Green Tea Matcha Macarons with Coconut Wasabi

I love the colour of green tea or Matcha being one of the varieties, it’s more of a jade colour, that is of course if it isn’t coated with artificial green colour ;)

I also so lurve WASABI. Being a part of the same family as mustard and horseradish (which the Frenchies love!), Wasabi just brightens my day. I think I eat Makis only so that I can eat loads of wasabi, I have even had competitions with a dear friend that of course ended up in us being in tears, Wasabi is not a thing to be taken lightly! The wasabi complimented the dense, crunchy flavour of the coconut in great harmony elevating the tropical sharpness of the custard.

I have realised that nothing with me is routine, I go out of the way to make things different, I guess my insanity, ego and need for attention make me want to do things out of the ordinary, but isn’t ordinary boring? For me it is, if you can make something different than the rest of us, why not indulge?

Anywhos, enough of philosophy, the recipe is very simple, just follow the basic macaron recipes that I use from Duncan of Syrup and Tang, I do swear by his recipe, it has NEVER failed. The coconut ganache is so yummilicious, I am sure you could just eat it right off the bowl! Here goes:

GET
For the Shells
60 g Almond powder
15 g green tea powder (matcha)
80 g icing sugar
50 g Egg whites
40 g powdered sugar

For the Coconut Wasabi Custard

75 ml heavy milk

80 ml cream

2 egg yolks

45g sugar

2 tbsps wasabi paste

½ cup coconut powder / grated coconut

SET

* Egg Clarification: If you have the time, it is better to separate the egg whites from the yolks 48 hours before you start making macarons. The whites should be stored in a box in the refrigerator and taken out hour before you start the preparations.
* Take the almond powder, matcha powder and icing sugar, pass it through a mixer.
* Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt (if they haven't been clarified before), and gradually add the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks are formed.
* Sift the almond flour, matcha and sugar mixture over the beaten eggs.
* Fold in the powder with a light yet firm hand. Mix in circular motions until the powder is well incorporated. Take a small portion of this mixture in a bowl and add the colours or flavourings. Then incorporate well into the main mixture.

* Mix well only until the mixture is smooth, shiny and glossy.
* Spoon batter into piping bags and pipe small (or large) circles on a baking sheet.
* Bake at 150°C for 10-11 minutes.
* Cool the sheet once out of the oven and gently release the macaron shells from the paper.
* Keep the shells inverted on a wire rack to cool down.

For making the Coconut Wasabi Custard

• Bring milk and cream to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Let the mixture cook for 10 minutes.
• Beat egg yolks and sugar till light and fluffy. Slowly pour the milk and cream mixture, while stirring constantly so as to avoid any lumps. You have to mix really fast as else the eggs will get cooked and you will have a whole lot of sweet scrambled eggs on your hands!
• Heat the egg and milk mixture on a low-medium flame, stir continuously till it boils. Keep cooking and stirring till the mixture coats the back of the spoon (preferably use a wooden spoon).
• Then add the grated coconut and cook for another 3-5 minutes on a low flame.
• Once you have the desired consistency (which should be slightly thicker than you started off), take the pot off the flame and pass this mixture through a sieve. At the end add the wasabi paste, taste and add according to your spiciness levels!
• To further stop the cooking process, dip the bowl containing the mixture in a bigger bowl of ice.
• Cool in the refrigerator for several hours (1-2) till the mixture is thick and spreadable.

GO

Pair the macaron shells and sandwich them with generous portions of the superlicious coconut wasabi custard.

Dark Chocolate Macaron with Venezuelan Chocolate and Esplette de Piment

This is one of my favourite chocolate macarons, the darkness of the Venezuelan Chocolate sets this flavour apart.

Chocolate, one of the most powerful flavours in this world, in Spain it is known to have been used in the mid 17th century as ‘dowry’. I wonder why I wasn’t given any chocolate when I got married! Venezuela being a leading exporter of cocoa beans, the chocolate is known to have a strong fruity note and the one I invested in contains only 75% of darkness in it, believe me it is heavenly!
So enough of me talking; I follow the Alain Ducasse recipe for making chocolate macarons which uses cocoa powder.

GET
55 g Almond Powder
115 g icing sugar
65 g egg whites
25 g powdered or fine sugar
15 g cocoa powder (I recommend Van Houten)

SET
1. On a baking tray, spread a sheet of parchment paper.
2. Mix the almond powder, icing sugar and cocoa powder for not more than 30 seconds in a mixer. Make sure you do not overbeat, or heat the mixture.
3. Spread the dry mixture on this piece of parchment paper and pop it into a pre-heated oven @ 160°C for 5 minutes. Once out of the oven, pass it through a sieve.
4. Beat the egg whites till strong peaks are formed; add the powdered or fine sugar while beating.
5. With the help of a spatula (I use a cool silicon one!) mix in the almond mixture with the egg whites very slowly but firmly. A good way to incorporate the dry ingredients into the egg whites is to keep turning the spatula in circles until you stop seeing the white of the eggs.
6. To know when to stop mixing is probably the trickiest and the toughest part, there’s no exact way of knowing, however, if you pay close attention and of course if you go through batches of failed attempts, you’d get to know eventually!
The trick is to mix until the mixture resembles magma, and as most of us haven’t a clue of what that is, the mixture should fall like a thick ribbon. When you started mixing, the mixture was like a blob, sluggish and dull. You should stop mixing when:
a. The mixture falls like a thick ribbon when lifted off the spatula.
b. The mixture should be shiny and glossy
c. Drop a bit of the mixture on your cooking platform or a cutting board, if it spreads easily, then its ready to go!
7. Scoop healthy portions of the mixture into piping bags that are fitted with open wide tip. Hint: To make this an easy and not messy process, take a tall glass, fit the piping bag in the glass so it sits well and fits snugly. Pour the mixture into the piping bag, close it and voilà you don’t have messy fingers!

8. Pipe small circles on to the parchment paper. Always pipe on alternate levels so that air passes easily once in the oven.
9. Let the piped shells rest in ambient temperature for at least 30 minutes. This process is called ‘Crusting’ where a thin layer is formed over each shell. This helps in getting that crisp exterior.
10. Once the crusting session is done, pop them into a pre-heated oven @ 160°C for 10-11 minutes. If you notice cracks/fissures appearing during the baking process, this means the oven is too hot; get it down to 150°C.
11. A good way of testing whether the macaron is done is to nudge them with your finger, if they move without much resistance, then they are done. If they act stubborn, then let them bake for 2-3 minutes more.
12. Once out of the oven, place the parchment paper on a cool surface to stop the cooking process. Normally if they are baked properly, they should come off easily. If not, pop them back on the lowest rack in the oven for a minute or two.

Now, ready for the Chocolate Ganache with Esplette de Piment?
In case you are wondering what an Esplette de Piment means, it is a type of chilli cultivated in the southern part of France which borders with Spain, it is the Basque Region. They have a whole cuisine going, and they even have their own type of macarons, which I am hoping to try next week. Trying to make them that is! 
GET

150 g dark dark chocolate (chopped into small pieces)
150 ml full cream
3 teaspoons of esplette de piment

SET
1. Boil the cream in a non-stick pan.
2. Pour immediately into the bowl of dark chocolate. Stir continuously to incorporate the chocolate and cream to make a homogenous mixture. Add the chilli powder and mix well.
3. Once it is well mixed, cool and then refrigerate.
4. Note: This ganache can last in the refrigerator for a long while, just stick it into the microwave for a couple of seconds to make it supple and soft.

The final GO
* Pair the macarons by size, smear a little of the ganache on the interior of the macaron and stick another macaron to this ganache. In easy term, sandwich the macarons with the chocolate ganache. And you are ready to go..

Tropical Dark Love

So this dessert was desgined specially for a dinner invite by our friends A and G who went through laborious efforts to make an absolutely scrumptious dinner! To friendship..

This dessert platter comprises of a light and fluffy Red Fruits Bavarois with Mango Pineapple Carpaccio and Dark Chocolate Basil Scandinavian Cupcake.

For the Red Fruit Bavarois
A Bavarois or a Bavarian Cream is usually made of cream, eggs and sugar and it is normally set with gelatine. Keeping the spirit of summer in mind, I wanted to make something without cream, and also because we can all do without the after effects of cream ;) But then to draw outside the lines isn't accepted in la France!
This recipe is taken from my bible: Le Larousse des Desserts by Pierre Hermé, however, I must say, that I was rather disappointed by the proportions and I am sure they made a printing mistake regarding the quantities, so this is a bridged version:

GET
500 g red fruits (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, redberries)
120 g powdered sugar
7 Gelatin sheets
300 ml cream
30 g icing sugar

SET
* Make a purée of all the red fruits. Pass this purée through a seive to get rid of the seeds or small pepins. If you are using frozen fruits, defrost them first and then purée them.
* Put the sheets of gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes. Drain them and set aside after 15 minutes
* Heat a quarter of the purée in a large pan with the powdered sugar (be careful, as once the liquid is hot, it boils and jumps all over the place!). Once it boils, reduce the flame and add the gelatine. Mix rigourously so as to avoid any lumps from forming.
* Now add the rest of the purée and mix well. Add the cream and then the icing sugar and mix thouroughly.
* Cook on a low flame till the mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Keep aside to cool for 15 minutes.

GO
* Grease the moulds you would like to use for the Bavarois. Make sure you use moulds that can be unmolded easily.
* Once the mixture has cooled slightly, pour it into the moulds and set to cool in the refigerator. The cream takes roughly 8-10 hours to set.
* Before serving demould the dessert by turning out on the desire plate. If you are having difficulty unmolding, then dip the bottom of the mold in warm water, just dip for a couple of minutes, not submerge ok?
* And voilà, you have a pretty bavarian cream ducky on your plate.

For the Mango Pineapple Carpaccio
GET-SET-GO 
Slice as finely as possible the fruits you chose. If you aren't really deft with the knife, just chop the fruits and call it a Mango Pineapple Tartare :D






Dark Chocolate Basil Scandinavian Cake
This cake was for a friend C who has gluten allergy, and once she had made this amazing Flourless Chocolate Basil Cake which was to die for! I recently bought a very fine Venezuelan 75% Coco Chocolate (1 kilo of it actually, so you'll be seeing a lot of chocolate recipes coming up!) and I had to simply use it. The cake turned out superb, so give it a try..Believe me its the easiest cake recipe ever..

GET
226 g butter
200 g dark chocolate (chopped)
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 tbsp almond flour
1/2 cup chopped basil leaves

SET
* Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C
* Melt the butter and chocolate together over a bain marie or in the microwave for 60 seconds whilst stirring every 10 - 15 seconds.
* Add the sugar, whisk well till sugar melts. Let the mixture cool down a bit. (Have a sip of cold water, or just detox your own way).
* Add the eggs one by one, whisking every time you add one egg. I prefer to whisk with a hand beater and not the electronic ones as over beating is not meant for this cake.
* Once all the eggs are done, add the almond flour and basil leaves and mix well. The mixture will become very thick, that's normal.

* Pour this batter into individual cupcake tins or a large cake tin. For individual cupcakes - bake for 15 minutes @ 180°C or 350°F. For the larger cake, bake for 20-25 minutes. Let the cake cool off in the oven for another 10 minutes, after which keep them to cool on a wire rack.
* Please note this is a sticky cake, this is due to lack of flour, so they are dense and moist, but trust me they are superbly yummisimme.

Bonne Dégustation!

Orange Bergamote Tea Macaron with a Prune Cardamom Filling

The next on the list was to use the Prunes Cardamom filling I had made. However, I was wondering how would you say it? Prunes Cardamom Filling or Cardamom Prune Filling, which comes first? the igredient that dominates the dish or whatever sounds exotic..
Anywhos, here goes the recipe:

GET
 65 gms Almond Meal / Powdered Almonds
80 g Icing Sugar
15 g Orange Bergamot Tea                                                                     
40 g Fine Sugar
50 g Egg White


SET
* Egg Clarification: If you have the time, it is better to separate the egg whites from the yolks 48 hours before you start making macarons. The whites should be stored in a box in the refrigerator and taken out hour before you start the preparations.
* Take the almond powder, bergamote tea leaves and the icing sugar, pass it through a mixer.
* Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt (if they haven't been clarified before), and gradually add the sugar. Beat untill stiff peaks are formed.
* Sift the almond flour and sugar mixture over the beaten eggs.
* Fold in the powder with a light yet firm hand. Mix in circular motions until the powder is well incorporated. Take a small portion of this mixture in a bowl and add the colours or flavourings. Then incorporate well into the main mixture.This is the time to add in the lemon zest.
* Mix well only untill the mixture is smooth, shiny and glossy.
* Spoon batter into piping bags and pipe small (or large) circles on a baking sheet. Sprinkle some bergamot tea leaves over each shell.
* Bake at 150°C for 10-11 minutes.
* Cool the sheet once out of the oven and gently release the macaron shells from the paper.
* Keep the shells inverted on a wire rack to cool down.

Prune Cardamom Filling
This is perhaps the easiest yummiest filling to make with a heady note of cardamom.

GET
500 g of prunes/plums
200 g sugar
150 g white chocolate (chopped)
5 green cardamom pods

SET
* Chop the prunes into small pieces, add the sugar and heat this mixture on a medium high heat till the sugar melts and the liquid starts to boil.
* Peel the pods, slightly grind the seeds with the use of a mortar and pestle (if you have one), else substitute with 5 tsps of cardamom powder.  Add the powder to the prune mixture. Finally add the white chocolate;
* Cook on a medium heat until the mixture becomes nice and pulpy. Take off the heat and let it cool off completely.


The Final GO
* Pair the macaron shells and sandwich them with a generous helping of the prune cardamom filling.

Lemon Ginger Macaron with Green Tomatoes Chutney

The name itself brings a very tangy note to mind with earthy hints of ginger and it has a beautiful colour too. The recipe is as follows:

GET
For the Shells
60 g Almond powder
5 g powdered ginger
80 g icing sugar
2 zest of Green Lemons
50 g Egg whites
40 g powdered sugar

For the Green Tomatoes Chutney
650 g green tomatoes
150 g onions
1 tsp salt
150 g Cranberries
150 g Apples
150 g light brown sugar
250 ml cider vinegar
1 tbps Lemon Juice
1 sheet of Gelatine
3-4 drops of green colour

SET
* Egg Clarification: If you have the time, it is better to separate the egg whites from the yolks 48 hours before you start making macarons. The whites should be stored in a box in the refrigerator and taken out hour before you start the preparations.
* Take the almond powder, powdered ginger and the icing sugar, pass it through a mixer.
* Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt (if they haven't been clarified before), and gradually add the sugar. Beat untill stiff peaks are formed.
* Sift the almond flour and sugar mixture over the beaten eggs.
* Fold in the powder with a light yet firm hand. Mix in circular motions until the powder is well incorporated. Take a small portion of this mixture in a bowl and add the colours or flavourings. Then incorporate well into the main mixture.This is the time to add in the lemon zest.
* Mix well only untill the mixture is smooth, shiny and glossy.
* Spoon batter into piping bags and pipe small (or large) circles on a baking sheet.
* Bake at 150°C for 10-11 minutes.
* Cool the sheet once out of the oven and gently release the macaron shells from the paper.
* Keep the shells inverted on a wire rack to cool down.

For the Chutney
* Chop the tomatoes and onions the night before and salt them. Leave overnight.
* The next day, chop the cranberries and apples. In a large pan, boil sugar and vinegar, stirring to make sure that the sugar is completely dissolved.
* Add the chopped cranberries and apples. Simmer for 10 minutes.
* Meanwhile, strain the tomatoes and onions (as they might collect water due to the overnight salination process). However do not rinse.
* Add the tomatoes and onions to the simmering pot, and bring to a boil.
* Cook for over an hour, stir from time to time. Once you have achieved the desired consistency - which should be pulpy, store in sealable jars.
Note: if this is too time consuming for you, just go ahead and buy the store made chutney!

* Immerse the sheet of gealtine in a large bowl of cold water for 15 minutes.
* Once the chutney is ready, put 1 cup chutney in a bowl and bring to a boil. Add the gelatine sheet and stir very well to make sure that the gelatine has well dissolved. Add the lemon juice, take off heat and let it cool completely.

GO:
* Once you have the filling ready, pair the macaron shells according to size.
* Put a dollop of the chutney on one side of the shell and use another shell to close.

And the Macaronathon continues

Now that I have got my act together and I am all motivated to start baking again, I thought I'd brush up on the macaron making skills. I attended a Macaron making course at the Atelier des Chefs, where I learnt how to make macarons with the Italian method.
Macarons can be made by any one of the following three TWO ways:
1. The Simple Method
1. The French Meringue Method
2. The Italian Meringue Method

I follow the French method, which is easy to make and somewhat reliable. After working with the Italian method, I was informed that this is the most reliable way to make macarons!

I have been thinking about what flavours to experiment with as the weather is so great here, it brought out some great funky tastes. In the following posts you will find the recipes for:
1. Lemon Ginger Macaron with Green Tomatoes Chutney
2. Orange Bergamote Tea Macaron with Prunes and Cardamom
3. Dark Chocolate Macaron with Venezuelan Chocolate and Esplette de Piment
4. Rose Macaron with a Raspberry and Litchi
5. Green Tea Macaron with Coconut Wasabi Cream

Old Fashioned Crème Anglaise with a Prune Cardamom bottom

It has been exactly 184 days since I wrote anything on my blog and it feels like ages since I baked or made anything. No I haven’t been lazy, yes travelling a bit, and of course how can I forget that I got MARRIED! Yayyyyy

I have been trying to motivate myself to make something, to start baking since the beginning of April and couldn’t really find the motivation to make anything special or new.. I thought maybe I’d already forgotten how to bake!

But then like cycling and swimming it all came back the moment I picked up my new silicon spatula. I had separated 5 eggs to start off making funky new flavours of Macarons and was left with nice juicy plump egg yolks. I have always wanted to make a simple crème anglaise – which is light, creamy custard which can be used as a sauce or as a cream base. It is very easy to make, just make sure you follow all the steps till the very end..

This recipe is taken from Pierre Hermé’s book – Le Larousse des Desserts

Crème Anglaise with Prunes and Cardamom Jelly

Make time: 20 minutes

Get

2 vanilla pods

150 ml of heavy milk

200 ml cream

4 egg yolks

85 g granulated / fine sugar

Set

1. Slice open the vanilla pods in two, take out the seeds. Put the seeds and the pods in a casserole and add the milk and cream. Bring the liquid to a boil and the let the mixture cook for 10 minutes.
2. I a big bowl, beat the egg yolks and the sugar for 3 minutes till light and frothy. Slowly mix in the milk and cream liquid mixture while stirring at the same time. Make sure you mix well, as the eggs start to cook if you are slow!
3. Heat the egg and milk mixture on a medium flame, make sure the pot has a thick bottom so as to avoid burning.. Keep stirring with a spatula or a wooden spoon and avoid the mixture to boil. Continue until the mixture starts to coat the back of the spatula or the wooden spoon. A medium thick layer should form or the spoon should be coated with this mixture. This indicates that the eggs have been homogenously cooked and have arrived to the right consistency.
4. Take the mixture off the gas, and mix for another 2-3 minutes. Pass this mixture through a sieve to make sure that there are no lumps.
5. To further stop the cooking process, dip the bowl containing the mixture in a bigger bowl of ice.

Go

6. Take dollops of prune and cardamom jelly/jam and put it in the base of individual serving bowls.
7. Pour the crème anglaise over the jelly and refrigerate for over 12-18 hours.