minutes in our Vancouver sunny day

Well I got macarons that lifted off the sheet easily after a bit of cooling and were still chewy inside. Some were a bit "dome" like but not all so I may leave the shapes alone.



Glad this second batch was successful.

Things to change for the third batch
- sift icing sugar first as the Bob's Almond flour clogs up my sieve
- to smooth out the tops after piping for any macarons that have a bit of a peak after resting for 5 minutes as that peak will get baked and set

Next up is flavored macarons and also nut-free ones too since I actually have a minor almond allergy but can't help myself around fancy French desserts.

I have now amassed so many posts I realized it was time to clean up a bit. It happened when I couldn't find my own Forks posts!

This is what happens when you don't clean up.

Stuff like this gets put away and no one ever sees it.

Yes those pics are Rob and he's with animals. I found them at Strictly Rob from the Hackett catalog photoshoot. Just goes to show you can lose the good stuff when you have too much info.

Hence I've made Travel and Treats pages to go with the Menu labels up top. It should make it easier for people to navigate where I've been and what I've made.

So check out where I've been in the Travel page here.

And what I've made here.

My sister-in-law JL recently had a baby. You know my friends DQ and JR love throwing a good party so we had a blast. DQ was such a sweetheart she did all the invites and the favours herself.

See how pretty?

Check out these matching hand iced sugar cookies. They were delicious too.



We were ecstatic to welcome a new baby girl into our lives since JR and I both have two sons and DQ's youngest is already three.

By the way, take a look at the menu JR made up. Our preggie girl is a huge fan of Paris so we thought a French food theme was in order.



The food JR made was amazing as always and she managed to make sure even the fancy cheeses were pasteurized and pregnancy friendly.

See the cute wheelbarrow? My father-in-law made that on short notice just for his baby girl. So sweet.

Okay, onto the cupcakes.

Not actually JL's real name :)

I made Coconut Cupcakes - Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten.

This is a tried and true favourite of the mom-to-be. Note - I tried increasing these by 50% - did not work well. I think the ratios must have been off.

Almost considered tossing the lot because I thought they were a bit dense. But the cream cheese frosting saves everything! This recipe makes 30% more frosting than you will need.

Fondant Toppers

JL's favourite colour is blue and her baby room is a wonderful turqouisey teal colour. I was going to make a flat 2D graphic bird. Way too hard for me to cut things out with an exacto or use the Cricut. Actually easier to hand sculpt these guys.




The brown fondant is actually the new Duff's (as in Ace of Cakes from food network) Chocolate fondant at Michael's. Very easy to work with and tastes quite good. I got a kick out of staring at Duff's face while I was working on these.

The birds were inspired by these ones from Wilton's but I actually like mine better.

If I had time I would have toasted the coconut before sprinkling and shaped them into little nests. Alas next time...

Okay another travel post about Florence is coming up this week.

Click here to comment.

Wow, a treats post for once. It has been almost two months since I've posted a dessert recipe review.

First of all, I CAN eat gluten yet this cake is so good I would choose to have it even if regular cake was around.

Note that my husband is very very picky and not easily impressed. Yet he said this dessert could have easily been served at a fancy restaurant.

My good friend Mrs. R had us over for dinner the other night and her son J has celiac disease and thus needs everything to be gluten-free. She hadn't made this recipe before but thought it looked promising and we were both up for an adventure.

Decadent Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
by John D Lee found on here

Photo: Paul Goyette (flickr)

Ingredients:

3 X 100gram, 70% cocoa dark chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 1/4 sticks of butter
A pinch of salt
5 eggs

1) Pre-heat oven the oven to 350 degrees.
2) Over a double boiler with barely simmering water underneath, melt the chocolate and sugar, salt, and butter together.
3) When smooth, remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes.
4) Meanwhile, beat the eggs.
5) When the chocolate has cooled slightly, fold the eggs in and pour into an 8 inch greased cake pan or pie plate.
6) Bake for 40 minutes, or until a fork inserted comes out pretty clean.
7) Let cool for a few minutes and serve still warm.

Serve with vanilla ice cream and coffee.

Photo: Paul Goyette (flickr)

So, here's my two cents.

First of all Mrs. R shelled out for Lindt's 70% dark and Green & Blacks organic dark chocolate.
The instruments to melt everything together was confusing. Melting chocolate in the double boiler is easy but getting the granulated sugar to melt didn't happen. We initially microwaved the chocolate to almost melt and then the butter melted right in over the double boiler but the sugar never did. When we put it in the oven it was still gritty and Mrs. R was so nervous I think she started defrosting another dessert.
We tempered the eggs with a bit of the batter before folding the eggs back into it.
It baked up perfectly at 40 minutes.

Our cake did not look like the one in the photo. The cake had a crackly texture on top rather than the smooth ganache shiny look but it was still pretty, just a variation. Mrs. R dusted it with some powdered sugar. We had it with ice cream and it was so good!

Crunchy on top, gooey in the middle, and just a bit chewy at the base. I was too busy eating to even take a photo.

So, thumbs up for the first gluten-free recipe on this blog. Hope you enjoy it!

Lastly, Mrs. R is a closet twihard. She came with me to the pre-midnight showing of New Moon and also Remember Me. She surprised me at dinner with something sweet.

New Moon chocolate bar - oh an Edward one

She also knew that I would never eat it but it would end up in the vault. So hungry right now though...

What's your favourite Twilight food?

Now that we finished making the cupcakes in part 1 now we move on trying to replicate this guy.

Birthday boy's favourite stuffy

Here's the final product.

Learn to make these

First thing is that I had to figure out if these monkeys were intended for decoration only or for consumption. Fondant is for eating and gumpaste is for looking pretty. Also, I use toothpicks usually to hold the heads up so it's good to know ahead of time how easily it will need to be removed.

Gumpaste is what you normally see used to make those hard realistic leaves and flowers on cakes at weddings. You can roll and mold it into very fine and thin pieces and it will hold its shape. It dries out very quickly so usually I keep any pieces that I am saving to work on under a small bowl to keep them from drying out.

I use the Satin Ice brand because it comes in big tubs which are cheaper. For a beginner, you can buy gumpaste to start at Michael's and the price is good if you have a 40% off coupon from their email list. This stuff is technically edible but it is chewy, doesn't taste so great but it's a bit sweet, and frankly I don't think it's very good for your gastrointestinal system.

You can make flowers like these and there are lots of tutorials online.

gumpaste flowers from bakinguntilgolden.com

Fondant is usually used to cover wedding and birthday cakes for a smooth finish. It is also good for figurine making but it takes longer to harden and it is harder to make small or thin pieces. If the figurines are intended for consumption then I'll use fondant instead of gumpaste.

Colouring gumpaste or fondant

Orange wiltons gel colouring added to the gumpaste with a toothpick - made the night before I plan to make my figurines so I can see the colour darken overnight and add any if I need to.

Store gumpaste or fondant airtight in saran wrap overnight and in a tupperware to see the final colour as it deepens.

Making the figurines

Using orange gumpaste we have just coloured and also white or a slight beige gumpaste I have already made.

I work on parchment paper which doesn't stick to the gumpaste.

I usually will make a sketch and then a trial figurine. Once I'm happy with the trial I'll weigh it so I can know how much gumpaste to allot for each piece.

Another way of making sure your limbs are even is to roll your gumpaste into a snake shape and then divide it evenly into the number of pieces you need. No weighing needed but visually super easy to do.

First trial, hands are way too big

Using fondant glue or just water with a very fine paintbrush to attach the parts. Fondant glue is a small piece of fondant dissolved with a few drops of water.

Parts include oval head, trapezoid body all made of orange plus 2 long arms, 2 short legs, and a tail all with white gumpaste blended in at the end. You take the long piece for your limb and at the end place a small piece of white (about the size of a piece of Nerd candy) and then roll them together a few times in your palm. The warmth will melt them together quite seamlessly.

The only tools I really use are my hands plus rounded and pointed toothpicks. Honestly the hardest part to do is putting on the ears and making sure they don't fall off.

I break a toothpick in half and stick it into the body first and then the head on top. Also remember to use some water or fondant glue under the head.

For the ears take a small orange ball and indent with rounded toothpick then place even smaller white ball inside and repeat with rounded toothpick. Pinch off the pointy tip and then stick the rounded ear onto the head, using glue or water as mentioned below and your toothpicks to apply pressure. My sister in law uses tweezers but I like using toothpicks and my fingers instead.

Final product isn't he cute?

See above for how to blend the white into the tail

I use Wilton Edible Food Writers (food colouring pens) fine tip to draw on the eyes and mouth. This part makes me the most nervous because there is no easy redo unless you take the head off and do it all over again.

Here is the group of monkeys I made (it's about 3am by the time I'm finished - can't start until the kids are asleep).

About to attack

I placed them all on disc of orange gumpaste and then onto squares of parchment paper.

Transport

This is the part that strikes fear into any baker. Even if you make it how do you get it there in one piece?

I pack all the figurines on parchment squares in individual gladware or tupper containers. Right before I load them into the car (after they have been drying at least overnight) I gently pack a bit of paper towel around each one to prevent shifting.

In gladware waiting for paper towel to be packed around each one to prevent shifting

Then I load them onto a baking tray lined with a silpat (either use silicone or a wet towel to prevent slipping around in the car).

Onto the cupcakes I made in Part 1 of this post.

Fondant polka dots

I use a Cupcake Courier and I love it. My sister in law/baking partner JL managed to find them at our local Winner's store (kind of like Ross but with household stuff in addition to clothes) for about $25 Cdn each - steal!



The only downside is there are no trays so far for mini cupcakes. I will have to use my cricut to cut out some plastic adapter sheets later on.

This handy thing fits perfectly in my trunk with one of the third row seats half folded.

Delivery and Set Up

Managing to slow way down around corners and trying to choose the least steep streets to my destination, I finally made it. Mad rush since the Olympic torch was coming down this street in less than 90 minutes and I wanted to be out of there before traffic got too busy.

I brought my ceramic cake stands for set up as well and birthday boy's mommy (who is also the sister of a long time friend) swore to keep my stands safe.


Final set up - Birthday Boy's mommy almost cried, like full on "this is just what I wanted" tears. That made staying up until 3:3oam totally worth it.

Monkey cupcakes finally done!

I'll be updating my Flickr cupcake pics very soon and send out a shout when they're up.

Enjoy and let me know if you have questions.

I was asked to do chocolate cupcakes with blue icing and monkeys on top for a one year old birthday celebration.

Not to be anti-climactic but here is the final cupcake product just so you know what I'll be getting to.

Follow my instructions to make these

Part 1 will be the cupcakes.

Part 2 will be the monkeys.

This monkey was the original inspiration for these guys.

Birthday boy's favourite stuffy

I'll list the original recipe first. Then my changes and photos after to make it easier for you to cut and paste if needed.

First we have to make cupcakes.

Learn to make these

Chocolate Cupcakes (Recipe Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cake)

Ingredients

Makes about 45 regular cupcakes (or 2 eight-inch square or 3 eight-inch round layers)

• for cake (not cupcakes) - unsalted butter for cake pans
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (plus more for cake pans)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (substitute 1 1/2 tbsp topped up to 1 1/2 cups with regular milk - let sit 5 min)
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If making cupcakes, just fill the cupcake/muffin tins with liners. If making cakes butter round or square cake pans, and line bottoms with parchment; butter parchment, and dust with cocoa.
2. Into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, stir in eggs, 1 1/2 cups warm water, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla until smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. For cupcakes, fill with a large ice cream scoop filled to about 1/4 inch from the top. Bake about 25-27 minutes until toothpick comes out clean and dry. (For cake, divide batter among prepared pans. Bake, rotating once, until tester inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes for 8-inch layers, depending on amount of batter.)
4. Let cakes cool in pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely, right side up on rack.

I used Fry's cocoa and 2% milk

Love these brown cupcake liners

You can buy brown cupcake liners online at Confectionery House. I was lucky a local baking supply store Scoop-N-Save in Langley, B.C. (I know, sounds like a kitty litter place) has them in stock.

Dry ingredients all in - very full bowl Be careful to go slow with the mixer

A very wet batter = very moist cupcakes

Fill a large ice cream scoop to slightly below the top

Filled about 2/3 of the way (best to use ice cream scoop method above)

Cooling - don't eat them yet even though they'll smell divine

Perfect small dome for this project Not a huge muffin top

They can't all be perfect - the kids and Mr. TC love eating the rejects

You could adapt these to mini cupcakes and probably reduce the baking time to ab0ut 17 minutes. Try it out in your oven and use your toothpicks to test for doneness.

Icing

Even though this was a kids birthday I chose a slightly less sweet icing recipe. This buttercream takes a bit more finesse to make but it is worth the effort as it is light in texture but still sweet enough for the kids). You will need a candy thermometer.

Italian Meringue Buttercream (Recipe Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

Makes 4 1/2 cups

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 5 large egg whites (buy pasteurized egg whites in a container to reduce risk of salmonella)
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled cut into small chunks
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and 2/3 cup water to a boil. Continue boiling until syrup reaches 238 degrees.on a candy thermometer (soft-ball stage). As soon as it hits this point, race over to your mixer.
2. Meanwhile you will have to prepare the egg whites. Place egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks but not dry; do not overbeat.
3. With mixer running, add syrup to whites in a stream, beating on high speed until no longer steaming, about 3 minutes. Add butter bit by bit, beating until spreadable, 3 to 5 minutes; beat in vanilla. If icing curdles, keep beating until smooth. If you just use the whisk the icing never looks smooth. So after beating for at least 5 minutes with the whisk use your paddle attachment for another few minutes until it looks like most air bubbles are gone and icing is smooth.

On high until 238 (soft ball stage)

Egg whites with cream of tartar beat into stiff peaks before adding sugar syrup

Beating with paddle attachment to finish off - almost all air bubbles gone

Next to colour the icing. The birthday boy's mom had a very specific blue in mind. It's always hard to tell what the gel food colouring will actually look like so I had to try a few. You can use liquid food colouring instead but I only have gels because they work well with fondant and gumpaste.

This was the final choice - Royal Blue

Sky blue a bit too teal

Cornflower blue too gray

Baby boy blue

Using a 1M tip for a pretty swirl

Using a piping bag and icing tip is really easier than just using a butter knife and spreading it on. Here is the Wilton's page of how to frost with a 1M tip.

I don't hesitate to use a butterknife to scrape off frosting and redo a cupcake until it's perfect.

Cupcakes done, now onto the monkeys

By the way, birthday boys mom also loves polka dots. So I rolled out some brown fondant very thinly and used the tip of a large round piping tip to cut out some polka dots and sprinkled them over top of the cupcakes. Do this step right after icing them. Otherwise it's hard to get the polka dots to sit well in icing that has hardened.

Fondant polka dots

These are great basics for any party and bake sale. Now if you want to step it up then head on to part 2 - Monkey Figurines.