Macarons – Page 2

Chocolate, cupcakes, Desserts, Strawberry

The Pink Cupcake (#10000cupcakes)

October 19, 2015October 19, 2015by thebusyspatula10 Comments

October is breast cancer awareness month! When I found out that KitchenAid is donating $1 to Susan G. Komen for every original picture of a cupcake baked and shared, I had to jump on board.

Since pink is the color for breast cancer awareness, I decided to make the pinkest cupcake I can possibly make. With a pink velvet cake base and strawberry frosting, the cupcake is already pink. But once topped with tiny sparkling pink macarons sandwiched with chocolate ganache (macarons are my favorite!), pink and white colored edible pearls, edible silver stars, gumpaste flowers and specks of pink shimmer, it is filled to the brim with all things pink and white.
Of course, you don’t have to decorate the cupcakes like I did. The pink velvet cake, strawberry frosting, ganache and macarons are all delicious individually and together. And I encourage you to try your own combination of flavors and components to make your own unique creation.
So here’s to all to those who are fighting, supporting, hurting, recovering, helping, treating and healing from breast cancer or with a loved one with breast cancer. You are stronger than you think.

The Pink Cupcake

1 batch of pink velvet cupcakes (recipe below)
1 batch of strawberry frosting (recipe below)
1 batch of pink mini macarons (recipe below)
1 batch of chocolate ganache (recipe below)
edible pink pearls (optional)
edible white pearls (optional)
edible silver stars (optional)
edible pink shimmer dust (optional)
white gumpaste flowers (optional)

Instructions

On a pink velvet cupcake, with a 1M Wilton frosting tip, frosting a swirl of strawberry frosting.
Sprinkle with edible pink and white pearls and sprinkle silver stars and pink shimmer dust.
Top with two pink mini macarons and two gumpaste flowers.
Enjoy.

Pink Velvet Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ c. butter, at room temperature
1 ½ c. granulated white sugar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. pink gel food coloring
1 cup buttermilk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl, mix both flours, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds.
Add sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time until incorporated and beat in food coloring.
Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to egg mixture on low speed.
Fill cupcake liners two-thirds full. Bake 15-17 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

Strawberry Puree

Ingredients:
3 cups of strawberries, smashed
1 tsp. lemon juice

Instructions:

In a small pot, cook strawberries and lemon juice on medium heat until mixture thickens and reduces 1/3-1/2 of the original volume, about 5-10 minutes.
Once thickened, put in a bowl to cool and refrigerate.

Basic Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:
2 c. whole milk
½ c. flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 1b. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a saucier pan, put milk, salt and flour and whisk until combined on medium heat.
Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture and put into the fridge until fully cool.
In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Strawberry Frosting

Ingredients:
1 batch of strawberry puree
⅔ batch of vanilla frosting

Instructions:

Mix vanilla frosting with ½ of strawberry puree until the mixture turns strawberry pink and fluffy.
Give mix a taste and if not flavored enough, add puree ¼ at a time until desired flavor is reached.

Pink Mini Macarons

Ingredients:

212 g. almond meal
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar
158 g. water
pink gel food color
pink sparkling sugar (optional)

Instructions:

Line four baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
In the bowl of your food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear. Add 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
Once the syrup reaches 248 degrees, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks. Add two drops of the pink gel food color and mix until batter turns a light shade of pink.
Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty. From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”. The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
With a pastry bag fitted with a ¼ in. plain tip, pipe mini macarons by squeezing the pastry bag with slight pressure.
The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two. Let the batter stand until the tops of the macaron batter have dried*, about 30 mins to 1 hour.
Optional: If using pink sparkling sugar, sprinkle it on top of macaron batter after the batter is piped.
Preheat the oven to 275-325˚F. If your oven tends to run hot, go for 275˚ if not then 325˚.
Bake 10-13 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth. The batter is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
Let cool and fill with chocolate ganache filling.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:
8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
¾ c. heavy whipping cream

Instructions:

In a heatproof bowl, pour heavy cream on top of chocolate and microwave for one minute.
Let stand 3 minutes and stir until combined.
Let mixture cool in the fridge and stir every 4-5 minutes until the ganache is firm enough to be spread onto macaron shells.

Cookies, Desserts, Macarons, Milk Bar, Vanilla

Cereal Macarons with Cereal Milk Frosting

July 24, 2015July 24, 2015by thebusyspatula30 Comments

Cereal and I have a love/hate relationship. I love how there are endless flavors and textures, how each cereal turns plain milk into a unique drink, and how you can eat it for pretty much any meal or snack (and even when you run out of milk, you can eat it plain, kind of like teeny tiny cookies).
On the other hand, I hate it for two reasons: 1) I pretty much cannot stop eating it once I open it up. It’s rare for me to have the “recommended serving”. I once took out a measuring cup and measured exactly one serving. Dude, it’s the size of my fist and I have small fists. 2) I hate soggy cereal. I think there is nothing worse than fully saturated cereal. It gets all mushy and some even start deteriorating into the milk. Don’t ask me to do something once that milk hits the bowl, because unless it’s a real emergency I’m taking the five minutes to eat it.
This recipe takes two of the best parts of cereal: the crispy bits and the cereal milk. No sogginess, and you can customize each macaron flavor to whatever you wish! The cereal milk from this recipe tastes like the cereal milk you would get from Frosted Corn Flakes. (I got the inspiration from Momofuku Milk Bar’s cereal milk soft serve.) I suppose you could try using a different cereal (sans the toasting) and you would technically get the flavor that cereal’s milk.
It was really exciting to watch them bake and I loved seeing them in so many different colors and textures. The Lucky Charms batch smelled especially good in the oven. I think it was the marshmallow bits baking and yes, they were magically delicious.

Cereal Macarons with Cereal Milk Frosting

Ingredients:
212 g. almond meal
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar
158 g. water
cereal of your choice, crushed (I bought the multipack of mini bags to have a variety.)
cereal milk frosting (recipe below)

Instructions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear. Add 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
Once the syrup reaches 248 ˚F, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks.
Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty. From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”. The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
With a pastry bag fitted with a ½ in. plain tip, pipe 1¼ – 1½ in. rounds.
The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two.
On half of the macaron shells, sprinkle on desired crushed cereal.
Let the batter stand until the tops of the macarons are dry to the touch, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 325-350˚F. If your oven tends to run hot go for 325˚F, if not then 350˚F.
Lower the heat to from 350˚F to 300˚F. (If starting from 325˚F, lower to 275˚F.)
Bake 10-12 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth. The macaron shell is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
Remove pan from oven and reheat oven to higher temperature for 10 minutes before baking the next tray, lowering the temperature when you start baking it.
Pipe a dollop of cereal milk frosting on the plain macaron shell.
Top it with crushed cereal macaron, flattening it slightly to push the frosting to the outer edge.
*This step is optional but I prefer to age my macarons. To do so, place assembled macarons in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight. The next day, the macaron shells will have softened slightly and in my opinion, more delicious.

Cereal Milk Frosting

1½ c. cereal milk (recipe below)
1/4 c. flour
½ tsp. kosher salt
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ c. sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a small pot over medium heat, whisk milk, salt and flour until combined.
Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture (to prevent skin from forming) and put bowl into the fridge until fully cool.
In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Cereal Milk

Ingredients:

3 ½ c. Corn Flakes cereal
4 c. whole milk, cold

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300˚F.
On a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, toast cereal for 5-7 minutes, until slightly deeper in color.
Cool toasted cereal.
In a large bowl, mix cereal and milk and steep for 30 minutes, until cereal is soggy.
Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer. (Do not force mixture through mesh strainer. The resulting milk will be starchy and thicker than what you started with.)

*Macaron recipe adapted from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller, Sebastien Rouxel.
*Cereal milk recipe adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi, David Chang.

Cakes, Cookies, Desserts, Holidays, Macarons

A (Belated) Blogiversary, A Funfetti Cake Batter Cake & A Giveaway

May 6, 2015June 27, 2016by thebusyspatula28 Comments

It’s my first Blogiversary! One year ago, I started blogging on this little website with a lot of encouragement from friends and family. I cannot believe that it has already been a year. Each time I am able to share recipes, tutorials or whatever this brain of mine thinks of, I am so grateful to be able to send off a little piece of my creativity into the webosphere. I’m even more grateful to the all of you who take the time out of your day to read the little bits of me that I post on my wee space on the internet.
Because anything celebratory requires sprinkles (or glitter) in my brain, I made a little cake chock-full with sprinkles for this post. It has sprinkles in the frosting, around the outside, and on the macarons. (I originally wanted to do a funfetti cake, but being me I totally forgot to add the sprinkles to the cake batter so instead it went into the frosting.) And because I love all things macarons, I added some funfetti macarons. The cake and the macarons are filled with cake batter frosting. My secret ingredient to making it taste like cake batter? Boxed cake mix. *GASP*I know. I never ever ever ever ever use boxed cake mix but this is the one time exception. And because it uses boxed cake mix, it is definitely on the sweeter side of the dessert spectrum. It also has that nostalgic bake sale cupcake taste that I loved in my youth.
To celebrate my ridiculously belated blogiversary, I’m hosting a giveaway! If you know me at all, Target is one of my favorite places to shop. I’m telling you, I cannot walk out of that store without something in my hand! It literally has everything you need so I’m giving away a $25 gift card so that you too can enjoy a small shopping trip to Target.* Entering the giveaway is so simple! Simply follow me on Instagram and like my giveaway photo and for an extra entry, like and leave a comment on this post about what kind of cake you like. The giveaway ends on Friday, May 8^th and if the winner does not respond within 3 days, I will be selecting another one. Funfetti Cake Batter Cake and Macarons

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake (recipe below)
Funfetti Cake Batter Frosting (recipe below)
Funfetti Macarons (recipe below)
1-2 c. Sprinkles

Instructions:

Evenly fill and stack each layer of vanilla cake with funfetti cake batter frosting.
Crumb coat the cake with a thin layer of cake batter frosting (funfetti cake batter frosting without the sprinkles.)
Place cake in freezer for 5 minutes until the frosting on the outside sets firmly.
Once crumb coat is set, frost the entire cake with cake batter frosting.
Take a handful of sprinkles and slowly cup the outside of the cake, patting it to ensure full coverage. (This part will create a mess. Sprinkles will bounce and fall everywhere.)
Let frosting set in freezer for 5 minutes.
Take cake out and frost little mounds of frosting around the top of the cake and attach a funfetti macaron for decoration.

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake

Ingredients:
1.5 c. cake flour
1 c. sugar
½ tbsp. baking powder
⅛ tsp. salt
¾ c. buttermilk, divided
4 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line four 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
In a bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.
On low speed, add ½ c. buttermilk and butter and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolk, ¼ c. buttermilk, and vanilla extract until homogenous.
On low speed, slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture.
Increase speed to medium, and mix until combined.
Evenly divide cake batter into the three cake pans.
Bake about 20-25 minutes until cake is done or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then move onto a cooling rack until completely cool.

Funfetti Cake Batter Frosting

Ingredients:
3 c. whole milk
¾ c. flour
¼ tsp. salt
1½ 1b. (6 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 c. sugar
¼ c. cake mix
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
½ c. sprinkles

Instructions:

In a saucier pan, put milk, salt and flour and whisk until combined on medium heat.
Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture and put into the fridge until fully cool.
In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract and cake mix and mix until combined.
Reserve ⅔ of the mixture for filling the macarons and frosting the outside of the cake.
Mix ½ c. sprinkles into the remaining frosting for filling the cake.

Funfetti Macarons

Ingredients:
212 g. almond meal
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar
158 g. water
nonpareils for decorating
cake batter frosting (recipe above)

Instructions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear. Add the crystalized lemon and 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
Once the syrup reaches 248 ˚F, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks.
Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty. From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”. The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
With a pastry bag fitted with a ½ in. plain tip, pipe 1¼ – 1½ in. rounds.
The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two.
Sprinkle nonpareils evenly over macaron shells.
Let the batter stand until the tops of the macarons are dry to the touch, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 275-325˚F. If your oven tends to run hot go for 275˚F, if not then 325˚F.
Bake 10-13 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth. The batter is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
Once cool, frost the inside of the macaron shell with cake batter frosting and sandwich with another macaron shell.

* Open to U.S. Residents only. Winner will be contacted via email.

Cookies, Desserts, Fruit, Lemon, Macarons

Lemon Basil Macarons

March 25, 2015March 25, 2015by thebusyspatula7 Comments

The first day of spring came and went with a generous dose of snow in New Jersey and there are still patches of snow here and there. Like many of you, I’m craving warm weather like a breath underwater. I kind of feel like I’m at the end of a race and I can see the finish line, but no matter how fast I run it’s not getting any closer.
As I stared blankly into my fridge on a frigid Saturday morning, I saw a bag of lemons I bought a couple of weeks ago. Isn’t it funny how we tend to forget things in the crisper drawer? I swear, once I found a few grapes that were beginning to become raisins. Okay, that was kind of gross. Anyways, something about the bright yellow of lemons conjured up thoughts of springtime, warm weather, fresh flowers, sandals, dresses without tights, picnics and longer days, and I just had to use them right away.
These lemon basil macarons are made with lemon macaron shells and filled with a vanilla basil buttercream and homemade lemon curd. The flavor of the basil is subtle and hits you at the very end. I should tell you that as the days go by, the basil becomes less and less pronounced so it is better eaten sooner than later. I thought about incorporating a stronger basil flavor by steeping some basil in warm milk before making the buttercream, but I got cold feet. In fact, I wasn’t sure if lemon and basil would make a good pairing. I’m a little wary of adding a savory element to my desserts but it turned out very tasty. If you love basil though, it might not be enough of a “punch” for you. I suppose you could add more basil to the frosting to increase the basil factor.
For the lemon macaron shells, I used crystallized lemon. I happened to have some True Lemon lying around and I think it’s a better alternative to using lemon juice. As you know, macarons are very finicky and I’m not quite sure how the extra liquid in lemon juice would affect the batter. If you want, you can omit the crystallized lemon in the recipe. I feel that the lemon curd has enough of a citrus punch but if you can use it, I recommend it.
The lemon curd recipe makes more than you need, but it’s so delicious that I’m sure you won’t mind having extra around. I’m already thinking of another recipe to use it in. These macarons really taste like springtime in your mouth. I think you’ll love it.
Lemon Basil Macarons
Ingredients:
212 g. almond meal
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar
158 g. water
1 ½ tsp. crystallized lemon
yellow gel food color
green gel food color (optional: for decorative brushstrokes)
vanilla basil buttercream (recipe below)
lemon curd (recipe below)

Instructions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear. Add the crystallized lemon and 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
Once the syrup reaches 248 ˚F, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks.
Add yellow gel food coloring little by little until the desire color is reached.
Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty. From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”. The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
With a pastry bag fitted with a ½ in. plain tip, pipe 1¼ – 1½ in. rounds.
The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two.
Let the batter stand until the tops of the macarons are dry to the touch, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 275-325˚F. If your oven tends to run hot go for 275˚F, if not then 325˚F.
Bake 10-13 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth. The batter is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
Once cool, mix a tiny bit of water with a small amount of green gel food color and with a small (food use only) paintbrush, paint small strokes onto the macaron shells. Let dry.
Pipe a small circle of vanilla basil frosting on the outer border of a macaron shell. This creates a dam so the lemon curd does not ooze out.
Fill the center of the macaron with the lemon curd and top with another macaron shell.

Vanilla Basil Buttercream

Ingredients:
½ c. whole milk
3 tbsp. flour
⅛ tsp. salt
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ c. sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. fresh basil, finely minced and stems discarded

Instructions:

In a small pot over medium heat, whisk milk, salt and flour until combined.
Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture (to prevent skin from forming) and put bowl into the fridge until fully cool.
In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract and minced basil and mix until combined.

Lemon Curd

Ingredients:
5 egg yolks
1 ¼ c. sugar
⅓ c. lemon juice
zest of 4 lemons
1 pinch of kosher salt
4 oz. (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 8 pieces

Instructions:

Start a double boiler by adding water in a small pot and bringing it to a simmer.
In a medium metal bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until smooth. (Make sure the metal bowl is wider than the small pot of water.)
Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and salt and mix until combined.
Place the metal bowl above the small pot of simmering water and whisk until the mixture is thickened. About 8 minutes or around 170˚
Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in butter one piece at a time, making sure each piece has melted before adding the next.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

*Macaron recipe adapted from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller, Sebastien Rouxel.
** Lemon curd recipe adapted from Alton Brown.

Chocolate, Cookies, Desserts, Macarons, Vanilla

Cookies and Cream Macarons

January 27, 2015March 25, 2015by thebusyspatula3 Comments

Another year has come and gone, and as predicted a slew of healthy dishes and diet how-tos flooded my newsfeed as soon as the new year started. I’m all for being healthy and starting with a blank slate, but what’s life without a little treat now and then? Personally, I feel like I’ve been indulging a little more than I should since January. Actually, I think I’ve been eating worse than I did during the holidays. Am I the only person who is at their heaviest from January to March? I’ll chalk it up to holiday blues… and not my obvious laziness. Talking about laziness, does anyone else still have their Christmas tree up? I keep putting that particular task off every week. I just know it’s going to stay up till February. Help.
You know what didn’t last though? These macarons. I made this ridiculously tall, four layered red velvet chocolate cookies and cream cake for my brother’s birthday and I happened to have a bit of the frosting leftover, and that is what sparked this macaron. What makes this cookies and cream frosting different from the standard cookies and cream? It is made with cookies and cream cookie butter. I picked up a jar of this cookie butter from Trader Joe’s months ago but I still had more than half the jar left. Stirred into my go-to vanilla frosting and lots of Oreo cookie crumbs, it tastes just like an Oreo.
Do my photos look any different? Mr. L gifted me with a gorgeous Nikon D3200, and I’m hoping to get to learn how to shoot photos correctly with this thing. I’m having a tough time getting the right things to focus. Other than that, I’m ecstatic to start the new year with new equipment and fresh ideas. Here’s to a new year. 🙂

Cookies and Cream Macarons

Basic French Macarons

Ingredients:
212 g. almond meal
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar
158 g. water
6 Oreos, crushed into crumbs

Instructions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear. Add 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
Once the syrup reaches 248 ˚F, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff
Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty. From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”. The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
With a pastry bag fitted with a ½ in. plain tip, pipe 1¼ – 1½ in. rounds.
The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two. Take cookie crumbs and sprinkle onto tops of wet batter.
Let the batter stand until the tops of the macarons are dry to the touch, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 275-325˚F. If your oven tends to run hot go for 275˚F, if not then 325˚F.
Bake 10-13 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth. The batter is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
Let cool and fill.

Cookies and Cream Frosting

Ingredients:
½ c. whole milk
3 tbsp. flour
⅛ tsp. salt
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ c. cookies and cream cookie butter
12 Oreo cookies, crushed into crumbs

Instructions:

In a small pot over medium heat, whisk milk, salt and flour until combined.
Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture (to prevent skin from forming) and put bowl into the fridge until fully cool.
In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract and cookie butter and mix until combined.
Fold in Oreo cookie crumbs.

Cookies, Desserts, Disney, Holidays, Macarons, Parties, Star Wars, Vanilla

Christmas Wreath Macarons

December 11, 2014March 25, 2015by thebusyspatula8 Comments

Am I the only person that thinks that Christmas snuck upon us this year? I feel like I was waiting forever for Thanksgiving and then BAM! Christmas is right around the corner. (Did anyone else think of this Friends’ scene when they read BAM?) I’ve been dreaming of these macarons since December started and I finally had a chance to bake them earlier this week.
Is it cold where you live? It’s been freezing in NJ and I am not used to working in a cooler kitchen. The weather must’ve been super dry because my macaron shells set before I was able to place my sprinkles, hence the little cracks in the shell where I tried to force each sprinkle in with a pair of tweezers (kitchen-use-only-tweezers). I have to admit I was getting quite frustrated with making them and then this happened:
Here are my attempts at his mug shots.
The thing is, Bear, my cat loves to watch me bake and prep food on the kitchen table. He demands to sit on his own chair and Petey (my other cat) was occupying Bear’s usual space. Fed up with watching from the floor, he decided to get up close and onto the table where the trays of macarons were drying. If you don’t know already, macaron batter is sticky and it took forever to get the green goo out of his tiny paws. Not to mention the trail of green batter on the floor he left when he ran away from me.
Despite my frustrations making this particular recipe, I think the macarons would make a cute addition to any cookie platter and add a bit of holiday flair. You can also change up the look of the macaron with different sprinkles. Just make sure you put them on before the shells dry out. If you don’t, they’ll just bounce off like hail on cement pavement.

Christmas Wreath Macarons

Ingredients:

212 g. almond meal
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar
158 g. water
green gel food color
various sprinkles

Instructions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear. Add 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
Once the syrup reaches 248 degrees, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks. Add two drops of the green gel food color and mix until batter turns a bright shade of green.
Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty. From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”. The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
With a pastry bag fitted with a ¼ in. plain tip, pipe a ring of macaron batter leaving the hole in the center as wide as possible. (If you do not, it will close up when the macaron bakes.)
Before the batter dries, place your sprinkles in the desired area.
The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two. Let the batter stand until the tops of the macaron batter are dry to the touch, about 30 mins to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 275-325˚F. If your oven tends to run hot go for 275˚, if not then 325˚.
Bake 10-13 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth. The batter is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
Let cool and fill.

Basic Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:
2 c. whole milk
½ c. flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 1b. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a saucier pan, put milk, salt and flour and whisk until combined on medium heat.
Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture and put into the fridge until fully cool.
In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.

*Basic macarons adapted from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller, Sebastien Rouxel.

Chocolate, Cookies, Desserts, Macarons, Vanilla

Chocolate Frosted Flake Macarons

May 30, 2014March 25, 2015by thebusyspatula13 Comments

I tend to pair certain foods with particular people. Frosted Flakes is one of them. My grandmother started every morning with a bowl of frosted flakes while doing her daily Bible reading with her red pen. I woke up particularly early yesterday morning and that certain memory came to mind. Plus, the weather was unusually cool and dry and perfect for macarons. Call it fate, but that’s how this macaron flavor was born. Chocolate Frosted Flake Macarons 7 I know, I know. Frosted Flake macarons? It sounds odd, but it’s really good! I even brought them out with me yesterday and someone noted that it might’ve been the best macaron he ever had.
It starts with a vanilla macaron base. (The speckles are from the almond skins my almond flour had.) Then, it’s filled with a salted milk jam* filling, to mimic that sweet milk you get when you eat Frosted Flakes. The tops are dipped into melted sweet chocolate and garnished with a few Frosted Flakes. I really love how the Frosted Flakes stand up and add an architectural look to them. They’re pretty to look at and they’re grrrreat to eat.

Chocolate Frosted Flake Macarons

You will need:
yellow vanilla macaron shells
salted milk jam filling
semi-sweet chocolate, melted
frosted flakes

Basic French Macarons

Ingredients:
212 g. almond meal
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar
158 g. water
yellow gel food color

Instructions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear. Add 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
Once the syrup reaches 248 degrees, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks. Add two drops of the yellow gel food color and mix until batter turns a light shade of yellow.
Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty. From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”. The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
With a pastry bag fitted with a ½ in. plain tip, pipe 1¼ – 1½ in. rounds.
The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two. Let the batter stand until the tops of the macaron batter are dry to the touch, about 30 mins to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 275-325˚F. If your oven tends to run hot go for 275˚, if not then 325˚.
Bake 10-13 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth. The batter is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
Let cool and fill.

Salted Milk Jam Filling

Ingredients:
1 c. dulce de leche (either from a jar or homemade)
1 batch of vanilla frosting (recipe below)
a generous pinch of Maldon salt

Instructions:

Mix dulce de leche, vanilla frosting and Maldon salt until combined. If the filling is too soft to pipe, chill in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes. Checking every 3 minutes for the correct consistency.

Basic Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:
½ c. whole milk
3tbsp. flour
⅛ tsp. salt
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a saucier pan, put milk, salt and flour and whisk until combined on medium heat.
Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture and put into the fridge until fully cool.
In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Assembly

Dip half of the macaron shells into the melted semi sweet chocolate.
Place about 3 Frosted Flakes on top of each chocolate dipped macaron shell.
Let set in freezer for about 5 minutes.
While the chocolate macaron shells are chilling, fill the other half of the macaron shells with the salted milk jam.
Top the milk jam macaron shell with chocolate macaron shell and enjoy!

*I always thought that milk jam was a lighter, less caramel version of dulce de leche. But after searching the internet, it turns out they’re the same thing.
**Basic macarons adapted from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller, Sebastien Rouxel

Caramel, Chocolate, Cookies, Desserts, Ice Cream, Macarons, Vanilla

Karamel Sutra Macarons (Chocolate Caramel Macarons)

April 23, 2014March 24, 2015by thebusyspatula6 Comments

I love ice cream. In high school, I used to eat an entire pint of ice cream in one sitting without blinking an eye. It was a habit that quickly stopped once I started counting calories in college. Yes the number of calories scared me, but I didn’t love it any less.
One of my favorite ice cream is Karamel Sutra from Ben and Jerry’s. Featuring “a core of soft caramel encircled by chocolate & caramel ice creams & fudge chips”, it is a sinfully indulgent treat. I’ve been haunted by the idea of putting macarons on mini ice cream cones for the longest time. So, I decided to take the plunge with one of my all-time favorites.
Sitting on top of a caramel filled cone and chocolate frosting, this macaron has a chewy caramel center that is encased by chocolate frosting. It is delightfully charming and insanely delicious. So delicious in fact, the entire batch disappeared within one night! (FYI This is pretty rare.)
Ice Cream Macarons

Karamel Sutra Macarons
(Chocolate Caramel Mini Ice Cream Macarons)

You will need:
Mini Ice Cream Cones
Macarons
Chocolate Frosting
Salted Caramel Filling
Whipped Cream (Optional)
Sprinkles (Optional)
Maldon Salt (Optional)

Basic French Macarons
Adapted from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller, Sebastien Rouxel

Ingredients:
212 g. almond meal
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar
158 g. water

Instructions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear. Add 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
Once the syrup reaches 248 degrees, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks. Add two drops of the pink gel food color and mix until batter turns a light shade of pink.
Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty. From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”. The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
With a pastry bag fitted with a ½ in. plain tip, pipe 1¼ – 1½ in. rounds.
The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two. Let the batter stand until the tops of the macaron batter are dry to the touch, about 30 mins to 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 275-325˚F. If your oven tends to run hot go for 275˚, if not then 325˚.
Bake 10-13 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth. The batter is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
Let cool and fill.

Salted Caramel Filling

Ingredients:
1 c. sugar
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
3 tbsp. water
¾ c. heavy cream
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temp
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a small pot, mix and boil sugar, corn syrup and water until a golden amber color forms.
While the sugar mixture is boiling, mix the heavy cream, unsalted butter, kosher salt, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
When the sugar mixture turns amber, add the cream mixture. Be careful! It will bubble up and create a lot of steam.
Attach a candy thermometer and cook sugar mixture until the mixture reaches 235 degrees.
Promptly remove to a large glass spout cup and cool.
Once cooled, transfer into a squeeze bottle.

Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
⅔ c. all-purpose flour
⅓ c. cocoa powder
1 c. milk
⅛ tsp. salt
8 oz. butter
⅔ c. sugar
8 oz. chocolate, melted and cooled
½ tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a saucier pan, put milk, salt, cocoa powder and flour and whisk until combined on medium heat.
Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture and put into the refrigerator until fully cool.
In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract and melted chocolate and mix until combined.
Fill frosting in a piping bag fitted with a ¼ or ½ in. plain piping tip.

Assembly:

If the filling has cooled too much at any point of the assembly, rewarm in the microwave for 15-20 seconds until fluid once more.

On one cooled macaron shell, frost a round dam around the edge of the cookie.
Put into freezer to set frosting for 5 minutes.
Fill the inside of the macaron with caramel filling. Top with another macaron shell.
In a mini ice cream cone, fill about 1/3 of the way with caramel filling. Pipe a round of chocolate frosting onto the lip of the ice cream cone. It should look somewhat like a doughnut. (As shown in the above photo.)
Put an assembled macaron on top of the chocolate frosting on the ice cream cone and set in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
From here you can enjoy as is or go further with your decorations:
1. Top your macaron with another macaron for a double scoop effect. (As shown in the above photo.)
2. Top your macaron with reserved caramel filling and sprinkle with maldon sea salt (or any other flaky sea salt you have on hand). (As shown in the above photo.)
3. Top your macaron with reserved caramel filling and top with whipped cream and sprinkes. (As shown in the above photo.)

Cookies, Desserts, Fruit, Macarons

Strawberry Macarons

April 17, 2014March 24, 2015by thebusyspatula1 Comment

I cannot think of another cookie that is as beautiful and finicky as the macaron. The saying goes “beauty is pain”, and this beauty is indeed a pain. A pain in the butt to make. Why? It uses several kitchen tools (which translates to a lot of dishes), needs to dry for over 30 minutes, and after all the meticulous measuring, sifting and baking, you can still fail.

Why bother making them then? Because, when done right a macaron is indeed a beautiful and perfect thing. The smooth shell that breaks into a moist, airy center might as well be heaven in a cookie.

strawberry macaron 1 I must warn you; this is not a cookie that you bake on a whim. You must premeditate your actions and read through the recipe a few times before taking the dive. You must weigh out your ingredients, sift your flour mix, age your egg whites, and I don’t recommend making this on a humid day. Do I sound bossy? I just don’t want you to waste your expensive almond flour because those bags aren’t a dime a dozen. I love you, my readers and best of your luck on your quest!

Strawberry Macarons

Basic French Macarons
Adapted from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller, Sebastien Rouxel

Ingredients:
212 g. almond meal
212 g. powdered sugar
172 g. egg whites, divided to 82 g. and 90 g (aged, if possible)
236 g. sugar
158 g. water
pink gel food color
optional: sesame seeds

Instructions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
In the bowl of your food processor, add the almond meal and powdered sugar and pulse until thoroughly combined.
Sift the mixture over a large mixing bowl, throwing out the lumps as they appear. Add 82 g. of the egg whites and stir until you get a thick mixture.
In a small pot attached with a candy thermometer, combine the sugar and water over medium heat and boil until the syrup reaches 200˚F.
Once the syrup reaches 200˚F, start whipping the remaining 90 g. in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium speed until soft peaks are reached.
Once the syrup reaches 248 degrees, remove the pot off the burner and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl with the egg whites on medium speed.
Once the egg whites are fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium high until egg whites form glossy, stiff peaks. Add two drops of the pink gel food color and mix until batter turns a light shade of pink.
Mix a ⅓ of the egg white mix to the almond mixture and stir together until the batter is slightly lighter and less pasty. From then on, fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture at a time until the mixture “flows like magma”. The mixture should be smooth and run thick ribbons off the spatula.
With a pastry bag fitted with a ½ in. plain tip, you can pipe one of two ways:
1. Pipe 1¼ – 1½ in. rounds (as shown in above photo)
2. Pipe 1 ¼ – 1 ½ in. triangles that resemble the shape of a strawberry (as shown in above photo)
The piped batter may have peaks but should smooth away in a minute or two. Let the batter stand until the tops of the macaron batter have dried*, about 30 mins to 1 hour.
Optional: If using sesame seeds, sprinkle it on top about 5 minutes after the batter is piped. (as shown in above photo)
Preheat the oven to 275-325˚F. If your oven tends to run hot, go for 275˚ if not then 325˚.
Bake 10-13 minutes, until the feet are formed and the tops are smooth. The batter is done when you slightly wiggle it and it starts to come off of the parchment paper / silicone mat.
Let cool and fill.

For the strawberry macarons, make the strawberry frosting and strawberry puree in my Neapolitan cupcakes post.

Assembly:

On a cooled macaron shell, pipe a circle around the edge with the frosting, leaving the center empty.
Once all of the halves have a frosting border, chill in the freezer for about 5 minutes until set.
Take out the macarons and fill the center with the strawberry puree. (as shown in above photo)
Optional: you can pipe green frosting on the other half of the macaron shell to imitate leaves.
Top it with another macaron shell.

Macarons taste best after aging. To age macarons, put assembled macarons in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. They should be perfect for consumption at this point.

*When you lightly touch the macaron shell, it should feel dry and not stick to your finger.