Lemon Macarons with White Chocolate Buttercream

It has been ages since my first attempt at making macarons and as I had some left-over egg whites, I decided to bake up a batch. Macarons are such a treat even though they can be a bit finicky to make. This is really my second attempt and I am still getting some cracked tops and "feet" which seem to extend a lot more than required. Even though they don't really look like the smooth, well rounded and neat macarons I've seen on many blogs, these still taste great.




Lemon Macarons with White Chocolate Buttercream
Recipe Adapted from Tartelette
Makes between 30 to 40 macarons

For the macarons shells:

90 gr egg whites (from about 3 egg)
30 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds
2 tablespoons lemon zest

Method:

1) For the whites: the day before (24hrs), separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge.

2) In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry.

3) Combine the almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like lava or a thick ribbon.

4) Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.

5) Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets.

6) Sprinkle with the lemon zest. Preheat the oven to 280F. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size.

7) Let cool. If you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy.

8) Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer. To fill: pipe or spoon about 1 big tablespoon of butterceam in the center of one shell and top with another one.

White Chocolate Buttercream

226g unsalted butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar
170g white chocolate (I used valhora white chocolate)
3-5 tablespoons whipping cream or half-and-half

In a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners sugar at low speed until fluffy.
Add in melted and cooled white chocolate and whipping cream (start with 3 tablespoons and add in more to achieve desired consistancy). Beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes, scraping the bowl with a spatula.

An Anniversary, A Birthday and a Gift Away

Slightly more than twelve months ago, 27 April, 2008, to be exact, I decided that I wanted to start a blog and pen down my experiences as a fledging baker. Now twelve months have passed and I am now celebrating my blog's first anniversary. I really cannot believe I've learnt so much since then, tried out so many recipes, had the pleasure of meeting so many talented bloggers, joined Daring Bakers and Cake Slice Bakers.

As I take a look at the number of recipe folders I've created in my computer's hard drive, the numerous pictures taken, the recipes tried and tested, I shake my head in disbelief and realize I've certainly come a long way. I've no regrets todate, although sometimes I struggle to think of what I'll be cooking or baking over the weekend. Don't get me wrong, it's not stressful thoughts but rather thoughts of so many recipes to try out there ..... which should I pick!

So in celebrating my blog's first anniversary, I would like to give away a set of wine bottle holders (wine not included) to three lucky bloggers. The wine holders come in a set which actually resembles a male and female chinese costume. The costumes are called qípáo. However they are probably better known as "changshan" for the male costume and "cheongsam" for the female costume. All you need to do is leave a comment in this post and make a link of this gift away in your blog. Three lucky bloggers will be randomly picked by my hubby (he is definitely non-bias as he doesn't read my blog). You have until next Wednesday, 20 May to leave a comment - make sure that I am able to contact you in the event you are one of the lucky three.







In addition to celebrating my blog's first anniversary, we also celebrated Milo's fifth birthday. He is my younger Shitzu and a very playful one at that. He is a real cutie pie and extremely lovable. I don't think there is a single mean bone in his body. He simply thinks everyone is a friend. Every time my hubby and I come back to the apartment, Milo will greet us at the door with happy whimpers and his ears will be curled back behind his head. To celebrate his B DAY I made him a special treat.

Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Tart

I had quite a bit of buttermilk left over from making a chicken dish recently and rather than waste it (you know the phrase "waste not, want not"), I searched for a recipe that called for buttermilk. Actually there are quite a number of desserts ranging from cakes, cupcakes, bread and tarts. So I narrowed this down to a tart which I have not made before. This recipe is completely new to me, including the tart dough. Todate I've only baked off using Dorie Greenspan's recipe, so it's about time I extend my range. In making this tart, I split the process over 2days. By the way, this is one of my "mid-week" baking sprees and I do have this pretty often. Instead of doing one large tart, I baked these in individual 3 1/2" tart moulds and managed to squeeze 7 tartelettes in total from below recipe. The tart pastry was made first unbaked and kept overnight in the fridge. The next day, these were baked followed with the filing.

I also did a variation to the original recipe. Half the tartelettes had blueberries in the filing before being transferred into the oven to bake. The other half were baked with just plain filling. These were then topped with a fresh blueberry and apricot preserve compote. These tartalettes can be served either slightly warm or cold. We had them warm and they were absolutely delicious.



Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Tart
(makes a 10" tart or seven 3 1/2" tartelettes)

For the Shell:

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
113g (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into little bits
1 large egg yolk beaten with 2 TBsp ice water
Raw rice or beans (or baking weights) for weighting down the shell

For the Filling:

1 cup buttermilk **
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp freshly-grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
56g (1/4 c) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups blueberries
Icing sugar for sprinkling

** If you do not have buttermilk in your refrigerator, you don't need to run out purposely to buy a carton. Use the following method to make your own buttermilk.

1 cup of milk (less 1 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice
Add both together and let stand for five minutes before using it.

Make the shell:

1) Stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and blend until it resembles coarse meal. Add yolk mixture and toss until the liquid is incorporated. Form dough into a ball. Dust with flour and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 1 hour.

2) Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a floured surface. Fit into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Chill shell for at least 30 minutes or, covered, overnight.

(If you're making the tart all at once instead of chilling the crust overnight, this is a good point to melt the 1/2 stick of butter for the filling -- doing it now will give it time to cool off before adding it to the filling later)

3) Line shell with foil and fill the foil with rice. Bake shell in the middle of a preheated 180C (350C) oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and rice carefully and bake the shell for 5 - 10 minutes more, or until pale golden. Let it cool in the pan on a rack.

Meanwhile:

Make the filling:

1) In a blender or food processor, blend the buttermilk, yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice, butter, vanilla, salt and flour. Blend until smooth. Spread blueberries over the bottom of the tart shell and pour buttermilk mixture over top.

2) Bake tart in the middle of a preheated oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until filling is just set. (If you are making mini tarts, the baking time should be around 25 minutes or so)

3) Let tart cool completely in the pan on a rack. Then sprinkle with powdered sugar, sifted, and serve at room temperature or chilled, with ice cream if desired. Tarts can be refrigerated for up to 2 days - store in containers.

Lime Melts

I came across this recipe and had wanted to try this out for ever so long. It's such a simple recipe and it very much reminded me of melting moments. However I wasn't sure until I had made them. I must admit that I've come across lemon cookies but not a particular recipe that uses limes instead. You may want to take note that if you should ever come across any key limes (unfortunately we don't have this here in Singapore), use them instead of ordinary limes. The melts are suppose to taste even better. The best part about these cookies is that the dough, once rolled into logs, can be frozen for up to two months. So whenever you feel like having a melt craving, just place one of the logs from the freezer into the the fridge section the night before baking. This will help to thaw out the dough whilst you sleep. Isn't this great!







Lime Meltaways
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Yield: 5 dozen

Ingredients:

169g (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Grated zest of 4 tiny or 2 large limes (if you have key limes, use them as I've heard that the cookies will taste even better)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (a.k.a. 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

1) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.

3) Between two 8-by-12-inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Chill at least 1 hour. (I placed my logs into the freezer for about 25 minutes as I really didn't have time)

4) Heat oven to 176C (350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.

5) Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, just three or four minutes. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Fresh Basil Pesto

My husband has scored again this weekend ... now don't you think of anything that is naughty! I meant to say that I've decided to try out a new pasta dish (one of his fav foods). Something simple and entirely very fresh .... a fresh basil pesto. I was searching through Tastespotting and there are quite a few recipes found in their site. By the way if you have not discovered Tastespotting, where have you been all this time! There is a wealth of recipes in this online library and you get to discover this huge group of talented bloggers from all over the world as well.


I finally settled on a recipe from David Lebovitz and decided to try his method of making pesto. Instead of using a food processor as with most recipes I had come across, David used a mortar and pestle to pound all the ingredients. I thought to myself I could do this. Back home in Malaysia, when we were very young, my mum would make curry paste by pounding all the ingredients in a mortar. This is the traditional way and the pounding action brings the ingredients together. Somehow or other, the curries always tasted more delicious using this old fashion method. But nowadays, who has the time to do this especially when a food processor does the trick in less than 2 minutes. However I must agree that the old fashion method does build up some (not a whole lot though) biceps. I had bought my mortar and pestle about 6 years ago when I was back home in Malaysia and so far have not used it very often. I learnt recently from a local cook program, that the best way to season a new pestle is to pound it with some cooked rice for about 10 to 15 minutes. The cooked rice will help to pick up any residual sand or dust particles from the new pestle. After that just rinse the pestle with some warm water and you are ready to go.

I used the pesto for a simple penne dish topped with freshly grated parmesan, with a side of streaky bacon and a plate of toasted garlic bread .. simply delicious!



Fresh Basil Pesto
Recipe from David Lebowitz
(Makes about 1 cup - serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, peeled (I used an extra 2 cloves and the pesto had a distinct bite to it. Suggest you use 2 cloves only)
3/4 tsp coarse sea salt
5 cups (20g) loosely-packed fresh basil leaves (washed and dry)
5 Tbsp (75ml) olive oil
2 ounces (60g) grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (30g) pine nuts, toasted (I toasted mine in a frying pan, too lazy to turn on the oven)

Method:

1) Smash the garlic and salt together in a mortar and pestle until smooth.

2) Coarsely chop the basil leaves, then add them to the mortar and pounding them into the garlic as you add them.

3) Once well-mashed, when they've become a fairly-smooth paste, pound in the olive oil, adding it a spoonful at a time, until well-incorporated.

4) Lastly, pound in the cheese, then the pine nuts.

5) Continue mashing everything for a few minutes until the pesto is as smooth as possible.

Notes:

Fresh pesto should be served within a day or two after it's made. Otherwise the garlic can become overpowering. It can also be frozen for a few months, if well-wrapped.

If using a mini-chopper, or similar device, simply blitz all the ingredients together until as smooth as possible.

Crispy Baked "Fried" Chicken

If you are a fan of crispy chicken (flashes of Kentucky Fried Chicken just swooped past) like me but absolutely hate messing up the kitchen with splatters of oil, etc, then you should really try this recipe. This was what happened to me when I came across this recipe one evening endlessly browsing through the internet for new ideas. I decided this would be our Easter dinner and to keep everything simple since it was just the two of us, I paired off the chicken with a simple mash potato and ceasar salad . The best part about oven fried chicken other than minimal cleaning up is that I could go about doing other chores or sit back and relax in front of the telly. Well to be honest we did have a small accident in the kitchen! I asked my husband to crush the bag of cornflakes by hand as mine was coated with flour and buttermilk. I guessed he crushed it a bit too hard and the opening split, spilling 1/3 of the cornflakes onto the kitchen floor. So in a way we did have a "mess" to clean up after all.





Crispy Baked "Fried" Chicken
Recipe from Food Network Magazine (February/March 2009)
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

8 chicken pieces (preferably 2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 legs and 2 wings)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups cornflakes
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon ground sage

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place a rack in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet.

2) Rinse the chicken in cold water; pat dry. In a wide bowl or on a plate, season the flour with salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Dredge each chicken piece through the flour so it's fully coated, tap against the bowl to shake off excess flour and set aside. Discard the flour.

3) Crush the cornflakes by placing them in a big resealable plastic bag, carefully pressing the bag to push out the air. Seal up the bag (with as little air inside as possible) and run over the flakes with a rolling pin. Open the bag and pour the crushed flakes into a wide bowl or onto a plate.

4) In a large bowl (big enough to dredge the chicken pieces), mix the buttermilk, mustard, cayenne pepper, paprika and sage. Give each floured chicken piece a good buttermilk bath and then roll in the cornflake crumbs.

5) Arrange the chicken pieces on the rack and place in the hot oven. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, lower the heat to 375 degrees and cook for another 25 to 30 minutes, until cooked through and crispy. The juices should run clear when the meat is pierced with a knife.

Baking a Cheesecake With the Daring Bakers

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny of Jenny Bakes . She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I was very pleased that we would be baking a cheesecake this month as this would be one cake my hubby will certainly enjoy. He’s not partaken of most of my Daring Bakers cakes (other than the savory recipes) as cakes and cookies are “off-limits” to him. Don’t think that this is due to any medical condition rather that he doesn’t fancy it at all. However if it has cheese as a main ingredient, it’s a total ball-game altogether. My brother-in-law is the same too. Both men will complain that the cake is too dense (trust me it is not), too much butter, too much flour, too eggy! My goodness, have you ever heard of such a string of excuses!

I very seldom make a “baked” cheesecake as I usually find them a bit heavier than chilled ones. Chilled ones are much creamier, lighter and has less steps as well. The couple of times I’ve made a baked cheesecake, the recipe did not call for a water bath. So in a way, this is something new to me as well. For this month's challenge I decided to tackle two different types of cheesecake; chocolate and berries. I halfed both recipes below and made them into 4" minis.





Chocolate Cheesecake with Valhora Chocolate Pearls
Make one 8" cake

For the Cheese mixture:

300g cream cheese
200ml whipping cream
120g caster sugar
2 whole eggs
4Tbs Dutch process cocoa powder
4tsp freshly squeeze lemon juice
1/2 cup valhora chocolate pearls

For the Crust:

180g Oreo cookies (w/o filling)
100g unsalted butter

* Cheesecake is best make using a spring form pan or a pan with removable bottom (I use the later).

* You can get your cake sliced just like the one they sell in the café by following these simple steps: first soak a knife in a cup of hot water, wipe off with a towel, then cut the cake while knife is still warm. Try to cut it through with only one cut and do not “saw”. Whip off any cake crump/residue and slice again. Just repeat these steps and you will have neat and pretty slices of cake that rival what they sell in the patisseries.

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 160 degree C/325 degree F.

2) Wrap the bottom (up to half way) of the pan with 2 layers of foil paper. Boil some water for later use (appx. 2 liter).

For the crust:

Break the cookies into small pieces, then place into a zip lock bag or any heavy weight plastic bag (remove air bubbles), and crush + roll using a rolling pin until cookies become fine crumb. Place butter in microwave and heat for 1 min. over medium heat. Pour melted butter into the bag, remove air bubble and close the bag, then shake it to mix the two. Pour this mix into the pan; using the back of a large spoon, press crumb firmly to pan until packed; set aside.

For the cheesecake:

1) Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk, whisk cream cheese until blended; add the other ingredients in the following order, sugar --> cocoa powder --> eggs --> lemon juice --> whipping cream, make sure that each item is well blended before adding another. Strain the cheese mixture then pour into the cake pan. Then randomly drop in the chocolate pearls.

2) Pour hot water (1 inch in depth) into a roasting pan, place the pan inside the roasting pan and bake for 45 - 50 minutes. If the water dried out while baking, be sure to refill with more hot water. Once the center of the cake no longer quiver and the sides begin to pull away from the pan then it is done. Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire rack. Place in fridge for overnight to set.

Dark Chocolate Glazing

100g whipping cream
125g water
40g cocoa powder
160g granulated sugar
10g leaf gelatine

Method:

1) Pre-soak gelatine in a bowl of cold water, squeeze out excess water; set aside. If using powdered gelatine, add 2 spoon of water.

2) Place whipping cream, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Then add in the cocoa powder and bring to boil again or till mixture slightly thicken; stir constantly to avoid mixture sticking to saucepan. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes then add the pre-soaked gelatine; stir until completely melted; strain. When cool to lukewarm, pour glazing onto cheesecake and let some drip down the sides. Place back into fridge for another hour before serving.

3) For final dressing, pipe rosettes of whipped cream around the edge of the cake before serving.







Yogurt Berry Cheesecake

Graham Cracker Base

1 1/4 cups wholewheat cracker crumbs (you can use graham)
3 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp of cinnamon

Cheesecake Filing:

8-oz cream cheese, room temperature 113g
16-oz citrus flavoured yogurt (or natural yogurt), room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp of lime zest
1 tsp lime juice
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
pinch salt

Method for the Crust:

1)) Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until well combined. Press into a 9-inch springform pan, pressing the crust slightly up the sides if you don’t wish to have a thick crust on the bottom.

2) Prebake a graham cracker base into a 9-inch springform pan; a 9-inch graham cracker pie crust should work fairly well, too. This cheesecake can also be baked without a crust.

Method for the Filing:

1) Preheat oven to 350F (176C)

2) Wrap the bottom of the pan with double foil paper. Boil some water for later use (appx. 2 liter).

2) In a food processor, blend cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, eggs, zest, juice, vanilla extract and salt until mixture is very, very smooth.

2) Pour hot water (1 inch in depth) into a roasting pan, place the pan inside the roasting pan and bake for about 40 - 50 minutes. If the water dried out while baking, be sure to refill with more hot water. Once the center of the cake no longer quiver and the sides begin to pull away from the pan then it is done. Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire rack. Place in fridge for 3 hours or overnight to set.

3) Cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

4) To serve top the cheesecake with a mixed berrie (blackberries, raspberries and blueberries) compote and sprinke some lime zest on the top as decoration.