“Why have my macarons failed?! Why are there no feet?! Why have the macaron shells cracked? WHHHHHHYYYYY?????!!!!!”

Such is the cry of many frustrated home bakers. The fickle Macaron, two almond meringue domes sandwiched with buttercream or ganache, is known to incite wrath and despair in those that attempt to create this sweet treat.

A good Macaron has a perfect round shiny dome with “feet” around the base. The shell is crisp and delicate on the outside, giving way to light moist meringue that dissolves in your mouth. Achieving this, however, proves easier said than done!

When researching tips and tricks for making the perfect Macaron, the advice can seem endless and confusing. Who better to seek advice from than Australia’s legendary Macaron Master: Adriano Zumbo. I was lucky enough to attend a hands-on workshop with Zumbo, who has worked for internationally acclaimed pastry chef Pierre Herme in Paris before setting up his own extraordinary patisserie in Balmain, Sydney. With his guidance, patience and good-humour our class successfully made macarons! (and yes, he is just as affable as his appearances on Masterchef).

So, what tips did I learn about making the perfect Macaron?

How To: Make Macarons – The Macaron Recipe

For the recipe by Adriano Zumbo please see the Macaron shell recipe posted on the Masterchef website from the Macaron Tower episode Week 12, Monday 5th July (because republishing without permission is tres uncool). This recipe uses Italian Meringue, which is prepared by beating a hot sugar syrup into egg whites until firm peaks form.

How To: Make Sugar Syrup (for Italian Meringue)

• Exact temperature is important. Purchase a quality thermometer, digital if possible, as the sugar syrup needs to be at 118-121 degrees Celsius.
• Stir the mixture a little, but once the sugar has lifted from the bottom of the saucepan stop stirring. This minimises sugar crystal formation.
• Add water to the saucepan if the mixture gets too hot.

How To: Add colour to the shell

• It’s best to add colour during the sugar syrup process: the heat will evaporate any extra liquid, which can jeopardise the stability of your macaron shell.
• You can use either gel or powdered food colouring.

How To: Age Egg Whites

• The egg whites whipped in with the sugar syrup must be ‘aged’. Simply leave the bowl on a bench for two days. This reduces the moisture content and thins the egg white for maximum volume when they are whipped.
• There is no need to strain the whites to remove the membrane.

How To: Beat Egg Whites for Italian Meringue

• Start with aged egg whites at room temperature.
• When the sugar syrup reaches 100 degrees Celsius, begin beating the egg whites on slow speed (level 2 on a KitchenAid) to allow maximum volume to develop. If you start at full-speed it will whip faster, but on the downside it will quickly lose volume. The egg whites should be at soft peaks by the time the sugar syrup reaches 118-121 degrees.
• When adding the hot sugar syrup to the egg whites, pour it slowly down the side of the mixing bowl while beating.
• Pour from two sides of the bowl to prevent sugar building up in one place.
• Avoid hitting the whisk if possible to prevent spun-sugar from happening. Once added, you can start turning up the speed of the mixer (level 6-8 on a KitchenAid).
• Whip to a glossy firm meringue.
• The mixing bowl should still be warm to the touch. If cold, it’s a sign that there’s too much air in your meringue.

How To: Add flavour to the shells

• Preferably, use only dry ingredients and powders. Liquids such as fruit purees can be destructive.
• You could try substituting some of the almond meal for other types of nuts like pistachio for a different flavour and texture.
• Mix in the dry flavour along with the almond meal and icing sugar.

How To: Fold the meringue and dry ingredients

For a video tutorial on Macarons, watch this French YouTube video featuring Sebastien Richard. It’s a slightly different method, but demonstrates the vigorous mixing required

• Always sift the almond meal and pure icing sugar to minimise imperfections in the shell.
• Pour the meringue on top of the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula until all combined and the mixture is molten like lava.
• Then ’slap’ the air out of the mix with a few sharp ‘blows’ to the mix. Don’t be shy!  If you lift the batter with your spatula and it holds its shape, you need to keep mixing. It should run down the bowl.

How To: Bake Macarons

• Where possible, use two baking trays under your baking paper or silpat mat. By using a ‘double-tray’ you help avoid excess heat burning the base of your macaron shells.

How To: Pipe Macaron Shells

Watch this masterful piping demonstration

• Fill a piping bag two thirds full and twist the top to maintain tension.
• Pipe perpendicular to the table, keeping the nozzle in the mixture and allowing the mix to expand around the nozzle until at the desired size (25mm, ~a 20c piece).
• Once piped, tap the baking tray sharply a few times with your hand to even the domes and remove ripples.

How To: Dry Macaron Shells

This is an important step in forming feet and smooth shells.

• When the shell is gently touched the mixtures should not stick to your finger. You can dry the shells in a warm oven or at room temperature:
• In the oven: heat to 200 degrees Celsius, put in the piped macaron shells and turn off the heat. Once dried, bake for 5 minutes at 105 degrees.
• Room temp: leave shells uncovered to dry. Then bake at 135 degrees for around 15 minutes, or until the shell has set.
• When baking is complete, the shell should not stick to the tray.

How To: Fill and Store Macarons

• Pipe generous domes of cream onto one macaron shell, and sandwich with another half.
• Refrigerate, covered, for 24 hours to fully allow flavours to develop.
• Macarons can be kept frozen for 3-6 months.

AND OVERALL…

Technique, technique, technique! (practice, practice, practice)

We made macarons!

With a few tricks and tips up our sleeve, we made shiny smooth macaron shells with feet and the right texture. Glasses of champagne in hand, we sat back and toasted our success.

The days flavours included:

* Chestnut cream with passionfruit ganache,

* Raspberry shortbread with raspberry gel,

* Choc aero, mint caramel, mint creameaux and aero bubbles,

* Salted butter caramel, and

* Chocolate macaron with fig ganache and foie gras

Big big thank you to Adriano Zumbo for coming to Melbourne for the workshop and Essential Ingredient, for hosting the class.

The Essential Ingredient, Prahran VIC
(03) 9827 9047
cookingschool@essentialingredientvic.com.au

The Essential Ingredient, Rozelle NSW
(02) 9555 8300
rozelle@essentialingredient.com.au

I know how to christen my sparkly new KitchenAid now

Trust me to win something from a fitness website. When a 1.5kg bag of Carman’s Premium Traditional Oats landed on my doorstep, I envisioned baking kilos of naughty sugariffic crumble with it. Tee hee hee.

Contrary to my plans however, I slowly found oats creeping into my diet. In a totally adult responsible way too! Now I love starting the day with a big bowl of oats, soy milk, apple, banana and a dash of cinnamon. Gees, who knew The Cake Mistress had a healthy side? (Hope you’re reading this, Mum).

But surely, it’s possible to bake everything I love about breakfast into one big tasty muffin. And by jove, this morning I did it! This muffin features:

• Rolled oats
• Apple
• Banana
• Dried Apricots
• Dried Dates
• Cinnamon, and
• Earl Grey Tea infused Milk

The smell of warm cinnamon, apple and banana spills through the kitchen as they bake. Splitting a golden brown muffin in two straight from the oven reveals a fluffy moist crumb, while hints of apricot and earl grey reach your nose as the steam rises. A lick of butter, a glass of orange juice and your breakfast is complete.

Of course, feel free to substitute you favourite fruits for a different flavour combination. I know these babies are gonna see some mango pulp action once summer hits

Fruit & Oat Breakfast Muffins

Recipe by The Cake Mistress
Makes 12

300g Plain Flour
200g Caster Sugar
125ml Vegetable Oil
100ml Milk
1 Earl Grey Teabag
2 Large Eggs
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
20g Rolled Oats + more for the topping
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 apple, grated
1 banana, mashed
65g Dried Apricots, chopped
50g Dried Dates, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 12-hole muffin tin with non-stick spray.

Heat the milk in the microwave for 1 minute. Tear open the teabag and pour the contents into the hot milk. Allow to infuse for at least 5 minutes. Don’t strain the tea leaves from the milk.

In a medium bowl, hand whisk the oil, sugar and eggs. Add the mashed banana, cinnamon and milk, mixing well.
In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, oats, apple, dried apricots and dried dates, stirring well. Make a well in the middle and pour in the wet ingredients. Fold in the wet and dry ingredients with a wooden spoon, until just combined. Do not overmix.

Completely fill each muffin hole with batter. Sprinkle a few more oats on top to decorate. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Serve warm or cold. Keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

(This fruit and oat breakfast muffin recipe is inspired by, but largely deviates from a Donna Hay recipe spotted on Panda & Cakes.)

RAWR!!!

Meet my Procrastination Monster, Larry. Don’t worry, he’s pretty harmless, hiding most of the time.

Unless there’s a Deadline, or a Big Important Task to do. Then out he comes, magically transforming mundane tasks into exciting wonderlands of joy. Exams?  Looming deadlines? Look-wow-ohmeegosh I never noticed how dirty the floor is! I should totally apply some floorboard polish. Make that three layers. With a toothbrush. Wheeeeee, awesome fun times! (true story). I completely relate to the cartoon Procrastinators cycle by the hyperactive Hyperbole and a Half. Check it out for laughs. Not to procrastinate further, of course. It’s self-awareness research. Yeah.

But bometimes a little delicious bribery is needed to break the procrastination cycle. Hellllloo Peanut Butter and Chocolate slices of heaven!

These have a crumbly cheesecake biscuit base, a squidgy peanut butter centre that tastes just like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and a chocolate topping. Sold yet?

How about…. no baking is needed for these peanut butter and chocolate squares. Now? You’ve already got a spoon in a jar of peanut butter, haven’t you. Don’t worry, I won’t tell.

This slice is handy if you want something sweet but can’t be bothered fiddling around and waiting for things to cook. It’s also really easy to make so it’s great for involving kids in the kitchen. Yielding around 48 small squares, it’s a brilliant go-to recipe for making cake stall goodies in a jiffy.

Full credit must go to my housemate, the lovely Ms Jezza J for making these delectable squares. Thanks

Question: So i’ve admitted to polishing floors with a toothbrush to avoid work . What’s the craziest thing you’ve done to avoid a task?

PEANUT BUTTER & CHOCOLATE SLICE RECIPE

Makes 48 small squares

Base:
200g Plain Biscuits
80-100g Unsalted Butter, melted

Filling:
50g Dark Muscovado Sugar (or dark Brown sugar)
200g Icing Sugar
50g Unsalted Butter
200g Smooth Peanut Butter

Topping:
200g Quality Milk Chocolate
100g Quality Dark Chocolate
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter

DIRECTIONS

Line a 23cm square tray with baking paper.

To make the base, pulverise the biscuits and butter in a food processor until the mixture sticks together when compressed. Press into the bottom of the tray.

Next, whizz together the sugar, icing, butter and peanut butter until mostly combined. Press on top of the biscuit base and smooth the top.

Lastly, nuke the chocolate and butter in the microwave until melted. Heat for 20-30 second bursts, stirring after each one. Spread the chocolate on top and refrigerate the slice. When the chocolate has set, cut into small cubes.

(recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson: How to be a Domestic Goddess)

Brrrrr, it’s mighty cold here now. My evenings are spent displaying my cutting-edge style, huddled on the couch in a high-fashion blend of hobo chic and total shut-in. Only a rhinestone-studded Snuggie could surpass this level of haute couture, daaaaahlings.

With the dreadful cold upon us, warding-off the loogies is top priority. Hot tea and Vitamin C to the rescue! It’s tea-riffic! (Groan, mild case of cabin-fever there). Enter, the Earl Grey infused cupcake with an orange marmalade glaze. It’s totes good for you, he he.

Earl Grey is a mild tea flavoured with bergamot citrus oil, which also gives the brew a gorgeous fragrance. In the cupcake, the delicate flavour of Earl Grey is achieved by infusing milk with the tea leaves for at least 30 minutes, then adding the softened tea leaves to the cupcake batter. A sweet glossy glaze made with icing sugar, marmalade and fresh orange juice complements the cake perfectly.

One could retire indoors, sheltered from the weather, with a nice pot of tea and an Earl Grey cupcake or two just like a prim-and-proper lady. One could almost forget one’s wearing Nanna socks and a fetching pill-riddled bathrobe that makes one look like a shaggy pink Snuffleupagus.

H.O.T.T

EARL GREY CUPCAKES WITH MARMALADE FROSTING

Makes 12 cupcakes

YOU WILL NEED

Cupcakes:
1/3 cup Full-cream milk
2 Earl Grey Teabags
100g  Unsalted butter, room temperature
2  Large eggs
160g Caster Sugar
190g Self Raising Flour

Glaze:
230g Icing Sugar
2 tablespoons Marmalade
2 tablespoons Fresh squeezed orange juice (minimum)
Extra marmalade to garnish

DIRECTIONS

Infuse the milk with earl grey: split open the two teabags and pour the contents into a small saucepan with the milk. Cover the saucepan with clingfilm, bring to the boil, then simmer for at least 10 minutes (30 minutes is best). Strain the infused milk, topping up to the volume to 1/3 cup if some milk has evaporated. Keep the softened tea leaves.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with cases.
Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, beating until light and fluffy. Pour in the infused tea, tea leaves and flour. Using an electric beater on medium speed, beat the mixture until creamy.

Fill each patty case with a heaped tablespoon of batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are a golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

To make the frosting, stir the icing sugar, marmalade and juice in a small bowl. Keep adding juice to make a thick but spreadable paste. Spread the frosting on the top of each cake and dollop the centre with a ¼ teaspoon of marmalade.

(recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson)

It’s baaaaack! With a little more free time on my hands, the weekly recipe round-up returns. The aim is to highlight the coolest, amazing, noteworthy or unique Australian baking and dessert recipes and perhaps introduce you to some new bloggers. There’s some crazy creative people out there!

The recipes are sourced mainly from the blogs on the Oz Baking Blogroll. If you’re an Australian baker and you’d like to be included on the list, please send me an email info@thecakemistress.com

BEST AUSTRALIAN BAKING RECIPES

Leave Room for Dessert did an incredible job recreating Adriano Zumbo’s V8 Cake

My Button Cake made adorable Toffee Apple Cupcakes

Food 4 Thought made Lime Tart to-go with these Lime Slices

Butter Hearts Sugar made Glazed Doughnuts

It Pleases Us cracked the Crema Catalana

Not Quite Nigella reveals The Tea Room’s Scone recipe

Sometimes you just want something sweet, fast and easy. Enter the four ingredient, five minute chocolate fudge. ZOMG. Know what’s even better? It’s another One Bowl Wonder. Double ZOMG.

This simple fudge recipe is so flexible: use flavour-infused chocolates such as orange, mint and chilli for a quick flavour change. You could even used dark chocolate and add dried fruits like candied ginger or orange, cranberries, glace cherries. Oh my. You might have to try them all, you know, to definitively find your favourite

EASY CHOCOLATE FUDGE

YOU WILL NEED

395g Tin Sweetened Condensed Milk
50g Unsalted Butter, cubed
200g Finely Chopped Dark Chocolate (Flavour of Choice)
200g Finely Chopped Dark Chocolate (Plain)

optional: 100g dried fruit of your choice

DIRECTIONS

Line the sides and base of a square cake tin measuring 18cm. In a medium saucepan, gently heat the condensed milk and butter on low heat until melted. Stir continuously. While the mixture is warm, stir in the chocolate until completely melted. Immediately pour the fudge into the cake tin. Smooth the top and refrigerate until firm (2-4 hours). When set, cut the fudge into squares. Store at room temperature in an airtight container. Keeps for at least 5 days.

(adapted from Kitchen Classics: Chocolate)

It’s my birthday today! Just a quick post filled with gratuitous cake photos to illustrate my Cake Week of Much Awesomeness.

The week started with a two day French Gateaux course at Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School, where we made four amazing cakes. Wednesday was recipe testing day for a project i’m working on. Then my housemate made totally tasty Chocolate & Peanut Butter Slice for work. All recipes are being written up soon for you soon, promise.

Enjoy!!

French Gateaux: pistachio dacquoise, apricot compote and praline cream

French Gateaux: version two decorated with chocolate spheres filled with praline cream

French Gateaux: Strawberry Charlotte

French Gateaux: brownie base, caramelised bananas, coffee cream and chocolate glaze

French Gateaux: coconut dacquoise, white chocolate cream, passionfruit cream and white chocolate glaze

Nigella’s Earl Grey Cupcakes with Orange Marmelade Glaze

“Mint-velvet” cake with Minty Creamcheese Frosting

Nigella’s Chocolate & Peanut Butter Slice

I promise I’m eating lots of vegetables for dinner tonight

Tell me friends, what’s the greatest or most memorable birthday cake you’ve had? (I reckon the creations in the Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake Book are next on my list of totally awesome cakes)

Bake in style wearing this adorable homemade pink cotton cupcake hostess apron with black straps. Also available in baby blue, the apron is made by Wonderland Avenue (NSW) and can be purchased on Madeit for $34.95 AUD. Super cute!

Being solely a sugar-pusher, I dreamed up a sweet version of a taco  for the International Taco Incident Party hosted by Jeroxie. Also, because it’s my birthday the taco was destined to involve cream and chocolate whether it liked it or not. Bwah ha ha.

The Cake Mistress dessert taco starts with a soft tortilla slathered in dark chocolate dip. Dollop a generous line of homemade creme patissiere (vanilla custard) down the centre, then top with fresh fruit. Roll up the tortilla and decorate the cocoon of awesome with drizzled chocolate and a dusting of icing sugar.

If you wanted to be naughty, you could replace the fruit with mini-marshmallows, cookie dough and crushed oreos, but in preparation for my forthcoming cake-a-thon, I thought it best to squeeze some nutritional value from the dessert taco.

The dessert taco could even appear at a casual dinner party. No, I’m not crazy. With the fillings on the table buffet-style, it’s like serving fondue but better. Why?

• The tortilla is a plate,
• which morphs into the glorious wrapping for your sweet parcel of joy,
• which in turn holds lots of goodies for your eating pleasure,
• which is better than a lousy fondue fork with a capacity of 0.5 strawberries,
• and avoids dirty double-dippers

Dessert taco: it’s a fondue sandwich. Yeah baby.

To see more Taco creations, head to Jeroxie for the full list of contributors.

HOW TO MAKE A DESSERT TACO

YOU WILL NEED

Creme Patissiere:
500 ml Full cream milk
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 large Egg yolks
1 large Whole Egg
125 g Caster Sugar
40 g Plain Flour
plus
Soft tortilla shells
Dark Chocolate dipping sauce
Icing Sugar
Fruit of your choice, chopped (I liked strawberry, banana and kiwifruit)

DIRECTIONS

To make Creme Patissiere:
In a medium saucepan, slowly heat the milk and vanilla on low-med heat until the milk starts to boil. While the milk is heating, hand-whisk the egg yolks, egg and sugar together in a separate bowl until pale and thickened. Add in the flour and whisk until combined. Remove milk from heat when boiled. While continuously whisking the egg mixture, slowly pour in the hot milk in a slow stream until all combined. Pour the mixture into a clean saucepan and whisk continuously over medium heat until a thick custard forms. Pour custard into a bowl, cover the surface with cling-crap to prevent a crust forming, and refrigerate until cool.

Assembly:
Heat the tortilla in the microwave for a few seconds so it’s easier to fold. Spread a layer of chocolate over the entire base of the tortilla. Spoon a line of creme patissiere down the centre. Top with fresh fruit and roll into a tortilla. Drizzle the top with more chocolate and dust with icing sugar. Enjoy.

This is Mum’s special chocolate cake with special powers.

It had the power to score me some cool stuff on the playground: “trade you my Homer Simpson pencil topper for your slice of cake?”. Fun for a while, but soon I had to wait until everyone was busy playing handball before I could sneak out my pieces of cake without being mobbed. It’s the cake that suddenly made you everyone’s Bestest Friend. The cake that was waiting for us, warm and freshly iced after a hard day of spelling and math at school.

It’s the cake that was always there in the lunchbox for morning tea, delicately sprinkled with coconut or hundreds and thousands. Oh lordy, those seconds between releasing the goods from its tight clingfilm cocoon and filling your cake-hole seemed like eternity. Mum would include two pieces for my best friend and I. We’d sit on the benches, sharing cake and secrets, giggling over our crushes. When I was 10 years old way back in 1994 I had the biggest crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas, or ‘JTT’. Who? You ask.

He played Randy on the TV show Home Improvement.

AND he was the voice of Simba in The Lion King.

And starred in a bunch of movies that are inconsequential now.

(take that Justin Bieber)

This chocolate cake has the power to conjure up Home. And I’ve been craving anything that reminds me of home right now. The neverending challenges and difficulties that have arisen in the 18 months I’ve been away from family and friends have seemed darn near insurmountable. This year I’ve learned the depths of personal strength, and learned how to perfect Mum’s chocolate cake recipe in the process.

It’s rewarding to notice how your baking skills improve with time: I’ve baked this cake occasionally over the last 10 years, and while the end result is perfectly fine, it just hasn’t had the exact same texture or flavour of Mum’s cake. But I’ve finally done it!

This recipe yields one crazy-moist chocolate cake perfect for afternoon tea, or even as a base for a birthday cake. You know what’s even better? It’s another One Bowl Wonder! The secret to it’s deep flavour and texture lies in the use of jam in the recipe. I’ve frosted the cake with my new favourite chocolate buttercream (which I managed to smear on the cake in the photo above, oops).

I must warn you: the frosting recipe makes more icing that the cake can hold. If you’re prone to sneaking spoonfuls of frosting from the bowl like me, you might want to place as much distance between the sugary goodess and yourself like the chocoholic in this hilarious Kids in The Hall sketch (another blast from the past). By the way, if my chocolate addiction ever goes this far, please stage an intervention:

Mum’s Chocolate Cake

YOU WILL NEED

Cake:
125g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Plain Flour
3/4 cup Buttermilk
1/2 cup Caster Sugar
2 large Eggs
1/3 cup Self Raising Flour
1 teaspoon Bicarb Soda
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup Strawberry Jam

Frosting:
300g Icing sugar
100g Unsalted Butter, room temperature
40g Cocoa Powder, sifted
50 ml Whole Milk

Makes one 20cm cake

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease a 20cm cake tin.

In a large bowl beat softened butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until thick, pale and creamy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour in the jam and beat until the mixture is smooth.

Add the bicarb soda. Sift in half of the plain and self raising flours and cocoa powder, folding them in gently with half of the buttermilk. Add the remaining flour and buttermilk, continuing to fold until just combined. The mixture should resemble a thick chocolate mousse.

Scoop into the cake tin and bake for 35 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pan, then turn onto a wire rack.

To make the frosting, beat the icing sugar, butter and cocoa powder with an electric mixer until combined. Add the milk, then whip the frosting with the beaters for around 5 minutes. This makes it nice and fluffy and helps dissolve some of the icing sugar. When the cake is completely cool, slather the top with frosting.