Macarons - Tartelette's recipe

I've been intentionally wanting to move my dessert blog to www.abaysse.blogspot.com
but I thought I should also up date over here and tell people that the dessert posts are going to move to abaysse.
so people won't stop visiting.

Yes, I'm all over macarons, so whenever I see a new recipe for macarons , I would try it.
In this month's Dessert magazine, featured Tarlette's recipe.
And as I saw the wonderful macarons she made, so beautiful and with very tall feet,
I decided to give it a try . I had forgot to order for the proper blanched almond flour from on line, and
instead I just used the almond meal I already have in my pantry .

I must honest say that I was a bit worried in the process of making these because
I usually put in some cream of tar tar when I whip up egg whites,
and although the recipe did not call for cream of tar tar,
I put 1/8 tsp of it in , and I guess the result turn out fine.

These are Opera flavored macarons, filled with a ring of coffee buttercream and 65% chocolate in the center.
As for the ones that are baked longer are for decorations.

DB's March challenge - The Perfect Party Cake

It's late, but it's here!!!!

I made this cake in early March, right after a day of macaron making, I was exhausted and all the wrappers and ingredients were all over the place . So this is also the first time that I had used the photo editing features on my iPhoto, you see how I'm trying to hide all the stuff surrounded by the cake w/ that blur feature? I was too tired to clean them up right away, and the photo taking was my break.

However, the cake was really just a breeze to make, I didn't have to go to multiple places to search for the proper ingredients, and the procedure was also very simple and obstacle free. But some how I didn't like the texture / taste of it.
It tasted powdery to me...it's like the consistency of a finer coffee cake. Yep...still I wanna say that it tastes powdery.
But I'm sure that the cake came out right , because the look matches w/ other DB's cakes.
I did make it a layered cake, but the anatomy of the cake was locked in my mom's iphone, because she was the one that took the cake to her friend's dinner party, and she took the pictures w/ her iphone, but sadly her iphone got locked up so I couldn't access to the photos.

I really don't know why, but I have the tendency of wanting to finish whatever that I had started in the same day.
I don't like to bake the cake, and ice it tomorrow, if I make the cake today, I ice it today.
And leaving out the whites for macaron making is also a painful thing for me , because I just can't stand having the whites out and not doing anything to it.
So it was around 1 in the morning when I was done baking this cake, I was trying to , for once just break my stupid habit and was trying to just throw it in to the fridge then decorate it the next day. But no, I guess habit is one hard ass to kick, so after leaving the cake in the fridge for like 5 seconds..........I took them out, and started whipping up cream....and started cooking jam. (I like everything made from scratch, so I made the blueberry jam)

I filled the cake with my home made blueberry jam, and iced it w/ some rum infused cream, fenced it w/ my macarons and on top is a cream puff that I made earlier..
I really had no idea what I was doing, but I was just trying to decorate it and finish it before I go to bed or I'll just kept thinking about it while in bed.



Now , here's the recipe of the perfect party cake



Perfect Party Cake

Words From Dorie
Stick a bright-coloured Post-it to this page, so you’ll always know where to turn for a just-right cake for any celebration. The original recipe was given to me by my great dear friend Nick Malgieri, of baking fame, and since getting it, I’ve found endless opportunities to make it – you will too. The cake is snow white, with an elegant tight crumb and an easygoing nature: it always bakes up perfectly; it is delicate on the tongue but sturdy in the kitchen – no fussing when it comes to slicing the layers in half or cutting tall, beautiful wedges for serving; and, it tastes just as you’d want a party cake to taste – special. The base recipe is for a cake flavoured with lemon, layered with a little raspberry jam and filled and frosted with a classic (and so simple) pure white lemony hot-meringue buttercream but, because the elements are so fundamental, they lend themselves to variation (see Playing Around), making the cake not just perfect, but also versatile.


Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract


Buttercream:
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For Finishing:
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut


Directions:
Getting Ready: Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.
To Make the Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).


To Make the Buttercream:
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat. Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.


To Assemble the Cake:
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.
Serving: The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.


Storing: The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.


Playing Around:
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.


Fresh Berry Cake:
If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.