Pink Macaroons

I finally found a good recipe. One that really works - consistently works. An Italian meringue base (egg whites whisked until bubbly, then add soft ball stage sugar water slowly down into the egg whites while whisking) adds stability. Cook in a convection oven (low around 160C), cook until you can pick up the macaroons freely off the sheet pans.

Small things make all the difference! Macaroons are so fickle it's awfully nice to find a reliable recipe!

Raspberry and Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

A friend had their birthday last week, and he loves chocolate. I wanted to make something that I hadn't made before, something that used both fruit and chocolate. This tart seemed like the answer. It is a simple tart made with very high grade ingredients.

A simple ganache made with a bittersweet chocolate with 72% cacoa, raspberries were squished on the bottom, the ganache poured over the top and then a little decoration and that was it.

I simply used some left over bittersweet chocolate and a hand made chocolate piping bag (made with parchment paper) to pipe the decoration onto a sheet of parchment which I then froze.

Simple, rich, elegant. Recommended - a heavy dose of sweetened whipped cream on the side.

Star Anise and Grapefruit Cookies

These sounded so weird that I thought I had to try them. I have to say I adore adore adore black licorice so I had no aversion in using star anise, the grapefruit however had me doubting.

The recipe is from the February Bon Appetite and it's by Elizabeth Falkner.

INGREDIENTS
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced
1 teaspoon plus 1/4 cup sugar
3 whole star anise
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons finely grated grapefruit peel

PREPARATION
Combine chocolate and butter in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 10-second intervals until chocolate is almost melted; remove and stir until melted and smooth. Finely grind 1 teaspoon sugar and 3 star anise in spice mill or small coffee grinder. Transfer to small bowl; whisk in flour, cocoa, coarse salt, and baking powder.
Beat remaining 1/4 cup sugar, eggs, honey, and grapefruit peel in large bowl until thick and smooth. Fold in chocolate, then dry ingredients. Cover bowl; chill batter until cold and firm, at least 45 minutes and up to 1 day.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing mounds 2 inches apart.
Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until dry-looking and tester comes out with moist crumbs still attached, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheet 3 minutes, then transfer to racks and cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper.

You know the combination worked really well. You would eat a cookie thinking it was chocolate, and it was. The star anise is fairly subtle and then the ending is grapefruit. A pretty amazing cookie.

Red Velvet Cup-Cakes Take Two

It's a method thing. I realized that previously I had written out the recipe for these but failed to give the method, which when I made them multiple times, I realized made a huge difference to the end product.

Main tips: Do not over-mix and make sure to sift the flour.

Red Velvet Cup Cakes Take Two

2.5 cups sifted cake flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbs Dutch Processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1.5 cups granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

3 Tbs red food coloring

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp baking soda

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F, put cup cake wrappers in cup cake baking mold.

2. Sift the flour, salt and cocoa powder into a bowl.

3. Warm the butter up in a microwave for around 15 seconds to get it to room temperature, then place in a mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix.

4. Slowly add the granulated sugar to the butter.

5. Add the red food coloring and vanilla extract to the buttermilk and stir together.

6. Add the eggs, one at a time mixing between each egg to the sugar butter mixture.

7. Add 1/3 of the flour/salt/cocoa mixture to the and mix until just integrated.

8. Add 1/3 buttermilk mixture and mix until integrated. Repeat steps 6 & 7 another two times.

9. In a small bowl add the vinegar and baking soda together.

10. Immediately fold into batter.

11. Fill up the cup cake papers around 1/3 of the way.

12. Bake immediately, rotating 15 min into baking then bake another 6 or so min until a toothpick comes out clean.

13. Let cool, then ice.

Bread Pudding

A simple bread pudding using ready made ingredients: challah bread, dolce de lechi syrup some bitter sweet chocolate and eggs. It was alright, I'd been wanting to try this recipe for a while and when I finally got around to having an occasion to make it (thank you games night!) it was pretty easy to assemble. Not the greatest pudding, but pretty good in a pinch!
Thank you Josh for the photo!

Choc Chip Cookies

Something simple and quick is what I've been craving to make. Nothing fancy and complex. These are just simply choc chip (bitter sweet choc was used) with a bit of vanilla extract, some walnuts and a whole heap of butter. Another wonderful Dorie Greenspan recipe. I have to admit I love Dorie. Her recipes are simple, straight forward. However they aren't simple in their taste. They often have an adventurous side to them for instance incorporating unusual spices. And, the best part is, her recipes usually work and taste amazing.

Sucre, dried tart cherries and bitter sweet choc cookies

I have a confession to make, I always have left over sucre when I make a tart. Always, so this week I made a concerted effort to reduce my waste in that department. I did make cookies for the past two weeks (seriously 2 weeks of creaming and refrigerating) so I was feeling rather cocky on the cooky front. 

These were made with the left over sucre dough, some dried cherries that were hanging about and some bittersweet chocolate that I chopped up. I simply integrated the ingredients into the already warm sucre, rolled it into a log, wrapped it in plastic wrap and then put it in the fridge overnight. The next morning, I unwrapped it, cut it into around 1.5cm rounds, and baked it on a tray lined with baking parchment for around 15min (at 350F). 

They were pretty amazing if I do say so myself.