Macaron: Quest for Feet - Part 1

I love macarons. Eating them that is. I've never really been game enough to make them. Its probably because I know I suck at desserts that need baking. Cooking.. I enjoy. Baking.. only when it actually turns out right. And for me.. most of the time.. it doesn't.

Then I read this post on Almost Bourdain. I agreed. Why not ? Afterall its only going to take me 3 egg whites, some almond meal and some icing sugar. And if it did fail, I could just vent out my frustration by smashing up the unsuccessful macarons and use them as sprinkles on top of some vanilla ice cream.

So began my macaron saga.. the quest for feet. Yes. The much coveted Feet. The visual sign of a perfect macaron :)

I said visual sign, because this isn't the only element of a perfect macaron. SeriousEats.com sums it up nicely...

"The Mallomar-shaped cookie must have a 'foot,' a crackly ringlet that surrounds the flat side. The outer shell is thinner than an eggshell but has an eggshell-like quality. Poking through the shell gives way to soft, almost-meringue texture."

Roasted Black Sesame Macarons

Recipe from muffinsareuglycupcakes.com

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3/4 cup ground almonds (I used almond meal)
• 1/4 cup finely ground black sesame
• 3 egg whites (6 tablespoons of egg whites)
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Method:

1. In a food processed mix the ground almond, ground black sesame and icing sugar to make sure there’s no lumps.
2. Whip the eggs whites with a pinch of salt and slowly adding in the granulated sugar until you get soft peaks. Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites and start folding. To make things easier, add in the dry ingredients half at a time.
3. Fold until you get a slow moving batter. Aka the flow-like-magma consistency.
4. Pipe the macaron batter onto baking paper.
5. Bake at 160C for 12 mins
6. Remove from oven and let cool. Pair up the macarons of a similar size ready for the filling.

Attempt 1 - Failed

Notes:

• Followed the recipe (well... I think I did)
• I probably tried a bit too hard not to over mix the Egg whites. As a result I think I didn't mix it enough, so ended up with the cracked tops. Whoever said Macarons could smell fear were right... !
• Oven at 160C
• 12 mins in the oven
• Tops started cracking at about 6-7 mins in...

Bleh....Ok.. I kind of expected this. If I succeeded the first time, I would have been really surprised. Ecstatic. But still really surprised.

They still tasted great. The roast black sesame flavour really came through.

Attempt 2 - Semi Failed

I jumped back online and googled what could be the cause of my macarons cracking. I was thinking that maybe its more than just under-mixing. Someone suggested cracking occurs if the oven wasn't hot enough. So thinking that my oven may not be hitting 160C, I cranked it up a notch. And set it on 170C. And you guessed it... they burnt...my macarons went brown.

Nice uncracked tops.. slight feet. But they went brown ! Bleh..

Notes:

• In the oven for 11 mins
• 170C
• Visual Browning occurred from about 10 mins onwards
• The base of the 1st batch I pulled out at 10 mins was uncooked and still stuck to the baking paper.
• Tapping the tray on the kitchen bench a couple of times prior to baking (something I picked up from the last Google search).
• Tops uncracked. Slight feet.
• Burnt... but still really edible. Bit more chewy than the previous batch.

In truth, I couldn't really taste the burnt taste. But I'm still marking this one as failed as 1/2 of them had the base still stuck to the baking paper and weren't actually cooked through, even though the tops had browned.

I think I'm going to call it a day for now. Anyone out there have any tips ?

Momofuku Milk Bar's Crack Pie

When I saw the post on Almost Bourdain.. I thought.....Oooh.... Must. Make. Pie... Crack Piiieeeee... :)

So I went out to get the necessary ingredients for the Pie, and was all set to make Crack Pie the next day after work. But then work and other annoying things caught up with me, and I never did end up making it that Thursday night.

Now that I have another week before I have to go in to get my two bottom wisdom teeth surgically removed. I thought... if I don't make it now, it would be a while before I'll be able to eat anything like this again. And after the pitiful week I've had at work.. I needed some pie.

Oh.. and for my colleagues at work, who I know follows this blog.. The final straw in my Murphy's Law plagued week. The Sparky plugged a new 3-phase rack (with kit) into configuration that had it drawing 415V instead of 240V. Lets just say there was a slight burning smell in the air. I guess I should be glad it didn't trip the Inergen gas sensors.

Ok. Enough venting about work. Back to the recipe.

I found there was quite a bit of melted butter oozing from my pie during the cooking process. So the next time I make this, I might try to reduce the butter requirements. I've tasted this when it first came out of the oven, cooled to room temperature, and cold from the fridge. I think I prefer it best when it was at room temperature, served with some plain vanilla ice cream on the side.

Oh.. and did it live up to all the hype ? My flatmates certainly thought it did. I think I was on a bit of a sugar-high after the first spoonful. Its sweet, gooey and yet incredibly satisfying. There is something about it that makes me want to eat spoon after spoon, even though its a bit too much on the sweet-end by my usual standards.

I was actually very impressed with the crust. So tasty, yet so quick and easy to make, I think it would work well as a base for my other tarts and cheese cakes recipes.

Momofuku Milk Bar's - Crack Pie

Recipe from Momofuku's Book - as seen on LA Times and Almost Bourdain

Oatmeal Cookie for Crust

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
• Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (115g) softened butter
• 1/3 cup (66g) light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• Scant 1 cup rolled oats

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 190C.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Cream the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Whisk the egg into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.
5. Stir in the flour mixture until fully combined. Stir in the oats.
6. Spread the mixture onto a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking sheet and bake until golden brown and set, about 20 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and cool to the touch on a rack. Crumble the cooled cookie to use in the crust.

Crust

Ingredients:

• Crumbled cookie for crust
• 1/4 cup (55g) butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Combine the crumbled cookie, butter, brown sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until evenly combined and blended (a little of the mixture clumped between your fingers should hold together).
2. Divide the crust between 2 (10-inch) pie tins. Press the crust into each shell to form a thin, even layer along the bottom and sides of the tins. Set the prepared crusts aside while you prepare the filling.

Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup plus a scant 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon milk powder
• 1 cup (227g) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup plus a scant 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 egg yolks

• 2 prepared crusts
• Powdered sugar to garnish

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 180C.
2. Whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, salt and milk powder. Whisk in the melted butter, then whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla.
3. Gently whisk in the egg yolks, being careful not to add too much air.
4. Divide the filling evenly between the 2 prepared pie shells.
5. Bake the pies, one at a time, for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 160C and bake until the filling is slightly jiggly and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the pies and cool on a rack.
6. Refrigerate the cooled pies until well chilled. Serve cold, and the filling will be gooey. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Not pretty.. but sure is yummy.. :)

Choc Chip Banana Muffins

I'm stuck with some 'I-Think-I-Should-Throw-These-In-The-Bin' type bananas again. After throwing away the ones I don't even think I should attempt to peel, I was lucky enough to be left with enough bananas for my muffin recipe. I change my recipe a bit this time, and used 1 more egg, added some chocolate chips I had lying around and also added some rum extract to give it a bit more of a kick. :)

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
recipe originally adapted from allrecipes.com.au

• 4 Large bananas (mashed)
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup soften butter (about 100g)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon rum extract
• 1/3 cup of Dark Choc Chips

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C.
   
2. Sift and combine the flour with baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl blend butter with the sugar until it goes a light creamy colour, add in the eggs then mashed bananas and vanilla and rum.
   
3. Fold the wet mixture into the dry flour bowl. Sprinkle in the chocolate chips. Be careful not to over stir.
   
4. Spoon mixture into a buttered muffin tray, about 3/4 full, then place into the oven for about 15-20 mins.
   
5. You should be able to prick a toothpick into the center of the muffin and it should come out clean.

Makes 6 large muffins. Enjoy :)

Another Use for Leftover Egg Whites ...

After I've had my little bit of fun making the vanilla ice cream, I was leftover with about 6 egg whites. I was thinking meringues.. but.. again ?!... (I could already hear the moans & groans coming from my household if I produced another meringue related dish again). And then I saw this post from Not Quite Nigella... ~ The perfect saviour for my 6 egg whites !

Now I just have to get my hands on some lemon extract... :)

Milan Cookies
Recipe from Not Quite Nigella with reference to Gale Gand, from the Food Network website

• 170g unsalted butter (softened)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Cookie filling:

• 1/2 cup thickening cream
• 200g semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

Method:

1. In a mixer, cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Sift in the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread -- I used a sandwich bag with the tip of one corner cut off as a 'piping bag'.
5. Bake in a preheated 350F/160C degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

Notes:

• I think the next time I bake these, I will try putting the temperature a bit higher. The edges of the cookie were really yummy and crisp, but the middle was a bit more chewy then I would have liked. I noticed the ones where the bottom had completely gone a golden brown colour were a lot less chewy.

I wonder how long its going to take for us to devour 3 dozen cookies ?! :)

Butternut Pumpkin Souffle

I had some left over butternut pumpkin from last night's roast in the fridge. Instead of heating up the roast pumpkin and having it again for dinner tonight, I tried to make something different with it. I'm kinda in a savoury Souffle phase at the moment. So I had a go at making a butternut pumpkin souffle. I based my recipe along a cheese souffle recipe that I'm pretty accustomed to, but substituting the cheese with the pumpkin. The results turned out quite tasty and the souffle was very fluffy. Although next time I might try roasting the pumpkins with some honey to help add a bit of sweetness.

Butternut Pumpkin Souffle
An Astrogirl recipe

Preparing the Ramekins

• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 4 ramekins (single serve)
• Parmesan cheese (crumbled\grated)

Butter generously the inside of four ramekins with the softened butter. Divide the grated Parmesan among the ramekins and rotate them so the butter catches the cheese. Tap out any excess. Place ramekins into the fridge until ready to be used.

Roux
In a saucepan combine together:

• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk

Cook Roux for about 1 min, then take saucepan off the heat and mix in:

• 4 egg yokes (whites to be used later)

Base Flavored Mixture
In a food processor, blend together, then add into the Roux:

• 500g roasted butternut squash flesh (if not using leftovers, then just roast in oven for 1hr at 180C, then scoop out the flesh).
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2 handful of fresh sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• freshly ground black pepper

Egg Whites
In a clean glass bowl, beat the following together till soft peaks form:

• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt

Preheat an oven to 180°C.

Mix a quarter of the egg whites in with the butternut pumpkin mixture in the saucepan. Then gently fold in butternut pumpkin mixture into the remaining egg whites in the glass bowl with a spatula.

Divide the souffle mixture into the 4 ramekin, about 3/4 full. Place the souffle on a baking tray then place into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove and serve immediately.

Molten Chocolate Baby Cakes

The thing I've made most often with my muffin baking tray is not muffins. Its these Molten chocolate baby cakes. This recipe is from Nigella's book - How to be a domestic goddess and can also be found on her website here. These baby cakes are really easy to make and they taste .... well... like rich molten chocolate. :)

Molten Chocolate Baby Cakes
Originated from Nigella Lawson's recipe

• 6 individual pudding moulds, buttered (I used a muffin tray)
• baking parchment
• 50g soft unsalted butter (plus more for greasing)
• 350g best dark chocolate (I used 70% dark Lindt Chocolate)
• 150g white sugar
• 4 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 50g plain flour

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Butter the muffin tray and trace the bottom of the muffin tray onto the parchment and cut out the circles and press into the bottom of the buttered moulds.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Set aside and let it cool slightly.

Beat the sugar and butter together, until its gone lighter in colour. Gradually beat in the eggs and salt, then add the vanilla and then the flour.

Gradually fold in the chocolate until its all combined. Divide the batter between the 6 moulds and place in oven for about 10 mins. As soon as you take them out of the oven, run a knife around the outsides of the cakes, then tip out the babycakes and place into small plates or shallow bowls. Best served with vanilla ice cream and a cup of hot tea.

These babycakes can be made in advanced and the batter kept in the fridge. If you are making these in advance and using cold batter, leave in the oven for an extra 2 mins. Enjoy :)

Cottage Pie

I had 1/2 a bowl of leftover mince beef from dinner cooked the night before. It was mince beef with onions, corn kernels with a soy base marinade. A quick meal where I literally took what was available in my pantry and fridge and threw it together as a dish to have with some steam rice.

Looking at that bowl of beef just a moment ago, I didn't really want to reheat it up and have it again just like that. The one thing I did think of, was to turn that beef into a Shepherd's pie. Well... Shepherd's pie was originally made with leftovers... isn't it ?? Actually since I'm using beef.. technically it would be called a 'cottage pie'.. (quickly adjusts title).

I wasn't too sure how the bowl of mince beef .. which has a distinct Asian marinade .. would work within a westernised dish of shepherd's pie. Well... there's only one way to find out.. :)

Shepherd's Pie Cottage Pie

Base:

• 700g of minced beef (in my case.. last night's leftovers, which happen to have corn kernnels)
• 2 tablespoon Olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 carrot (chopped in ~1cm cubes)
• 1 brown onion (finely chopped)
• 1 can of tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup of beef stock
• Salt & Pepper
• Dried herbs ... I had some Thyme available
• 1/2 cup of frozen peas (defrosted & rehydrated with water)

Topping:

• 3-4 large potatoes - suitable for making mash (skin removed, quartered)
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg yoke (optional)
• Salt & Pepper
• Cheese - enough to cover the top (i used a mixture of Parmesan and cheddar)

In a dutch oven pot, add olive oil then garlic, onions and carrots. Once the onions start to brown, add in the beef. As mine was already cooked beef from the fridge, I just had to let it re-heat up. If using raw beef, stir the contents around until the beef has browned. Add in the can tomatoes, beef stock and Worcestershire sauce. Season generously with salt & pepper. I also added in about 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 30 mins.

Meanwhile, in large saucepan bring some water with about 1 tablespoon of salt to boil. Add in the potatoes and let the potatoes cook for about 20 mins. Drain the potatoes and mash with some milk and butter. I added an egg yoke in, cause I found it actually did make my mash potatoes taste a bit more creamier (ie. not so powdery) and also because I had quite a few leftover in my fridge (the casualties of my last souffle expedition).

Pour the beef base into a deep dish, then top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle with cheese. Place in an preheated oven of about 180C, and cook until the cheese has melted and the tops start to brown. This should take about 15 mins. Serve as is, or with some fresh green leafy salad.

For the record, this actually turned out pretty tasty. P couldn't tell at all I had used left over beef, which had been from an Asian dish for the pie. :)

Banana Muffins

I spent most of last night cleaning out my fridge, and judging by some of the 'expired goods' I had found.. its something I haven't done in a while. Amongst some of the items I found that were possibly still in the 'usable goods' department, I found 4 rather brown bananas. Super ripe bananas makes super yummy banana bread...banana cake or muffins. I went with the muffins option this time.

Did I say that the bananas were super ripe ??

Banana Muffins
recipe adapted from allrecipes.com.au

• 3-4 Large bananas, mashed (I use 4 because I had 4 left in my fridge)
• 2/3 cup white sugar (original recipe calls for brown sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup soften butter (about 100g)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 200C.

Combine and whisk flour with baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl blend butter with the sugar until it goes a light creamy colour, add in egg then mashed bananas and vanilla.

Fold the wet mixture into the dry flour bowl. Be careful not to over stir.

Spoon the mixture into a buttered muffin tray. About 3/4 full. Bake for about 15-20 mins, until it starts to brown. Makes 6 large muffins.

Notes:

• Cut the butter into small cubes so to soften it faster.
• I added about a couple of splashes of milk (about 1/4 cup) into the mixture at the end. The original recipe doesn't call for it, but I added it because my mixture was looked a bit gluggy and dry.

Chocolate Souffle

I think the hardest thing about posting about making souffle is not about the egg whites. Its about getting my camera ready to snap a reasonably postable photo before the souffle deflates..!!

You can see from my picture below, that I once again didn't think ahead. ie. plate setting, background and having my camera at arm's length. I only just managed to snap away at a couple of shots (which only 1 turned out to be properly focused) before the souffle started to deflate.

Here's my favorite recipe (serves 4)...

• 3 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
• 5 tablespoon Sugar (plus a bit more for dusting)
• 1 teaspoon. Cornstarch
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Dark Chocolate (70% coco, chopped)
• 4 Egg Yolks
• 7 Egg Whites (room temp)
• Icing Sugar \ Coco powder (for dusting)

Butter the 4 souffle dishes. Now sprinkel sugar to coat the souffle dish. Tap out any excess sugar. This step ensures that the souffles will rise properly. Place disk in the fridge to chill until required.

In a heavy pan, slowly add milk to cornstarch, stirring constantly until smooth. Keep stirring and bring to a boil. Continue to stir for another 5 mins. Turn down the heat to low. Stir in chocolate, 2 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in egg yolks one at a time. (This may be kept refrigerated up to two days in advance).

Whisk egg whites until it starts to foam. Add in 2 tablespoons sugar, and continue to beat to soft peaks. (Do not over beat your egg whites!).

Stir 1/4 of the whites into the chocolate base to lighten it, then using a spatula, gently fold the lightened base into the egg whites.

Pour into the prepared souffle dishes. Tap the souffle dish a couple of times on a flat surface to distribute the mixture evenly.

Place the souffle on a baking tray in the lower half of a preheated 180C degree oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Serve the souffle straight from the oven. Sprinkle with icing sugar or cocoa powder.

Now I just have to find a receipe for all the leftover egg yokes... I'm thinking either custard.. or bernaise sauce to go with the steak tomorrow night.. :)