Memorial Day Weekend

Since our dessert for Week 7 had macarons as one of the components, I had this inspiration to try making them again.

Oh, I've had my own issues with them in the past.

One of the most (vehemently) discussed topics amongst the food bloggers, macarons are notoriously tricky to make. The egg whites must be properly whipped, the batter folded just right (not too much, but not too little), piped correctly, and a rather ambiguous resting period anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour depending on the weather/climate. They must have that 'foot' at the base, a perfectly smooth, slightly domed top (like an eggshell), and a chewy but soft texture.
Here is my very first attempt, made way back in March 2010.

No feet, no dome, with a hollow center. The flavor was good, sweet and nutty from the almonds.
Here is my second attempt, done in September 2010.

At least they had feet and domes. But again, these Big-Foot Macarons were hollow, nothing to chew on in the center.
But last Thursday, I was a little more confident. My baking and cooking techniques have improved, I've gained more knowledge. So with egg whites leftover from the pistachio sable cookies, I made the macaron batter. I also had some pistachio flour, so I substituted part of the almond flour with it. There are several recipes for macarons--there are ones based on French meringue, where the sugar is gradually beaten into the egg whites, versus the ones based on Italian meringue, where hot sugar syrup is beaten into the egg whites instead. I wonder if whipping the whites via Swiss meringue method produce different results?
But I figured I'd play it safe and used the French meringue method.

Resting the piped batter. This resting period allows a 'skin' to form on the surface of the macarons, which is where that domed shell comes from. The first time I made them, I didn't allow the batter to rest long enough, resulting in cracked tops. Again, the length of the resting period depends on the climate/weather. Drier weather will allow the skin to form faster.

So far, the piped batter looked pretty sitting on the baking sheet, nice and smooth. I very careful slid the baking sheet into the oven, and prayed for a miracle.

I think God answered my prayer.

I was in awe when I took them out of the oven. These were perfect! Smooth, slightly domed top, dainty feet (definitely not like my Big-Foot macarons). After letting them cool, I sampled one. Ooooh....crisp, eggshell-like exterior... the interior was a little too hollow, but had enough substance to be chewy. Unfortunately, I couldn't really taste the pistachio, but it was still deliciously nutty from the almonds. Hoorah!

Now for the filling... I made several different kinds: black sesame, grape jam, Nutella, and pistachio buttercream. The filling is sandwiched inbetween two macarons, and allowed to sit for 24 hours. Filled macarons taste the best after sitting--this allows the flavors to meld, and gives just the right amount of moisture to the macaron to make it softer.

My parents and I had a lovely afternoon tea time with these beauties. They were all delicious, but the pistachio and the black sesame fillings were the best.
Sunday was our bi-weekly Bible study at our house. Since I wanted to use the genoise scraps made the previous week (I've kept them in the freezer), I decided to make a tiramisu, sans booze and coffee, since kids will be eating these too. Saturday morning, I cut the genoise into ladyfinger-sized strips, and lay them out on buttered and sugared square baking pan. Authentic tiramisu recipe instructs the cake strips to be moistened with sweetened coffee liquor, but I substituted vanilla and almond extract instead. I whipped up some cream cheese mousse (someday I will use mascarpone cheese...) and spread it over the cake strips. On top of this, I laid out more strips of the cake, and finally topped it off with the remaining mousse. I sprinkled grated chocolate over this and put it in the freezer. Freezing allows easier and cleaner cuts.

That night, I cut the frozen tiramisu into neat squares and put it in the fridge to thaw out.

I served it after the Bible study with blackberry sauce (and the macaron on the side...yeah, I wanted to show off my work :) )

These were heavenly, and the blackberry sauce surprisingly paired very well with it. T-san and Mrs. M had seconds.... T-san licked his plate clean, literally. The kids loved the desserts also, and Sophie was definitely in a better mood by then. Earlier during the Bible study, her brother was apparently being a bully and made her cry :( But I'm glad the tiramisu and the orange juice made her day.