BAKING TRAY ~\_______

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Scones!!! - perfect for high tea =D

If you're ever planning to have HIGH TEA at home.... scones are a MUST HAVE on the menu! and this is a REALLY simple and easy recipe (with NO BUTTER!!). One of my friends who says she can't bake made these! and now she's in love with this recipe because it's so easy xD - she even made it for Mother's Day~

Ingredients:

3 cups self-raising flour
300ml thickened cream
3/4 cup lemonade (the *secret* ingredient =p)
pinch of salt

1. Sift flour into a large mixing bowl
2. Pour the in the cream, lemonade and salt and mix till combined
3. Lightly flour your hands and knead the dough lightly in bowl
4. Place on a lightly floured surface and roll dough out ~1cm thickness (remember they rise!)
5. Using cookie cutter, cute out small circles and place on baking tray. Brush with milk to get a nice golden colour.
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 200oC or till golden brown.

Best served warm on the day!! Especially with JAM and CREAM!!!

-tip for whipping cream: if you are too lazy.. just shake the jar of cream and it'll be whipped ^^

Would have liked a bit more colour on them =p

Nothing beats warm scones with jam and cream ;p....

Sunday, May 8, 2011

MACARON MADNESS!!

And so here is the LOOONNNGG awaited blog! very sorry about the delay! (just adds to the suspense :P)

This is the famous recipe I have been using for my macarons!! I guess business will be down since you guys will know how to make it =p Everyone thinks that macarons are hard... I don't think they are THAT difficult (come on.. if I can do it so can YOU!!!) but there are a few tips and tricks that i have discovered along the way that will help you NOT to fail!

I can't say this recipe is FAIL PROOF because.. even mine have failed!!! but it's the best recipe I've tried SO FAR!! so here it is....*drum roll*...

CHOCOLATE MACARONS~

200g pure icing sugar
100g almond meal
3 egg whites
40g caster sugar
pinch of salt
40g cocoa powder

1. Sift icing sugar and almond meal 3 times (the original recipe does not state this but I do it just to be safe and to allow more air into the mixture) into a large bowl.

~the most tedious part but once you sift it the first time the next 2 times are easy ^^~

2. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites in a nice clean and dry bowl. Using an electric beater, whisk egg whites till they just hold a stiff peak. Then gradually add the caster sugar while whisking. IMPORTANT: do not overbeat egg whites forming a meringue mixture.. and do not under beat otherwise the mix will be too wet.

3. Carefully fold in the almond mixture into the egg whites - (don't mix too hard because you want to retain as much air as possible). The mixture should be thick and glossy. Sift in cocoa and mix - (don't be tempted to add heaps of cocoa to make it more chocolately because this can ruin the texture of the macarons).

4. Pipe or spoon the mix onto pre-lined baking trays. Try to keep even sizes so you can match them up later. Tap the tray onto the bench once to release any air bubbles. Leave at room temperature for 30 min - 1 hour (IMPORTANT STEP!!!) till a shell forms - when you touch the macaron shell, it won't be sticky).

5. Bake in pre-heated oven at 170oC for 10 minutes on the middle shelf. Bake one tray at a time.

6. Sandwich a pair of macarons with chocolate ganache (150ml cream + 375g chocolate heated over a double boiler)

The best feeling is when you are crouching down looking into the oven and you see that your macaron has RISEN!! if it hasn't.. don't worry!!!! just try again =D =D