TOO EASY and TOO GOOD Apple and Berries Puff Pastry Tart

Christmas Eve is here and the question looming around today is what you should make for Christmas Eve Dinner with friends, or, more importantly, what you should make for dessert! Well, this easy recipe will take away this dessert dilemma super fast, in a super delicious and chic way that will have friends raving about your dessert to others for days to come. I love using puff pastry, which you can buy frozen at any grocery store, because it bakes easily and puffs up to a beautiful golden crust all on its own! It's basically the dough they make croissants out of, made of a mixture of flour and lots of butter (that's why it's so flaky!). I used a recipe from Ina Garten for the puff pastry apple tart, and then my friend and I improvised and put frozen berries on top of the second puff pastry layer that came in the box. We covered each fruit layer with 1/2 cup sugar and chunks of butter to caramelize. Looking back, however, I think the butter on top of the berries was probably not necessary, since they are already most and do not need the same caramelizing effect that the apples do. I will post Ina's recipe below, so go buy a frozen puff pastry, some apples (we used 2 for one puff pastry sheet), and get to work! It is hard to fail with this one ;). 

Instagram pictures below of apple and berry puff pastry tarts:

Apple Puff Pastry Tart
(Based on Ina Garten's Apple Puff Pastry Tart recipe)

Ingredients:
-1 box frozen puff pastry (should come with two sheets)
-2 Granny Smith apples, or 4 if you want to use both puff pastry sheets (to make a berry tart, use a bag of frozen mixed berries instead)
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced (butter not necessary for berry tart)
-1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam (this part is optional, I don't think it's really necessary)
-2 tablespoons Calvados rum or water
-walnuts for topping (optional)
-whipped cream for topping (not optional ;) )

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
• Open puff pastry box and let the puff pastry sheets thaw for 1 hour or 2. 
• Roll out puff pastry sheets onto baking sheet (you can put parchment paper under them if you want)
• Refrigerate or freeze puff pastry sheets while you prepare the apples
• Slice apples semi-thinly and layer them onto the puff pastry sheet, leaving an inch of space on each side of the puff pastry sheet (as Ina says, "Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baler. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices.")
• Sprinkle cinnamon all over the apples
• Scatter 1/2 cup sugar over apples, and then scatter the tiny diced squares of butter over the apples. 
• Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown.Rotate the pan once during cooking.
• Optional: "When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature." (Ina Garten)
• Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Kaori

Super TASTY Natural & Healthy Chai Tea Recipe!

Cardamom, peppercorn, cloves, cinnamon sticks= tea spices

Do you ever feel like holding a warm, spiced up hot beverage in your hand? Well, I do, everyday :). This is a Chai Tea Recipe that my mother-in-law makes pretty often, and I love it! It's really healthy, uses whole spices, and very little sugar. This tea recipe is good for your kidneys, especially during the winter months, and it helps prevent colds and the flu, inflammation, and regulates insulin (according to the recipe book). It also tastes SO good, warms me up, and helps my digestive system. You're gonna love it, too. Best part is that it is really easy to make.

Chai- The Perfect Winter Drink

Pick your favorite mug and start sipping!

mmm yummy chai on a cold snowy day!

This recipe is from the book The Complete Natural Medicine Guide to Women's Health (but it's also great for guys!) and is called "Yogi Tea" but is basically the same as Chai. Worried that these spices are hard to get or expensive? No fear! You can get all of the spices in this recipe in bulk for really cheap at Indian grocery stores (cardamom, cloves) or Korean stores (they sell cinnamon sticks for a great price). 

Yogi Tea

*makes 10 servings

Ingredients:

• 40 oz of water
• 12 whole cloves
• 16 whole green cardamom pods, cracked open (you can use the back of a knife or a mortar and pestle to crush it open
• 16 whole black peppercorns
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 8 slices fresh ginger root
• 2 black tea bags
• 2 cups regular milk or organic soy milk
• 1/2 cup sugar or honey

Method:

• Bring the water to a boil. Add the cloves, cracked open cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, and ginger
• Boil for 45 minutes
• When it reaches a reddish brown color, turn off the heat. Drop in the tea bags for 1 minute and then remove them. Add the sugar or honey and stir. 
• Add in the milk
• Done! :) Enjoy!

*Can be stored in the fridge for several days or even a week

October 2nd was National Kale Day! Easy and Delicious Kale Stir Fry recipe

Hey everyone! It's been a LONG while since I've last updated my blog. I was involved with a summer job, work, and now applying for grad school. However, I just bought 5 huge bunches of kale during Whole Foods' 5 bunches of kale for $5 sale and decided that some delicious kale recipes are in order! Today's recipe is a simple, easy, quick kale and vegetable recipe with an asian twist. You can replace any of the vegetable ingredients with other vegis, so this dish is very versatile.

A healthy and delicious fall vegetable medley

Ingredients:
-3 cups torn kale
-1.5 cups broccoli, diced
-1 cup carrots, diced
-2 cups spinach
-1 onion, diced
-1 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced into thin strips
-1.5 teaspon ginger, minced
-1 tablespoon oil (I used grapeseed, but you can use any kind of oil, like sesame or olive oil)
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tablespoon soy sauce

Method:
1. Chop up the garlic, onion, broccoli and carrots.

2. Heat a fairly large pan to medium high heat, add oil and stir fry the vegis for around 5 minutes.  Meanwhile chop up mushrooms, ginger, and tear up the kale and spinach and add to the pan.

3. Stir-fry the mix for another 4 minutes. Add soy sauce and cook for one more minute.

Blueberry-Strawberry Pound Cake and Mulberry Blueberry Coconuty Crumble Muffins

Today is the first day of summer! And, berries are in season! I highly encourage you to go berry picking at a local farm in your area. Berries are very rewarding to pick, a good work-out (all that bending and picking), and a fun great activity to do with friends and family! Plus, it tastes so much better when you pick your own berries ;). 

The Blueberry-Strawberry Pound Cake recipe is actually taken from Molly Wizenburg's recipe for Blueberry-Raspberry Pound Cake. I used strawberries instead of raspberries. Baked and served with tea, these slices of berry heaven were a hit with friends. The cake is not as heavy as it sounds (the word "pound" always turns me off but trust me this cake isn't too heavy). Please check out Molly's book A Homemade Life as well as her popular blog Orangette. I get inspired by reading books by successful bloggers and definitely feel that food and literature go hand-in-hand :). Please subscribe to my page in the upper right hand corner! I have three lovely followers now but would love even more <3!

Mulberry picking with my husband in our backyard :)

Aren't berries so pretty?

Blueberry Strawberry Pound Cake

*I actually halved this recipe because I didn't have enough butter, and it still turned out fine! 

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 8 tablespoons cake flour (I made this with a recipe online using regular flour and cornstarch)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
2.5 sticks butter (10 ounces) unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature
2 tablespoons kirsch (I omitted this because I didn't have it on hand)
1 cup blueberries, rinsed and dried well
1 cup raspberries, rinsed and dried well

1. Set an oven rack to the middle position, and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Butter a standard-sized 9-cup bundt pan and dust it with flour, shaking out any excess. (If your pan in nonstick, you can get away with a simple coating of cooking spray, no flour needed.)

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups plus 6 tablespoons flour, the baking powder and salt.

4. In the bowl of a food processor, blend eggs and sugar until thick and pale yellow, about 1 minute. Add butter and kirsch, and blend until the mixture is fluffy, about 1 minute, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl. If the mixture looks curdled, don’t worry. Add dry ingredients and process just to combine. Do not over mix. The batter should be thick and very smooth.

5. In a large bowl, toss berries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour. Pour batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly across the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the cake’s center comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

6. Transfer cake to a rack, and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Carefully invert the cake out of the pan onto the rack, and cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

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Mulberry/Blueberry Coconuty Crumble Muffins

*I adapted this recipe from a recipe on allrecipes.com for blueberry muffins. It's the same recipe but I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and used half white flour/ half wheat pastry flour. The result was a healthier muffin that tasted a little coconut-y! which was delicious :). I also substituted half of the white sugar with brown sugar. 

Ingredients:

for muffin:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup wheat pastry flour (or you can just do 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour)
3/4 cup white sugar (make half of that brown sugar if you'd like)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries or mulberries, or any berry! Berries are versatile!

for topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Strawberries and Gouda Goat Cheese Salad and Thoughts on Food

didn't even know Ohio was shaped like a heart till recently :P

When I first discovered that my husband was from Ohio, I had no idea what Ohio looked like. I imagined miles upon miles of cornfields, farms, and very rural landscapes, as well as people with country accents. When I moved here, many of my friends thought the same thing. What I discovered in Ohio were very friendly people, a relaxed lifestyle, and most of all, an easy to navigate and pretty incredible food scene. Maybe it's the novelty of being in a new place, but I have started to become very interested in the farmer's markets around Columbus, as well as the local fruit stands and brand-name stores like Whole Foods.

North Market, the foodie heaven of Columbus

North Market is a huge factory cum farmer's market/foodie heaven. Yesterday I took my friend there, and she was amazed. There's something awesome about taking very curious people to a place that you've frequented often--you start to see it with new eyes. She bought lots of things, namely ground Bison meat, dark chocolate, and hibiscus powder from the spice shop. We went to the Curds and Whey cheese kiosk and decided to try all of the weirdest cheeses, from caramel-colored cheese to a super pungent cheese that made me shiver after I ate it. After we felt our sample quota starting to run out we settled on a delicious creamy goat gouda. 

Curds and Whey with owner of 25 years, Mike

And I started to realize even more how North Market has some of the most interesting foods, things you couldn't get at your normal grocery store, and that you're supporting local grocers, people who have made finding the best cheese their goal in life, and there they are, every week, just for you. I thought nothing could top Berkeley, or California's farmer's markets, or Berkeley Bowl, etc...and I still think Berkeley wins in foodie-ship, but the best thing about North Market is that it's open every week! It doesn't come and go like a farmer's market does (though I do love those too, because they are seasonal and that makes everything even more precious). 

Not only does Columbus have North Market, they have cute little fruit farms that are only 30 minutes to an hour away (I used to have to travel an hour or two in california!) and provide an authentic tractor ride and fruit picking experience for you. Today I picked strawberries with a friend at Doran's Farm Market! This was my first time, so it made it even more fun. And at $8 for 2 lbs of fresh strawberries, a pound of green beans and some snap peas, I think it's definitely a steal!

mm small and sweet <3

I used the gouda goat cheese I bought from North Market and my fresh strawberries from Doran's to throw together a simple summer salad. The olives and lettuce were already a salad from yesterday so I just threw in the other ingredients and some olive oil mixed with sweet rice vinegar.

munching salad by the window

The sweet strawberries perfectly complimented the creamy and tangy goat gouda. In short, I felt like a sunkissed organic hippy child thriving on the best produce of my neigbor's farm. His farm of strawberries and goats. The only thing I didn't have, which I would have substituted for the olive oil vinegar dressing is a good homemade poppyseed dressing. I found a good recipe for the dressing here or I like Brianna's poppyseed dressing. I like salads because you can throw together a couple of your favorite fruits and vegis with your favorite dressing and more likely than not, it'll taste good.

Strawberry Goat Gouda Salad 

Ingredients:

• Romaine lettuce, or spinach
• 5-6 ripe strawberries, or as much as you'd like!
• several slices of Gouda goat cheese (can buy from whole foods or specialty cheese shop)
• olives (optional)

1. Tear Romaine lettuce into bite size pieces. Cut up strawberries into thin slices or leave whole if they are small. 

2. Toss lettuce and strawberries in a salad bowl and top with poppyseed dressing. Slice up thin slices of the goat gouda and place on top of salad.

3. Enjoy!

From my happy tummy to yours, 

Kaori <3

Saltim Bocca alla Romana

Saltimbocca alla Romana

Exactly 9 months ago I was studying abroad in Rome, meandering through the streets of Via de Fienaroli, looking for good food to eat, and particularly, looking for a good cooking class. I had looked around a little bit online, found a couple that seemed nice, but very pricey, and conducted by foreign cooks who were living in Rome and claimed to have mastered the Italian cuisine. However, I did not know that the best cooking class was just around the block from my dorm building! After eating some OK pizza with a couple friends down the street from the building we were staying in, I stopped by the restaurant next door because it had a sign posted in the window, "Cooking Classes in Rome". I was curious, I was excited, could this be the cooking class I've been dreaming about? I went inside and inquired. Turns out that this cooking class was run by the former chef of the restaurant, who now conducted cooking classes at his own building, which also was not so far away, just a few tram stops down.

What I discovered was a marvelous cooking class run by Chef Andrea Consoli, a jolly, enthusiastic chef who took my classmates and I into the comfort of his kitchen and taught us how to cook authentic Italian food for an affordable price, using natural and organic ingredients. Not only was the food good, a few of my classmates were melted by his kindness and his Italian suave ;). And this, is how I came to discover the mouth-watering Saltim Bocca, which we made during the course of our decadent 5 course meal. You can check out Cooking Classes in Rome here.

"Saltimbocca" literally means "jump into your mouth". They literally do. You will have a hard time keeping these delicious morsels of beef, prosciutto, and melted cheese away from your lips, and I encourage you not to. When I first heard "Saltim Bocca" I knew, with my limited Italian (I only took beginning Italian, I wasn't really there for the language, folks) that "bocca" meant mouth. So when I first heard the term, it sounded like "salty mouth". Which is sort of the key to these delicious packages of meaty-cheesy-sagey delight. The prosciutto, layered on the inside of the thinly-sliced beef, lends the beef a savory saltiness. The sage leaf on top emphasizes the flavor of the beef and adds a slight sagey nuance to the meatiness. The cheese, (Chef Andrea suggests using Edam cheese but since I can't afford that expense I used Monterey Jack, which was equally mouth-watering) brings it all together in a creamy, meaty, sagey little present of joy that will leave your guests drooling and you wondering why you haven't made it until now.

meaty morsels of delight

If I had to sum up my 4 months in Rome it would probably taste something like a Saltim Bocca. When I first arrived, hardly knowing the Italian language, people seemed a little tough and harsh to me, like a piece of overcooked beef without flavoring. However, when I started to learn the language little by little, I discovered the prosciutto, the delicious saltiness of Italian culture. I started to understand that all that sass and hand gestures, everything...is so fun, so tasty, so full of life! I saw a car almost hit another car and even though one of the drivers was obviously at fault, she was flailing her fists under her chin, equally upset at the incident. People aren't afraid to express themselves, just like that salty prosciutto isn't afraid to release it's pungent flavor from beneath the thin blanket of beef. The cheese in the very center represents how romantic Italians are (myself and my friends were constantly stared at and sometimes even followed by mischievous, dreamy-eyed men), and how seriously they take friendships. While Italian people seem like tough beef on the outside, they are oozing cheese on the inside, some of the kindest, most generous, and friendliest people you will meet. And so, my experience with Italy can be summed up in the delicious savoriness of the Saltim Bocca. I do not say this lightly--you will, with no doubt, be head over heels about this dish. And the best part about it is that it's SUPER easy to make!!

Saltim Bocca, a recipe from Chef Andrea. Enjoy!

Saltimbocca alla Romana (Saltimbocca roman style)

Note: Saltimbocca, the word translates as “jump in the mouth”
 
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- 1 lb / 500gr thinly sliced beef cutlets (scallopini or tenderloin)
- 10 slices thinly sliced prosciutto
- 10 slices thinly sliced edam cheese (american cheese, swiss cheese or sliced mozzarella cheese is fine as well.....remember it has to be soft and mild cheese)
- 20 fresh sage leaves, plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
 
Instructions:

Put the beef cutlets side by side on chopping board. Lay a piece of prosciutto on top of each piece of beef and cut it into small squares. Gently flatten the cutlets with a rolling pin or meat mallet, until the pieces are about 1/3 inch thick (about 0,5cm thick) and the prosciutto has adhered to the beef.

Then lay the cheese in the center of each cutlet square.




Wrap beef around or just fold beef in half. Lay a sage leaf on top and weave a toothpick in and out of the beef to secure the prosciutto, cheese and sage.

   

 
Heat the oil and in a large skillet over medium flame. Put the beef in the pan, 

non-sage side down first. Cook for 3 minutes or until crisp and then flip the cutlets over and saute the other side for 2 minutes, until golden. 

Transfer the saltimbocca to a serving platter, remove the toothpicks, and keep warm. Don't season with salt or pepper since prosciutto is salty and you don't need to add more seasoning to your plate.
Once done, serve immediately :). A side of pasta or minestrone with noodles can be nice, it's what I served my husband's family last night.

finished saltim bocca

small saltim, large saltim

Large Saltim Bocca
I tried my own varied version of the Saltim Bocca recipe, this time using a large slice of thin beef, layering it with prosciutto, and filling it with spinach as well as the cheese, and putting sage leaves on top. Make sure to dip the sage leaves in olive oil so that they will stick onto the beef. I tested it and the leaves will stick onto the beef without toothpicks. This larger version will need a longer cooking time since the beef needs to cook all the way through.

filled with prosciutto, raw spinach and cheese

Buon appetito!

Thank you for those who have been following my blog! If you try out this recipe please let me know how it turns out and please subscribe to my blog today if you would like an update of delicious summer recipes every week!

With love,

Kaori

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

 Strawberry Rhubarb Pie <3

What is Rhubarb?

Rhubarb is a thick, fibrous, celery-like stalk that is red on the outside and green on the outside, and very TANGY! 

So why Rhubarb?

#1 Rhubarb and strawberries are in season

#2 The combination of sweet strawberries and tangy rhubarb is heaven in your mouth. Add a flaky pie crust and a dollop of your favorite vanilla ice cream and you can say "Hallelujah!"

#3 Just try it, you'll understand when you do!

The great thing about this pie is that it's SUPER easy! And it takes minor prep work. It's SO good. And part of the reason why this upcoming recipe is delicious is due to a crust recipe I've discovered from author, and pie purist Beth Howard. When I first moved to Ohio, I thought about taking a road trip from Ohio to California, my native state. I was looking for places to stop by on the way on Google search and the American Gothic House popped up. When I checked out the house, the Internet told me that a woman lived there. Beth Howard has a blog and wrote a great book about her life recovering after her husband suddenly passed away.

See book description here

American Gothic House

I rented the book from the library right away and was touched, not only by her love for her husband but her dedication in doing what she loves to do best: baking pies. She quit her very high-paying job  in the corporate world and began working at a bakery in Malibu, California for $8 an hour. Wow, this woman sure knows what she's passionate about in life. I recommend her book and you can find her blog at http://theworldneedsmorepie.blogspot.com/. Now she lives at American Gothic house in Iowa and sells pies in front of her house from the Pitchfork Pie Stand :). What a great story. And even better, she included award winning pie recipes in the back of the book!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie <3

Prep time: 1 hour. not including chill time for pie dough. 

Ingredients

Filling:

2 packs strawberries (or 4 cups chopped)

2 cups chopped rhubarb (2 stalks should do it)

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pie Crust:

2 1/2 cups flour (but have at least 3 and 1/2 cups on  hand, as you'll need extra flour to roll dough and to thicken filling)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

Dash of salt

Ice water (fill one cup, but use only enough to moisten dough)

1. Preheat Oven to 375°F
2. Make the pie crust: Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and briefly mix it together. Add the butter and shortening and work them into the flour with your hands until you see marble-sized lumps form. Add the ice water, a little at a time, sort of “fluffing” the flour. When the dough feels moistened enough, do a “squeeze test”: if it holds together, you’re done. (Do not overwork the dough! It takes very little time and you’ll be tempted to keep touching it, but don’t!)
3. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a disk shape. Sprinkle flour under and on top of your dough to keep it from sticking. Chill dough for 30 minutes to an hour (or skip this step if you want pie FAST! chilling it helps the crust be flakier)
4. Prepare the filling: chop up the strawberries and rhubarb into bite-size pieces (2:1 strawberry-rhubarb ratio), combine in bowl, add sugar and cinnamon and lightly mix together. I do 2:1 because I like the pie more sweet than sour. 
5. Roll one disk out flat and thin enough so that the diameter is about 2 inches greater than that of the pie dish. Put the rolled-out crust into the pie dish and trim any excess dough to about 1 inch from the dish edge with scissors. 
6. Put filling onto pie crust, and roll out top crust. Crack one egg in a bowl, mix and brush top pie crust with egg mixture. This will give it a golden, crispy look. Poke holes in top crust with a fork, or you can do a lattice style top crust. 
7. Bake until fruit juices bubbles out of crust, about 40-50 minutes. 

...and I'd like to end this post with my twist on the movie Life of Pi:

I actually took this picture. and yes that is my strawberry rhubarb pie <3



Enjoy <3

The Fool Proof Parisian Macaron! Recipe from a Pierre Hermé expert!

On top is pictured green tea matcha macarons, and on bottom raspberry chocolate :)

Ok....I've decided to share my secret recipe from my Macaron class in Paris, France. Last semester I studied abroad in Rome and decided to travel to France during my time there. What is a visit to Paris without learning how to make one of their specialities, the macaron? As soon as I entered the classroom, a large room with a big wooden table, stoves, metal basins, and silicone mats for baking macarons, our teacher announced that she had actually worked under Pierre Hermé, one of the leading macaron makers in Paris! I didn't realize that day that I had taken home more than a box of delicious home-made macaroons and a paper recipe from La Cuisine Paris. I was taking home a secret recipe of goodness...one that I would use many times over for events, bakesales, etc...

La Cuisine Paris <3

Standing on a bridge over the Seine with my box of fresh macorons!

Inside the class of La Cuisine Paris

The first thing I can say about macarons...I love the dear things, and when they cooperate with me I am head over heels in love. But most of the time they are extremely fickle! You never know how a batch is going to turn out, but if you follow this recipe to a T and every one of my guidelines, which I've come up with through browsing other blogs, etc...Your macarons are going to be splendid. But! You CAN'T take any shortcuts...baking macarons teaches you the value of investment in every step of the recipe, and attention to detail, and PRACTICE! haha. hope i'm not scaring you cause you will forget all the pain after they come out of the oven and you are praised like a saint for baking them. Kind of like having a baby? Maybe, but I can't speak from experience :P.

Macarons with a friend

first batch of macaroons after attending the class

My first batch looked decent, but there are several things that could be improved. First of all, a proper macaron should not have any pointy peaks at the top of it, and no swirly texturing. Also, they should be perfectly round but also pretty flat too. However, for a first batch these were great.

Surface of the macarons will be grainy if they are too moist

if they are too liquidy and close together, they become snow men!

My second and third batch were a little too liquidy. This problem occurred because I did not fold the almond flour and italian meringue carefully enough. I also was using liquid food coloring. It is essential to keep the mixture as dry as possible, so use gel food coloring.

Macarons with no feet= italian meringue not made properly

some of these macarons had a cracked top because I did not dry them before placing in oven

The almond flour and Italian Meringue need to be folded carefully so as not to flatten and over-mix the batter. Fold the mixture, not too quickly, with a spatula until the batter is fully incorporated, do not fold too many times or it will deflate the batter. Also, after piping out the macarons, let them dry for 15 minutes on the baking sheet before putting them into oven. You can use a hair dryer or large fan to dry them faster.  Drying the macaroons will prevent cracking on the top! I will include more helpful details below :). Macarons take practice and patience, so keep trying and never give up! And let me know how this recipe works out for you!!

Green tea matcha macaroons!

Raspberry dark chocolate

Fool Proof Macarons (from La Cuisine Paris)

*you need a gram scale for this recipe, gel food coloring, and a stand mixer is always helpful
*you need a candy thermometer
*Indian stores usually sell cheap "almond powder"

Ingredients:
for 1st step:
300g ground almonds
300g powdered sugar
110g aged egg whites
Food coloring
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
for second step:
300g white sugar
75g water
110g aged egg whites

*in order to age the egg whites, crack them and separate the whites from the yolks a day in advance, and store in fridge. You will usually need up to 7 eggs or more. 

*For the filling, I recommend that you make it ahead of time, before you make the macaron shells. I found a great recipe for green tea matcha filling. Click here.

Also, for white chocolate raspberry filling (absolutely amazing!) click here.

-there are many recipes online for fillings.

2-Step Method:

1. Weigh ground almond flour and use a very fine strainer to sift. Using a stiff spatula to press the flour against the sifter helps quicken the process. Important!! not doing this wil result in grainy and chunky macarons. 

2. Weigh and sift the powdered sugar and add it to the almond flour. Mix together loosely. 

3. Add the egg whites and food coloring into the dry mixture (try out 2 drops food coloring and if you want more you can add) and mix thoroughly. Let it sit while you make the meringue. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4. Italian Meringue: place the egg whites for the second step in a stand up mixer bowl. 

5. Combine sugar and water together in a small pan and set to medium high heat until it boils. When the sugar water mixture reaches 234°F, start beating the egg whites on medium high (8) speed. 

6. When the sugar mixture reaches 244°F turn it off and pour the hot mixture directly into the beating egg whites. Do not stop beating the egg whites at any point! 

7. Go on mixing the mixture on medium high speed until the bottom of the bowl is no longer hot. Should be around 122°F. 

8. Carefully add the meringue into the dry almond flour paste you made previously, a little at a time, and gently fold until it becomes the same texture all around. It should not be too thick, but drip semi-easily from the spoon. If it is a little thick, the macaroons will survive, but be more thick and meringue-like. 

9. Fit a piping tip that is smooth (not textured) onto the end of the piping bag and gently put the mixture into the piping bag. I like to fold the edges of a piping bag around a tall cup so that it keeps its shape while I put the mixture in. 

10. Line baking sheets with parchment paper (or I recommend silicone mats) and pipe mixture by aligning yourself directly over piping bag and pushing downward in the same direction. Do not move the piping bag while piping, or else the macaron will not be a perfect circular shape. Pipe them an inch apart and you can pipe them into 1.5 inch or 2 inch circles, or even bigger if you like.

11. Let the piped macarons rest ("Croûter") for 15-30 mins, and use a hand-held fan or hairdryer to dry them out even more. They should go from looking shiny to a dull glossy look. You can even lightly touch them and they should feel hard, like they have a shell on top. Drying them will prevent them from cracking while they are baking. 

12. Bake the macarons, one sheet at a time, at 320°F for 12-14 mins. If they wiggle when you touch the tops, that means they need to be baked more. 

Enjoy, and as always, 

 

Bon Appétit! These macarons are from Pistachia Vera, but used a buttercream recipe instead of ganache. Chocolate ganache is a great filling.

-Kaori

p.s. 

p.p.s. please send me all of your experiences, questions, comments, etc!