Macarons!!!:D

Macarons with mascarpone- matcha filling, mascarpone - strawberry filling and mascarpone-honey filling

Today I felt the need to indulge myself a bit and make a little walk down the memory lane by preparing the one and only macaroons :D

Macarons:

150g ground almonds

175g powdered sugar1Tbsp regular sugar
 3 egg whites

matcha filling:

150g Mascarpone 

3Tbsps matcha green tea powder

3Tbsps honey

1 vanilla bean pod

strawberry filling:

150g Mascarpone 

1/2 mixed strawberries

3Tbsps honey

1 vanilla bean pod

honey vanilla filling:

150g Mascarpone

3Tbsps honey
1 vanilla bean pod

Directions:

First, start by mixing the powder sugar with ground almonds. Next,  proceed to whip the egg whites- when the foam begins to form add 1Tbsp of sugar and whip the whites stiff . Slowly add the egg white foam to the almond  mixture and mix delicately until incorporated. This step is known as macaronage and it requires a lot of attention. To check if the mixture is ready spoon a bit on a plate or a parchment. If you notice after dropping the formed peak incorporates within minutes, it means that your mixture is done. Otherwise you need to proceed with mixing further, but remember not to overmix it as the mixture cannot be too watery.  The ready macaronage pipe on a baking sheet (should be in the shape of coins) and leave it for 2 hours. When the tops of macaroons are dry (check it by touching the macroons with your finger – there cannot be any batter left on your finger). When the macaroons are ready put them into a preheated oven at 180°C for about 15 minutes. The perfect macaroons should develop a “foot” – see the picture. After the 15 minutes take out the baking sheet  and let them dry.

While The macaroons are cooling, prepare the fillings by mixing together the ingredients. Put the ready fillings into a refrigerator for about an hour. Slowly remove the macaroons from the baking sheet and fill them with the creamy mixture. Enjoy:)

Fruit - the highlight of my day!

Spring and fruit are a match made in heaven and that's way for today I've prepared some sweet mini tarts with some of my favourite fruit!

Crust 

2 tbs heavy cream

150 g chilled butter, chopped 
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsps brown/white sugar

2 egg yolks

1 egg

Topping

2-1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsps cornstarch

2 egg yolks

1 vanilla bean

1 tablespoon butter

shredded chocolate for decoration

Directions

Place all the ingredients for the crust together and knead until fully incorporated. Form a ball, wrap it up in foil and put in a refrigerator for at least two hours. In the meantime, heat 2 cups of milk  and ½ cup of sugar in a saucepan. Combine cornstarch with the ½ cup of milk, add egg yolks and mix well. When milk starts to boil, remove the saucepan  from the heat and stir in the prepared mixture (milk, cornstarch and egg yolk). Stir until it begins to thicken and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add vanilla bean and butter – stir until combined and then set aside to let it cool.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Take out the dough ball and spread it evenly on small tart molds (greased with butter). Prickle the centre of the pastries with a fork and bake for about 25-30 minutes. When the pastry shells are ready, you can spread the melted chocolate and set aside to cool. When the crust and chocolate have cooled, put the pastry shells for at least an hour in a refrigerator, to let them chill. Fill the shells with the prepared cream and decorate with raspberries and blueberries – garnish with shredded chocolate.

A fluffy pavlova with oranges and mascarpone-advocaat cream.

Have a bite of  a fluffy pavlova with oranges and mascarpone-advocaat creamJ

Long time no see…but it’s spring finally and I’ve found some time to prepare something for my sweet tooth ;P

My spring premiere recipe is  mini pavlovas, I hope you will enjoy them;)

Ingredients                                                    

4egg whites

1 cup sugar

Topping

500g mascarpone 

3 Tbsps avdvocaat

1Tbsp vanilla sugar

Directions

Beat the egg whites until stiff, add sugar (one spoon at a time) and mix further until combined. Spoon the mixture on a baking sheet and put in the oven for about 15 minutes at 220°C. When the peaks are lightly brown, turn down the oven to 100° and bake for an hour. In the meantime, mix all the ingredients for the topping. When  pavlova is ready, let the meringue cool in the oven for 1.5 hour and decorate it with the topping and oranges or other fruit of your choiceJ