My feet are shrinking. I guess that's the least of my worries....
I was thinking of something interesting to make with ingredients I had at home. I remember back in September I took a trip to the chocolate factory and they had this wonderful piece of chocolate that had an earl grey filling. Whoa. It was amazing. I never knew you could combine the earl grey flavor with chocolate and make it so good! Also, recently, I went to Paulette's Macarons and had the earl grey macaron. It was turquoise... weird choice of color.. but it was delicious as well.
Tea flavored desserts... a new concept? I'm sure it's not. I love tea. I have a great selection of it too! So, fittingly, I figured combining my love of tea, chocolate, and macarons, would be a wonderful. I tried to find a recipe, and luckily there were like 2 (one being the now defunct Gourmet magazine <- :-( ,) but I just trusted my old chocolate macaron recipe (with a few tweaks) and added a tea bag's worth of earl grey tea. I used Fortnum and Mason as the tea bag. I made 16 cookies ( 8 sandwiches.) That would have cost me almost 13 bucks at a store : ) I think I did it all for around 1 dollar! The tea in the cookies is making me so jittery. AHH It's 5:45 pm .. hope I sleep tonight!!! I'm currently watching the Superbowl... hm French pastries and football... now that is an interesting combination!
What do they taste like? First, you get the chocolate taste, intense, rich, and smooth. Then, you get hit with the earl grey flavor that's somewhat subtle, but present. The combination of the two is quite unique, and sticks to your palate after you're done eating it. I love these cookies!!! I wish I would have made more!
Chocolate Earl Grey Macarons
Makes 16 cookies or 8 sandwiches
1 egg white, room temperature
1 pinch of meringue powder
4 tsp white sugar
1/4 cup almond meal
1.5 tbsp dutch processed cocoa
1 earl grey tea bag
50 g powdered sugar
- In a food processor, combine the almond meal, powdered sugar, tea, and cocoa. Pulse, stopping frequently, for about 1 minute. Alternate from chop and grind, you just want to get everything as lump free as possible, as well as completely combined.
- Beat egg whites+ a small pinch of meringue powder to a soft peak, add sugar, and beat until it is nice and glossy, and is stiff.
- Fold in the dry to the whites. Be gentle. You don't want to deflate all your egg whites. Just fold until almost all combined, and load it into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
- Pipe to desired size. I had mine almost 2 inches in diameter. Rap the tray on the ground many times to remove the bubbles and make it more flat. Let dry for 15 minutes?
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake for 11 minutes, turning the tray around half way through baking.
- Let cool slightly on the tray, then remove to a rack. Fill with buttercream, ganache, or whatever you like. (I filled mine with buttercream with a little vanilla and lemon extract added it the mixture.)
Anyway, as you can tell, my macarons are losing their feet. It's slightly there, but not as much as I would have liked. I think the macarons spread out too much when I slammed the tray on the ground. I like a dome and I love the foot. Sigh, at least it's not burnt or deflated this time. I think I'm really getting the hang of making these things.
-My macaron batter spread out more than I wanted it to...I piped much smaller cookies than those ones...
-Mini feet! I don't know why.. maybe it was too spread out, too thin or maybe it wasn't hot enough.. maybe I over-folded? Oh well..no two batches have ever been the same!
****************
I watched Julie & Julia last night. It was about a blogger, and about french cooking, two things I have a great interest for. I think I will buy Julia Child's book one day. That might be my answer to the whole "I want to learn how to cook French foods" dream I had... but a huge component that is missing from my kitchen. Something called.. a... Le Creuset. Yes, I know what it is. It is just so freaking expensive! I was looking for one all of Christmas. The only deal I found was for a 2 quart pot at Bloomingdales for $55 (still too much.) 2 qt? I can't even stuff a chicken in it. Sigh. I don't know if I can ever justify buying a $200 dollar dutch oven...I can see how I can spend 200 bucks on a kitchenaid.. but on a pot? AHHHH! We'll see. I'm known for my luck when it comes to finding deals. I will get one within the next year... and I will buy Mastering the Art of French Cooking! Yay for attempting to complete my goals....
**************
So... I just started getting into photography last May. I really wanted to find ways to make my foods look professional without all the fancy equipments and software. I found that this set-up really makes my foods pop! Don't worry it's nothing fancy, and most people have these things at home! It's just construction paper propped against a box... with fluorescent lighting.. giving it that pretty glow... no photoshopping here! I use a Canon Rebel XS, with the kit lens... 18-55mm... and I typically shoot on the auto-no flash setting.
~My Macarons Posts~
-My macaron batter spread out more than I wanted it to...I piped much smaller cookies than those ones... 
-Mini feet! I don't know why.. maybe it was too spread out, too thin or maybe it wasn't hot enough.. maybe I over-folded? Oh well..no two batches have ever been the same!****************
I watched Julie & Julia last night. It was about a blogger, and about french cooking, two things I have a great interest for. I think I will buy Julia Child's book one day. That might be my answer to the whole "I want to learn how to cook French foods" dream I had... but a huge component that is missing from my kitchen. Something called.. a... Le Creuset. Yes, I know what it is. It is just so freaking expensive! I was looking for one all of Christmas. The only deal I found was for a 2 quart pot at Bloomingdales for $55 (still too much.) 2 qt? I can't even stuff a chicken in it. Sigh. I don't know if I can ever justify buying a $200 dollar dutch oven...I can see how I can spend 200 bucks on a kitchenaid.. but on a pot? AHHHH! We'll see. I'm known for my luck when it comes to finding deals. I will get one within the next year... and I will buy Mastering the Art of French Cooking! Yay for attempting to complete my goals....
**************
So... I just started getting into photography last May. I really wanted to find ways to make my foods look professional without all the fancy equipments and software. I found that this set-up really makes my foods pop! Don't worry it's nothing fancy, and most people have these things at home! It's just construction paper propped against a box... with fluorescent lighting.. giving it that pretty glow... no photoshopping here! I use a Canon Rebel XS, with the kit lens... 18-55mm... and I typically shoot on the auto-no flash setting.
~My Macarons Posts~
Ooo, when you say the September SF trip, u mean the one where we hung out that day? :)
ReplyDeleteYour feet are getting smaller? You didn't tell me that concern wen we talked on the phone lol. Oo I really hope u can come on that day!
MMM I love those Paulette Earl Grey macarons, these look fabulous!
ReplyDelete