Gebäck – Coconut & Vanilla

Apfel & Vanille Madeleines mit brauner ButterApple, Brown Butter & Vanilla Madeleines

Madeleines sind so eine heikle Sache. Ich liebe sie. Und sie sind einfach zu machen. Sie sind auch sehr lecker. Aber meistens nur am Backtag, vielleicht noch am Tag danach. Anschließend sind sie trocken, hart, einfach nicht mehr lecker. Mein Gebäck sollte sich aber schon ein paar Tage halten. Das erwarte ich schlicht und einfach. Ich backe nicht nur für einen Tag (außer es kommen natürlich Gäste).

Ich war schon von vielen Madeleines begeistert. Die Begeisterung legte sich schnell. Bis ich diese hier ausprobiert habe. Sie schmecken nicht nur einfach ganz toll nach den verwendeten Zutaten, also Äpfel, der Vanille und der gebräunten Butter, nein sie halten sich auch noch mehrere Tage in einer Blechdose. Dabei bleiben sie immer schön saftig und aromatisch. Ich habe mein Rezept gefunden!

Schwierig wird es wohl, wenn ich mich nach Madeleines ohne Obst sehne. Aber das dürfte im Herbst zu verhindern sein. Es gibt ja noch Birnen, Quitten und im Notfall könnte man auch ein bisschen Kürbisfleisch in die kleinen Küchlein schmuggeln.

Ich habe mich bei diesem Rezept mehr oder weniger an die Angaben gehalten, und es nur auf glutenhaltige Zutaten umgemodelt. Ich habe es von dem wundervollen Blog von Aran – Cannelle et Vanille. Sollte man also unter eine Glutenunverträglichkeit oder Zöliakie leiden, ist dieser Blog eine sehr gute Anlaufstelle für Rezepte. Ansonsten ist er immer wieder schön anzuschauen.

Vor einem Jahr: Churros

Apfel & Vanille Madeleines mit brauner Butter

nach einem Rezept von Cannelle et Vanille

ergibt ca. 20 Madeleines

Apfelmus aus dem Ofen:

Zutaten:

3 Äpfel, geschält, entkernt und in 2 cm Würfel geschnitten
1 Vanilleschote, aufgeschlitzt und Mark entfernt
1 EL Butter
1 EL heller Rohrzucker

Alles in einer Auflaufform vermengen und bei 180° C im Ofen 20-25 Minuten backen. Die Vanilleschote entfernen und pürieren.

Madeleines:

Zutaten:

100 g Butter
130 g Weizenmehl
1 TL Backpulver
1 Prise Salz
2 Eier
125 g heller Rohrzucker
Apfelmus von oben

Die Butter in einem kleinen Topf bei mittlerer Hitze schmelzen, bis sie anfängt zu bräunen und nussig duftet. Zur Seite stellen und abkühlen lassen.

In einer kleinen Schüssel Mehl, Backpulver und Salz mischen.

Die Eier mit dem Zucker auf hoher Stufe schlagen, bis die Masse dick ist und eine helle Farbe aufweist. Das Mehl hinzufügen und unterrühren. Die braune Butter mit dem Apfelmus unterrühren. Die Schüssel mit Frischhaltefolie abdecken und 2 Stunden kühl stellen (ich hab die Sache etwas abgekürzt, da Platzmangel herrschte. Ging auch so).

Den Ofen auf 180° C vorheizen.

Falls man keine Silikonform benutzt, die Madeleineform einfetten. Den Teig in die Mulden füllen und 10-15 Minuten backen, bis sie goldbraun sind.

Noch 5 Minuten in der Form auskühlen lassen, dann auf ein Abkühlgitter legen. Die nächste Ladung backen.

Madeleines are a delicate thing. I love them and they are super easy to bake. Also they are delicious. But mostly only on the day they are baked, maybe the day after. After that they are dry, hard, just not delicious anymore. But my baked goods should last for a few days. That are just my expectations. I’m not baking things for only one day (except guests are expected).

I already was enthusiastic about many madeleine recipes. But that was gone soon. Until I tried these sweet little gems. They are perfectly delicious! They combine the taste of the apples with the vanilla and the brown butter. AND they are lasting several days in a cookie jar. Whilst that, they are keeping moist and aromatic. I found my recipe!

It will be different finding a recipe, without fruit, although. But this won’t be necessary in autumn, since there still can be used pears, quinces and even some pumpkin puree.

I found this recipe on the wonderful blog from Aran – Cannelle et Vanille. I just changed the recipe into one with gluten. So if you are suffering under celiac disease, this blog should be one of your favourite sources for recipes. Besides it is just a beautiful blog.

One year ago: Churros

Apple, Brown Butter & Vanille Madeleines

source: Cannelle et Vanille

yield: about 20 madeleines

Roasted Apples:

Ingredients:

2 small apples, peeled, cored and cut into 2 cm cubes
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 Tbsp butter

Combine the ingredients in a baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes at 180° C. Remove the vanilla pod and puree it.

Madeleines:

Ingredients:

100 g butter
130 g plain wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
2 eggs
125 g light brown sugar
pureed apple mixture from above

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, until it begins to brown and smells nutty. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl combine the flour, salt and the baking powder.

Whip the eggs and the sugar on high speed, until light and thick. Add the flour and mix briefly until combined. Add the brown butter and the apple puree and mix until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for two hours (I shortened this step, since I hadn’t the possibilities. Worked fine though.).

Preheat the oven to 180° C.

Spoon the batter into the madeleine pan (if you are using a non-silicone pan, don’t forget to butter it).

Bake the madeleines for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Bake the next batch.

Schottisches ShortbreadScottish Shortbread

Update: Für das deutsche Rezept nach unten scrollen!

I never were really fond of shortbread. Scottish or not. We didn’t even tried some, as we were in Scotland last year. We just brought some home as a gift. I ate some of the gift myself. But I’m not ashamed, since it revealed the tastiness of shortbread to me. Scottish shortbread. I don’t know how Irish tastes or other. So I’m only referring to Scottish.

Lately I thought again of the shortbread. And I thought of a try years ago to produce shortbread. It was a recipe of Jamie Oliver. It was not good. Since then I had a slightly aversion against shortbread. Sorry Jamie. But there was no reference of the Scottish there. A glimmer of hope? Well, I searched the internet for a simple shortbread recipe, no chocolate, no herbs, no fuss. And then I found it! On a blog, which blogger has it from a fellow blogger, who owns it from her Scottish grandfather!

If you are not familiar with shortbread. I give you a short dive into the taste and texture of that shortbread. It’s crumbly, but not allover. Everything holds together, but on the edges it crumbles. It’s flaky, maybe you can see some layered flakes in the picture. Those layers brake apart in your mouth. And then comes the buttery taste. There’s a lot of butter in there, but it doesn’t taste like your eating pure butter. Simple, but somehow complex. Maybe just delicious. So don’t keep your hands from that recipe, because of the butter, you will regret that! And yes you can eat more than one piece. Because they are lighter than you think.

You don’t need a special ingredient, it’s all there in the kitchen. Go and make them!

Schottisches Shortbread

ergibt: eine 20 x 20 cm Form, in kleine Quadrate geschnitten (für ein ganzes Blech die Menge verdoppeln)

Zutaten:

110 g Zucker
140 g Maisstärke
300 g Weizenmehl
225 g Butter, raumwarm, klein gewürfelt
1 Prise Salz
Zucker zum Bestreuen nach dem Backen (hab ich weggelassen)

Den Ofen auf 160° C vorheizen.

In der Küchenmaschine oder mit dem Handrührer den Teig herstellen, dazu alle Zutaten in eine Schüssel geben und auf hoher Stufe verrühren, bis es wie Sand aussieht und keine Butterklümpchen mehr zu sehen sind. Die Mischung in die Form geben und fest reindrücken, bis es ebenmäßig und fest ist.

Den Teig mit einer Gabel mehrmals einstechen.

Das Shortbread 45-50 Minuten backen bis er goldgelb ist.

Aus dem Ofen nehmen, und mit Zucker bestreuen (optional). Auskühlen lassen und in Quadrate schneiden. Bei mir 4 x 4 cm.

Tipp: Wenn die Form eine Springform ist oder einen niedrigen Rand hat, ist es einfacher das Shortbread zu schneiden und es aus der Form zu nehmen.

You don’t need a special ingredient, it’s all there in the kitchen. Go and make them!

Scottish Shortbread

yields: one 20×20 cm square pan, cut into smaller squares (double the amount for a full sheet pan)

Ingredients:

110 g sugar
140 g corn starch
300 g flour
225 g butter, at room temperature
1 pinch of salt
some sugar for sprinkling after baking ( I didn’t)

Preheat the oven to 160° C.

Add sugar, corn starch, flour and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the butter in pieces. Use the paddle attachment and whisk on a higher speed, until the butter is fully integrated and it looks like sand. It won’t form a dough. Pour the mixture into the pan and firmly press down the dough, until it’s an even mass.

Prickle the dough with a fork.

Bake the shortbread for 45 – 50 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sugar, if you want. Let cool, then cut into squares. I cut mine into 4×4 cm squares.

Tip: It helps if the pan is a spring pan (like mine) or has a low rim. So it’s easier for cutting and especially for removing the shortbread from the pan.

Churros Churros

Update: Für das deutsche Rezept nach unten scrollen!

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

The challenge were doughnuts. But since I just made them some weeks ago, as you can see here, I wanted to try something different. Especially, because frying is so versatile and the fried goods are always so delicious.

So I took the chance to make churros.

I love churros, since I remember, that I’ve first eaten them on our vacations in Spain. Bought in a paper bag from a mobile churrería. DELICIOUS. I remember them pure or tossed in sugar. I didn’t get to know the version, where you dip them in thick warm chocolate. That sounded good to me, too. But in my memory, the churros were rich, not so light. So I decided to skip the chocolate part spontaneously.

In the end, the churros turned out really light. They puffed up, while frying and came out in a doubled or even tripled size, than before. I don’t know why this happened, maybe it was the recipe. Everything else looked right to me. So a rich decadent chocolate would accompany this recipe just right. Nonetheless the churros were very good. But I’m still looking for the perfect recipe, fitting my childhood memories.

Vor einem Jahr: Zimt- und Anis-Macarons

Churros

nach einem Rezept von Cannelle et Vanille

Zutaten:

125 ml Wasser
125 ml Vollmilch
110 g Butter
1 Prise Salz
1 große Prise Zucker
150 g Mehl
3 Eier
Öl/Fett zum Frittieren
Zimtzucker zum Wälzen

Wasser, Milch, Butter, Zucker und Salz in einen Topf geben und aufkochen. Das Mehl zugeben und mit einem Löffel einrühren, bis ein glatter Teigball entsteht.

Weiterrühren (geht auch in der Küchenmaschine oder mit dem Handrührer) bis der meiste Dampf verflogen ist, dann nach und nach die Eier unterrühren. Rühren bis eine glatte dicke Masse entsteht.

In einen Spritzbeutel mit Sterntülle geben.

Das Öl auf 170° C erhitzen. Es sollte mindestens 10 cm tief sein.

Den Teig auf Backpapier spritzen. Jedes Teigstück auf Papier ausschneiden, so dass man einen Churro auf einem Stück Papier hat.

Wenn das Öl heiß ist, das Papier mit dem Teig in das Öl gleiten lassen. Der Teig löst sich vom Papier und man kann sie mit einer Zange rausnehmen. So muss man nicht mit dem Spritzbeutel über dem heißen Fett hantieren und die Churros behalten die Form, die sie haben sollen.

Die Churros rausbacken, bis sie goldbraun sind. Dann mit einer Siebkelle herausnehmen und auf Küchenpapier abtropfen lassen. In Zimtzucker wälzen und sofort verzehren.

So I took the chance to make churros.

One year ago: Cinnamon and Anise Macarons

Churros

from Cannelle et Vanille

Ingredients:

125 ml water
125 ml whole milk
110 g butter
pinch salt
large pinch sugar
150 g flour
3 eggs
oil for frying
cinnamon sugar for coating

Place the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring this to a boil. Add the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a smooth ball.
Transfer this mass to the bowl of an electric mixer (or can do it by hand) and start mixing with a paddle attachment. When most of the steam has evaporated, add the eggs one at a time. Mix until it comes together to a smooth thick mass.
Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip (#5).

In a wide pan that has tall sides, pour about 3″ deep of canola oil. Heat it to 170°C.

Pipe the batter in strings on parchment paper. Cut every single dough string on the paper out. So you have one string on one piece of paper.

When the oil reaches the temperature, let the paper with dough slide into the oil. The paper releases itself from the dough in the oil. Remove the paper pieces with tongs. With this trick the churros will hold their shape and you don’t have to work with your pastry bag above the hot oil.

Fry them until golden brown. Remove the churros from the oil and place them on a paper towel to drain the remaining oil. Roll them in cinnamon sugar. Serve immediately.

Glutenfreie DonutsGluten-free Donuts

We had a party at the weekend. Celebrating our new apartment and my 25th. Lots of people, lots of food. Lots of fun!

Since one guest has celiac disease and I didn’t wanted to make everything special, a lot of the food was gluten-free. Also it was a good opportunity to make donuts. We love them, but it isn’t worth the work for only two people. But for 20. So searching the internet I found a recipe, that sounded good to me. We adapted it to the flours we had. To form the donuts you have to work with a pastry bag, because the dough is not firm enough to roll it out and cut out the donuts. But it’s easy. Don’t be afraid!

They were so good! You would never ever notice those are gluten-free! It was a real surprise.

I think it really worked out so well, because we made our own mix of flours and didn’t use a store-bought mixture, which contains mostly corn flour (in Germany). Additionally we used xanthan as a gluten substitute. Xanthan is not very common in Germany. To be truth nobody (almost) knows it. Outside Germany you can maybe imagine how baked gluten-free goods look like here. And how they taste. It’s a shame, cause with xanthan it’s so easy. I’ve baked now three times with it and every time it worked out really well. And I never baked gluten-free before that! I bought the xanthan here. It was shipped from Austria and you can purchase a larger amount, that isn’t that over expensive. Normally you need 0,5 – 1 tsp. per recipe, so if you bake often gluten-free, 500g are a good investment.

Originally we wanted to coat the donuts with sugar glaze and with chocolate, but we were tight in time, so we tossed them in cinnamon sugar. F. said, they were not that fluffy like normal donuts. The texture was more like jelly donuts. But I couldn’t think, that this is something negative. I love jelly donuts, too. So feel free to make them ball shape and fill them with jam. Everything is possible and everything will be delicious!

Gluten-free Donuts

yield: about 25 small donuts

Ingredients:

230 g white rice flour
130 g potato starch/flour
60 g tapioca starch/flour
220 g sugar
4 tsp xanthan
1 tsp salt
1 ¾ tsp baking powder
3 sachets or 7,5 tsp instant dry yeast
275 ml warm milk or water
170 g melted butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
oil, suitable for deep-frying
extra sugar and cinnamon for tossing

Combine the flours, sugar, xanthan, salt, baking powder and yeast in a bowl of your stand mixer.

Add the warm milk, melted butter and eggs. Knead for 5 minutes at medium speed.

Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

Line parchment paper on your counter. Fill the dough in a pastry bag, fitted with a wide round tip. Pipe donuts 6 cm in diameter onto the parchment paper. Let them rest again for 20 minutes. Cut the parchment between the donuts, so every donut sits on one piece of parchment.

Prepare your oil, either in a large pot or in your deep-fryer. We preheated the oil in the deep-fryer at 170°C.

Prepare a large dish lined with paper towels for the donuts. Mix the sugar and cinnamon for the topping in a tray. Place it all next to your deep-fryer.

Gently slide 4 donuts with the parchment paper into the oil and fry until golden brown. Flip the donuts, as you remove the parchment paper using tongs. Cook until golden brown again. Remove the donuts with a slotted spoon and place them on the paper towels.

While still warm toss the donuts gently in the sugar-cinnamon mixture.

We had a party at the weekend. Celebrating our new apartment and my 25th. Lots of people, lots of food. Lots of fun!

They were so good! You would never ever notice those are gluten-free! It was a real surprise.

Gluten-free Donuts

yield: about 25 small donuts

Ingredients:

230g white rice flour
130g potato starch/flour
60g tapioca starch/flour
220g sugar
4 tsp xanthan
1 tsp salt
1 ¾ tsp baking powder
3 sachets or 7,5 tsp instant dry yeast
275ml warm milk or water
170g melted butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
oil, suitable for deep-frying
extra sugar and cinnamon for tossing

Combine the flours, xanthan, salt, baking powder and yeast in a bowl of your stand mixer.

Add the warm milk, melted butter and eggs. Knead for 5 minutes at medium speed.

Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

Prepare your oil, either in a large pot or in your deep-fryer. We preheated the oil in the deep-fryer at 170°C.

Prepare a large dish lined with paper towels for the donuts. Mix the sugar and cinnamon for the topping in a tray. Place it all next to your deep-fryer.

While still warm toss the donuts gently in the sugar-cinnamon mixture.

Enjoy!

Friandaises mit roten JohannisbeerenRed Currant Friandaises

Update: Für das deutsche Rezept nach unten scrollen!

When I remember of red currants, I think of me as a child, standing in front of the red currant bushes in the garden of my relatives in Coburg. Just plucking and nibbling one after the other with pleasure. Really loved that time of year, since I’m still loving it today. And I’m still in love with red currants.

Unfortunately we don’t have a garden, so no nibbling them straight from the bushes for me. But by the time you buy them and they are coming in boxes, it isn’t so tempting anymore to eat them straight away. So I thought about what I could do with them anyway. Since I was also looking for something, which uses up some of my left over egg whites, I just thought of friandaises. Usually I make them with flaked almonds. The friandaises are light and mellow pastries with crunchy edges. They are divine! And they use up 6 egg whites!

I substituted the almond flakes with red currants. The red currants are really pairing well in the friandaises! I’m evenly surprised, how good the red currants come of in pastry in general. So maybe there will be coming up more with them!

Traditionally friandaises are baked in little moulds formed like ships. But since It’s a lot of dough just for the ships I also put some dough in moulds, that were about the same size like muffin moulds. In the smaller moulds your friandaises will become more crispy, which I prefer. Another good option may be moulds for madeleines, since they are also very small.

Friandaises mit roten Johannisbeeren

ergibt: etwa 25 Schiffchen

Zutaten:

190 g Butter
250 g Puderzucker
80 g Weizenmehl
130 g gemahlene Mandeln
1 Prise Salz
6 Eiweiß
etwa 300 g rote Johannisbeeren, gewaschen

Die Butter in einer kleinen Stielkasserole schmelzen, bis sie beginnt zu bräunen und nussig riecht. Den Topf vom Herd nehmen und abkühlen lassen.

Den Ofen auf 180° C vorheizen.

Zucker, Mehl, Mandeln und Salz mischen. Die Eiweiße verrühren. Unter die trockenen Zutaten rühren. Die braune Butter in einem dünnen Strahl unter den Teig rühren.

Wenn ihr keine Silikonförmchen verwendet, dann erst die Förmchen buttern. Den Teig in die Förmchen füllen. Ich mache sie fast voll.

Die Johannisbeeren auf dem Teig verteilen.

5 Minuten bei 180° C backen, dann die Hitze auf 160° C runterdrehen und weitere 20 Minuten backen, bis sie goldbraun sind und knusprige Ränder haben. Den Ofen ausschalten und nochmals 5 Minuten warten. Aus dem Ofen nehmen und abkühlen lassen.

Red Currant Friandaises

Yield: about 25 small ones

Ingredients:

190g butter
250g powdered sugar
80g flour
130g grounded almonds
1 pinch of salt
6 egg whites
about 300g red currants, washed

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, until it begins to brown. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool a bit. Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Whisk together the sugar, flour, almonds and salt. Whisk together the egg whites, but do not beat them! Then whisk them together with the sugar-flour-mixture, until it’s smooth. And don’t beat it! Just stirring.

Stir in the melted butter in a thin stream, until it’s incorporated. If you do not use silicon moulds, like me, butter your moulds, to prevent your friandaises to stick to them. Fill the moulds with the dough. I made them nearly full. Now pluck the red currants from the stems and put them on the friandaises.

Bake them for 5 minutes at 180°C, then turn down the heat to 160°C and bake for another 20 minutes, until they are golden brown and have crispy edges. Turn off the stove and wait for another 5 minutes. Take them out of the oven and let them cool.

Schokoladen Macarons mit HimbeerfüllungChocolate Macarons with Raspberry Filling

Update: Für das deutsche Rezept nach unten scrollen!

Since on the 20. March was Macaron Day I decided to show you my latest accomplishment in macarons.

Yes, there exists a special day for macarons! In Paris are special shops, that sell macarons all day long and on macarons day you can get some free! Unfortunately I never had the chance to be there (on macarons day or sometime else). As macarons are not very popular in Germany, ok unknown would be the better word… I mean most people don’t even know what cupcakes are… so you couldn’t say macarons are the new cupcakes ;). Anyway what I wanted to say is, that there won’t be shops in Germany, that sell macarons.

But most often I think anyway it’s better and more fun to do it myself. I mean look at those little beauties. Just want to grab one immediately and stuff it into my mouth.

And in your mouth you have the rich chocolate flavour and now you think “yeah and in the middle even more boring chocolate”… haha no! In the middle is chocolate (and do use the good one!) with raspberry puree! It’s soo delicious.

So if you didn’t do it, celebrate macarons day with some lovely macarons. Even more if you have some egg whites sitting in your fridge and you don’t know what do to with them. So you have to make some macarons, because it would be a pity to throw all the egg whites away. And you will feel a lot better, when you use them up and they are not looking at you anymore out of the fridge, making you guilty, because you don’t know what to do with them. Believe me, what a relief to make macarons!

And it is not difficult. Ok my first try wasn’t what I expected. They tasted good, but they didn’t look like macarons. So for some tipps, you can look up my first post with macarons.

Don’t be worried, if my post is looking some what different, because I’m trying it the first time with Windows Live Writer, instead of that Google crap. Yeah, you read right. It’s just driven me into insanity some times. So maybe that here works better. I’m yet “astonished” by the amount of fonts and options to embed my pictures. You see, after Google I’m very easy to impress.

But don’t want to bore you with that theoretical things.

Schokoladen Macarons mit Himbeerfüllung

Zutaten:

100 g Eiweiß (raumwarm; mind. 24h vorher getrennt)
25 g Zucker
1/2 TL Zitronensaft
225 g Puderzucker
125 g Mandelmehl (oder gemahlene Mandeln, die ich nochmal mit einem Aufsatz für den Pürierstab mahle)
15 g Kakaopulver
1 Prise Salz
Kakaosplitter zum Bestreuen

für die Füllung:

100 g Vollmilchschokolade oder-kuvertüre
50 g Himbeerpüree
einen Schuss Schlagsahne
ein Stückchen Butter

Wichtig: Die Eier müssen mindestens 24 h (oder länger) vor dem Backen getrennt worden sein. Dadurch verlieren die Eiweiße an Feuchtigkeit und formen so einen stabileren Meringue. Sie müssen Raumtemperatur haben.

Die Eiweiße mit dem Zitronensaft fast steif schlagen. Den Zucker nach und nach zugeben und schlagen bis ein steifer glänzender Meringue ensteht.

Den Puderzucker, Mandelmehl und den Kakao sieben. Nach und nach unter den Meringue heben. Man sollte dazu nicht mehr als 50 Züge (1 Zug = 1x Unterheben) benötigen, sonst fällt die Masse zusammen.

Die Macarons auf ein Backblech mit Backpapier spritzen und mit Kakaosplitter bestreuen. Das Backblech vorsichtig auf die Arbeitsfläche schlagen, so bekommen die Macarons eine gleichmäßige Oberfläche.

Den Ofen auf 150° C vorheizen.

Die Macarons 20 Minuten trocknen lassen, damit sich Füßchen formen können.

8 Minuten backen, dann das Blech wenden und nochmal 8 Minuten backen. Immer nur 1 Blech auf einmal backen!

Abkühlen lassen und in eine luftdichte Dose legen, bis man sie füllt.

Für die Füllung die Schokolade im Wasserbad schmelzen. Dann das Himbeerpüree und die Sahne dazugeben und gut unterrühren. Die Butter unterrühren, bis die Füllung cremig und leicht glänzend ist. Abkühlen lassen, bis man die Füllung mit dem Spritzbeutel bearbeiten kann. Am besten in den Kühlschrank stellen.

Wenn die Masse fest genug ist, die Macarons damit füllen.

Since on the 20. March was Macaron Day I decided to show you my latest accomplishment in macarons.

But most often I think anyway it’s better and more fun to do it myself. I mean look at those little beauties. Just want to grab one immediately and stuff it into my mouth.

And it is not difficult. Ok my first try wasn’t what I expected. They tasted good, but they didn’t look like macarons. So for some tipps, you can look up my first post with macarons.

But don’t want to bore you with that theoretical things.

Chocolate Macarons with Raspberry Filling

Ingredients:

100 g egg whites (at room temperature; separated at least 24 hours prior)
25 g sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
225 g powdered sugar
125 g almond flour (ground almonds, which I grind another time with an attachment of my immersion blender)
15 g cocoa powder
pinch of salt
cocoa nibs for topping

For the filling:

100 g milk chocolate
50 g raspberry puree
a splash of cream (or something similar: heavy cream or crème fraîche)
a piece of butter

Don’t forget, that the egg whites have to be separated 24h prior or longer before starting to bake. So they loose moisture, which helps to form a stable meringue. Let them get room temperature.

Whip the egg whites and the lemon juice until they are almost fully whipped. While mixing add the sugar slowly. Whip until you have a shiny stiff meringue.

Sift the powdered sugar, almonds and cocoa. Add the dry ingredients successive to the meringue and fold until a shiny mass is formed. You shouldn’t need more than 50 strokes to do that, otherwise you overfold the mass and it will deflate.

Pipe the macarons onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with cocoa nibs. Take the baking sheet and hit it on the working surface (of course as gently as you can, you don’t want the macarons sticking on the ceiling). That helps to get an even surface. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Let the macarons dry at room temperature for 20 minutes. That helps to form their feets (you see in the pictures).

Bake them for about 8 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet and bake for another 8 minutes. Only bake one baking sheet at a time! Unless one sheet is ready and the other not. I tried!

Let them cool and transfer to an airtight container, until you fill them.

For the filling, break the chocolate into pieces and melt it in a double boiler. When melted, add the raspberry puree and the cream. Stir until incorporated. Add the butter. Stir until it’s creamy and a little bit shiny. Let it cool until it’s pipeable. I put mine on the window board outside (it was cold). Otherwise I would recommend the fridge ;).

When it is pipeable, fill the macarons with the ganache.

Enjoy your Macarons Day!

Zimt und Anis MacaronsCinnamon and Anise Macarons

Update: Für das deutsche Rezept nach unten scrollen!

This month challenge for the Daring Bakers were French Macarons. The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

I was a bit scared, because I tried macarons some weeks ago the first time and they went totally wrong. The shells weren’t really hard, almost no „feet“ (you can see feet in the picture of my succesful anis macarons below) and they were much too soft. But I was also eager to do it better.

In the (english) food blog world everyone is about macarons. But here in Germany nobody knows them. Or precisely macarons are known as something different. Dessicated coconut with beaten egg whites and sometimes nuts or chocolate within. „Feets“ are not wanted, it’s more like small piles. Germans wake up and get to know french macarons!

The challenge itself was challenging. After my first mishappening and reading in the Daring Bakers Forum about the problems with the recipe given and the better-going recipes with Tartelette’s one, I decided to give the disaster not a chance again and go with Tartelette’s recipe.

The recipe is very easy to vary. I made the Cinnamon Macarons with hazelnuts and a Tbsp. cinnamon and a gianduja (rounded up with some cream) filling and the Anise Macarons with almonds a Tbsp. grounded anise and a white chocolate filling.

Some tips, which I found important are:

Ground your grounded nuts again yourself (something like a Moulinette would be helpful). They are not fine enough. Sieve your powdered sugar before.

I used a silicone mat and normal parchment paper and I would prefer the parchment paper here, because the macarons sticked so much to my silicone mat, I didn’t get them off right. Also after baking let them cool for about 15 minutes outside, then move the baking sheet back in the warm (but not hot!) oven. Let them cool completely over the night. Mine were mostly *fingers crossed* easy to peel off the parchment paper. If it doesn’t work give some sprinkles of water under the paper, if the sheet is still warm or hold it over some steaming water. The steam dissolves the macarons from the paper.

For piping: stand your bag up in a high glass. It’s easier for filling and when you rest.

In my opinion the macarons are the better the smaller they are. Furthermore the ywill expand a little while baking. Hope all this helps. If you have any questions feel free to ask! This is how my macarons looked like after piping, while drying, before baking.

Französische Macarons

von Tartelette

Zutaten:

90 g Eiweiß (etwa 3)
30 g Zucker
200 g Puderzucker
110 g gemahlene Mandeln (Mandelmehl wäre optimal)

Am Tag davor (24 h) die Eier trennen und die Eiweiße abgedeckt bei Raumtemperatur aufbewahren. Man kann auch Eiweiß aus dem Kühlschrank benutzen, dann sollten die Eier aber bereits mehr als 48 h getrennt sein.

Die Eiweiße steif schlagen und nach und nach den Zucker zugeben und weiterschlagen, bis man einen glänzenden Meringue hat. Nicht zu lange schlagen, damit der Meringue nicht zu trocken wird.

Die Mandeln mit dem Puderzucker in eine Küchenmaschine oder einen Blitzhacker geben und mahlen bis die Nüsse sehr fein sind (bei Mandelmehl nicht nötig). Zum Meringue geben und vorsichtig unterheben, dabei erst ein paar schnelle Züge, gefolgt von langsameren Unterheben. Man sollte nicht mehr als 50 Züge benötigen.

Einen Spritzbeutel mit einer runden Tülle (Kaiser 9 mm Größe 3) ausstatten, mit dem Teig befüllen und 3 cm große Kreise auf das Backpapier spritzen.

Die Macarons 30-60 Minuten stehen lassen, damit sie außen antrocknen. Das ist wichtig, damit nachher „Füßchen“ enstehen.

Den Ofen auf 140° C vorheizen.

15-20 Minuten backen. Auskühlen lassen.

Some tips, which I found important are:

Ground your grounded nuts again yourself (something like a Moulinette would be helpful). They are not fine enough. Sieve your powdered sugar before.

For piping: stand your bag up in a high glass. It’s easier for filling and when you rest.

French Macarons

from Tartelette

Ingredients:

90 g egg whites (about 3)
30 g granulated sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g grounded almonds (or almond meal)

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

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.

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. 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.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809/Kaiser 9mm Größe 3) with the batter and pipe small rounds (3 cm in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets.

Preheat the oven to 140° C.

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. 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.

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.