Macarons....those delightful, delicate, almond-based meringues, filled with delicious ganache, fruit, jam or jelly have been the subject of great amusement in our house for quite a while!
The girls would kill for them, the other half hasn't to date expressed any great opinion on them, but enjoyed telling all in sundry of my culinary disasters, which only encouraged the determined side of my character to come out and succeed.
To be honest I, personally, could take them or leave them..but where there's a macaron there's a challenge....and yeees, I've enfin managed to make the finicky, french delicacies - 'the little black dress of french pâtisserie' as Raymond Blanc calls them!
Cooking to me is not generally about quantities - 'au pif' is an expression I use regularly - Pif a slang word for nose - so basically, just throw it in if the fancy takes you....but NOT where these babies are concerned...there are lots of basic rules....Right now I feel a little like Julie in Julie and Julia after days of expeimenting in the kitchen in a quest to make the perfect macaron!

Macarons
Ingredients
For the pâte à macaron
• 185g/6½oz icing sugar, sifted
• 185g/6½oz ground almonds
• 2 medium free-range egg whites
For the Italian meringue
• 2 medium free-range egg whites(at room temp.)

• 185g/6½oz caster sugar
• 3 tbsp water
For the ganache filling
• 100ml/4fl oz whipping cream
• 100g/4oz dark chocolate, or white chocolate if you wish
• Or lemon curd .....or raspberry jam....or whatever!
Preparation method
1. Heat the oven to 160C/300F
. In a food processor with a knife blade, mix the icing sugar, ground almonds then sieve them to remove any impurities (takes yonks!)
3. In a large bowl mix egg whites, icing sugar and ground almonds to form a paste. Don't overmix!

4. For the Italian meringue, whisk the egg whites on a medium speed until stiff (i.e turn the bowl upsidedown - the mix shouldn't fall out!) Add colouring.
5. Meanwhile, place the sugar and water in a small pan and cook over a high heat until it has reached 117C/242F.
6. Reduce the speed on the mixer to its lowest setting and pour the sugar syrup onto the firmly whipped egg whites.
7. Increase the speed to high and continue to whisk for 2-3 minutes.
8. Using a spatula,fold the Italian meringue mixture into the pâte à macaron until it reaches the ribbon stage. Do not over-mix or the macaroon will crack when cooked.
9. Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a 8mm/¼in nozzle.

10. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper and pipe on 3cm/1in discs, at least 2cm/¾in apart.
11. Leave to ‘rest’ for about 10 minutes.
12. Bake in the middle of the oven for 8 - 10 minutes and then leave on a tray until completely cold.
13. Place on cooling tray.

14. Pipe about one teaspoon of ganache/lemon curd/jam onto the flat side of a cooled macaroon and top with another macaroon to make a sandwich.
15. Repeat with the remaining ganache and macaroons and store in a single layer in an airtight container in the fridge.

Note: Macarons are best eaten a day after baking. They freeze very well (ungarnished) Remove from the fridge for at least 15 mins. before tasting.

Cherry and Almond Tart

Fancy a real french tart? Check out this one!

One 23cm (9inch) fluted tart tin with removable base (buttered)
The pastry
125g (4oz) butter, melted and cooled
100g (3 1/2ozs) sugar
Pinch salt
Almond extract
Vanilla extract
2 tablsp. ground almonds
Flour

The filling:
5 tablespoons double cream
1 egg, beaten
Almond extract
Vanilla extract
60g (2ozs sugar)
1 tablsp. Flour
4 tablsp. Ground almonds
1 tablsp. Cherry eau-de-vie/Kirsch
500g/1lb cherries, stoned

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4
Mix together butter, sugar, salt, extracts, and almonds. Stir to blend. Incorporate enough flour, to form a smooth dough. (like biscuit dough)
Place dough in centre of tin and push out with a small spoon to cover bottom and sides of tin.
Bake ‘blind’ (10 minutes)
Meanwhile combine all filling ingredients and whisk to blend.
Sprinkle a little ground almond on pastry base. Place cherries on top and pour over filling. Sprinkle with a little more ground almonds.
Place in centre of oven and bake until golden-brown, about 45 minutes.
Sprinkle with icing sugar just before serving.

Mousse au Chocolat

If you crave chocolate and love a chocolate and orange combination, check out this one .......

For 6 people
Preparation Time : 15 mins.
Setting Time: 3 hours



200g/8 ozs. Nestlé/other good quality dark chocolate
6 eggs
pinch of salt
3 tablsp. Grand Marnier/Cointreau/Orange Juice
Grated rind of one orange.


Melt the chocolate in a microwave (for one minute on high) with 4 tablsp. orange juice ( or Cointreau/Grand Marnier) Whisk thoroughly.
Separate the eggs and whisk the whites with the salt until stiff.
Whisk the melted chocolate gradually into the egg yolks.
Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mix very gently, so as to prevent the whites from flopping!
Add the grated rind of one orange and leave to set in a fridge for at least 3 hours.


Bon Appétit

La Galette des Rois

January 6th, the feast of the Ephinany, and the famous Galette des Rois takes it’s place among the mouth-watering gâteaux and breads in boulangeries throughout France! Haven’t the French heard of new year resolutions to cut out all things wickedly sweet and tasty following an overindulgance of the same over the festive season? Apparently not! Suppose 'Frencwomen don't get Fat' and all that!!

Quand l’appétit va, tout va....when the appetite is O.K, everything is O.K. And so, for the entire month of January, galettes are eaten and Kings and Queens crowned. The youngest members of each family/gathering is sent uner the table to allocate pieces of this traditional cake to all in sundry!

A celebration of when the three kings visited Jesus, bearing gifts, the galette is round in shape, representing the moon, made like a brioche, with a hole in the centre and decorated with candied fruit, or else from puff pastry and almond paste, depending on the region. (Here in Normandy, the almond paste is sometimes replaced by apple purée).

There’s always a fève (a charm) in the galette and he/she who gets it, without choking on it that is (!!!) is king/queen for the day, and has the priviledge of nominating his/her queen/king! Glossy,cardboard crowns are provided for the coronation!

Give it a try..kids love it!!

To make the Galette you will need:

1 packet of puff pastry

For the almond paste: 100g ground almonds

75g butter, softened

3 egg yolks

pinch of salt

Mix together the egg yolks, sugar and salt. Add the softened butter and mix thoroughly.Divide the puff pastry in two.Roll out and line a (greased) tin with half the pastry. Prick with a fork.Spread the almond paste on top, throw in a fève, and cover with the rest of the puff pastry.Bake in a hot oven for 20 – 30 minutes.

Raspberry Charlotte

Try out this delicious dessert made from sponge fingers, raspberries and fromage frais. It melts in the mouth and because you don't have to cook it, it's easy food at its best. You prepare it in advance too, which is really great!

Ingredients

300g raspberries (frozen will do the job)
15cl orange juice and a dash of Cointreau/Grand Marnier
30 sponge finger biscuits/Madeira cake sliced into fingers
400g fromage frais
80g caster sugar
2 sachets vanilla sugar - about 14g (optional)




Directions

1. Line the base and sides of a charlotte tin or pudding bowl with biscuits that you have dipped in the orange juice and alcohol mixture.
2. Whisk the fromage frais with the sugars.
3. Place half the fruit in the tin or bowl and cover with half of the sweetened fromage frais.
4. Dip a few more biscuits in the orange juice and place on top of the fromage frais layer. Add a layer of fruit, a layer of fromage frais and finish with some more (dipped) biscuits.
5. Cover the tin. Place in the fridge and leave overnight. The next day, turn over onto a plate....and indulge yourself!
Bon appétit!