Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Gavel to Gavel Coverage


They say, "a person can leave the legal field, but the legal field never leaves you."  I've recently discovered it holds so true with me, as the legal analyst residing in me, reared it's head and hypnotized me into watching the trials streaming on HLN.

In between opening arguments, witness testimonies and the like, I have been extremely busy filling orders and have been found guilty of neglecting my blog.  

I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God, I am back and here to stay!  

Monday, June 10, 2013

Cinnabon - Cinnamon Rolls


Holiday Baking

Perfection!


Christmas Baking

Look at the center how moist and gooey

"Cinnabon" is known for its delicious and downright incredible cinnamon rolls, which are extremely moist and gooey on the inside and topped off with their special addictive white as snow frosting.  I can recall every visit to the mall with my three children, especially with my oldest daughter, who was 16 at the time, who made Cinnabon a mandatory stop. What sweet memories of her teenage years, where an entire meal for three, would be consumed by her and her alone, and then topped off with a Cinnabon, with not a care in the world about calories.

My daughter and I would sit in the food court at the mall eating our cherished Cinnabon.  Looking back, I will cherish those times we shared, as the Cinnabon gave us a chance to take a few minutes out of our day, and just talk and bond.  My daughter is now 29 years old, recently married, so I set out recreate the ultimate Cinnabon for her, so we could once again take a few moments out of our day, to just enjoy each other's company over a Cinnabon.

I performed a considerable amount  of research and combined a couple of recipes until I achieved the desired result I was looking for a moist, chewy, gooey center, filled with a rich combination of butter and cinnamon.

This recipe was given the stamp of approval by my daughter, so I hope you enjoy.

The sites I used for the recipe are:  The Gordon Family recipe at www.thefreshloaf.com and www.johsuakennon.com.

YieldL  12 large Cinnabon Rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

For the Dough:
1 cup (237 mL) whole warm milk 
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup (76 grams) butter or margarine, melted 
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use King Arthur All Purpose)
1 teaspoon salt (8g)
1/2 cup (100g) white sugar
1 package Active Dry Yeast (1/4 ounce)

For the Filling:

1 cup (220g) dark brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons (36g) ground cinnamon (I use Vietnemese Cinammon by King Arthur)
1/4  cup (57g) butter or margerine, softened

Spread for the Dough:

1/2 cup (113g) of softened butter or margarine to spread on the dough

For the Icing:
3 oz (85g)  cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (57g) butter or margarrine, softened
1 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt 
dash of lemon extract (optional)  It is claimed that Cinnabon uses lemon extract in their icing, but just a dash.


PROCEDURE:

Microwave the milk for 45 to 60 seconds. Then, dissolve yeast in warm milk in a large bowl. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour. Mix well.   Knead the cinnamon roll dough into a large ball. The dough will form a ball quickly, don't overmix.

Put the ball of dough into a bowl that is sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for roughly 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.  

Once your dough has risen, it’s time to move on to the next step.  In a new, small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter.  Mix them well.  Spray a flat surface with cooking spray or sprinkled flour.  Roll out your dough ball into a 16″ x 21″ rectangle roughly 1/4 inches thick then spread a 1/2 cup of softened butter on the dough.  Next, sprinkle the rolled, buttered dough evenly with the sugar/cinnamon/butter mixture you prepared in your small bowl.

Roll up the dough starting with the longer side and cut with a bench scraper or sharp knife cut into twelve (12) cinnamon rolls (or more smaller rolls, if you prefer). Place the cinnamon rolls in a lightly greased 11″ x 15″ glass baking dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and let the cinnamon rolls rise until nearly doubled, which should take around 30 minutes.  

Once your cinnamon rolls have risen, bake them in the preheated oven until golden brown, approximately 18 to 20 minutes.  Trust me it is done, don't over bake it, you want a nice gooey, soft center.

The dough should still be soft, though fully cooked, especially toward the center of the rolls. 

Prepare Icing as your cinnamon rolls are baking......
beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and salt for the Cinnabon cinnamon roll icing.  

The icing should be spread on your cinnamon rolls when they are still warm, shortly after being taken out of the oven so that the frosting melts into the cinnamon rolls.  

Enjoy!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day!


Happy Mother's Day to everyone, I hope everyone is having a wonderful time with family and friends.

I have been extremely busy over the last two weeks filling French Macaron orders for today and have not had a chance to post; however, later today, I will be posting Lavender Honey Ice Cream which will be a perfect ending for such a perfect day.





Wednesday, April 10, 2013

French Macaron - Fleur d'Oranger

"Springtime in Paris" Collection 2013


Our next French Macaron, of our "Springtime in Paris" collection, is the Macaron Fleur d'Oranger.

This inside of this French Macaron is made with a ganache using Valhrona chocolate, which is delicately flavored with orange blossom water, giving it a lovely floral tone.

When you bite into this French Macaron, you feel like you are eating springtime!

Visit our shop at Etsy to purchase these by clicking on the "Shop" button on the home page.







Thank you for stopping by!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake


Perfection....



The inside is layered with Meyer Lemon slices that actually become almost candied and add an interesting texture to this coffee cake




FOR THE STREUSEL:
Adapted by Martha Stewart


    1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
      • 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
      • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
      • 6 ounces ( 3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter
    • FOR THE CAKE:


      • 5 Meyer lemons, cut into paper-thin slices, ends discarded
      • 2 cups all-purpose flour
      • 1 teaspoon baking powder
      • 1 teaspoon baking soda
      • 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
      • 4 ounces (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
      • 1 cup granulated sugar
      • 3 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon zest (from 4 to 5 lemons)
      • 2 large eggs
        • 1 cup sour cream
        • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
      • FOR THE GLAZE:
          • 3 to 4 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
          • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
      • Procedure:
      • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch angel food cake pan.  
    • Make the streusel: Mix together flour, brown sugar, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut butter into the flour mixture until small to medium clumps form. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 3 days).
    1. Streusel ingredients

    • Make the cake: Cook lemon slices in a medium saucepan of simmering water for 1 minute. Drain, and repeat. Arrange lemon slices in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
    Blanching/Boiling of Meyer Lemons

    Meyer Lemons after being blanced/boiled.  During the blanching process of the Meyer Lemons, I did lose some off the pulp and was left with just rind as you can see; however, that is what gave the cake a chewy and interesting texture

    • Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest with a mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running, add eggs, 1 at a time, then the vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream.
    • Spoon 1/2 of the batter evenly into cake pan. Arrange 1/2 of the lemon slices in a single layer over the batter. Spread remaining batter evenly over the top. Cover with the remaining lemon slices in a single layer. Sprinkle the chilled streusel evenly over the batter.


    First layer of Meyer Lemons.  Before adding the streusel you add the final layer of the cake batter over the lemons

    The streusel topping and final layer

    • Bake until cake is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. 
    • Transfer pan to a wire rack set over a baking sheet and let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan, and remove outer ring. Let cool on rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the center tube. Slide 2 wide spatulas between the bottom of the cake and the pan, and lift cake to remove from the center tube. Let cool completely on rack.
    • Make the glaze: Just before serving, stir together confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Drizzle over cooled cake, letting excess drip down the sides.  Let glaze set before slicing, about 5 minutes.
    Sidebar:  Meyer lemons are available from late fall through early spring.  Martha Stewart recommends slicing the lemons to near-transparent thinness in order for the rind to soften and sweeten sufficiently.   Martha recommends using a mandoline, , handheld slicer or a knife.  I used a used a sharpened chef's knife and was able to slice the lemons thin enough to obtain the desired results.

    Enjoy!

    Monday, April 1, 2013

    Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake - Overbaked


    Sorry for not posting any goodies over the last few days, especially for Easter, I am highly ashamed of myself, but I have a perfectly logical reason for not doing so.

    I was feeling extremely tired and ironically, was just telling my family and friends that I was immune to Starbucks coffee because I could fall asleep while drinking a cup of it.  Literally, it no longer did anything for me, in terms of waking me up, or providing me with any energy from the caffeine.  I decided I needed to go to WholeFoods where there is an entire wall of lovely blends of coffee from all around the world and purchase different blends to mix things up a bit. I came to the conclusion, that maybe the caffeine in their coffee, would keep me awake.  I was feeling sluggish and needed some energy, as I had just completed several large orders for French Macarons (which came out beautifully, if I may say so myself). It was a crazy week and I was running low on fuel.

    Sad to say, I never made it to WholeFoods; however, I did make it to Starbucks for my usual biweekly drive-by, for my 1 lb. bag of Sumatra whole bean.  When I went to pay, the very friendly employee asked if I ever tried their new limited blend called "Tribute."  I responded, "no, but what type of coffee beans are in it and is it strong?  I was advised that the Tribute blend consisted of Ethiopian, Sumatra, Papua New Guinea and Colombian beans and that is was considered a "bold" coffee, just like the Sumatra.  I had my doubts that  the "Tribute" blend being strong, but decided to take the plunge and purchased it.

    In case you are interested in this coffee, below is a picture of the coffee, or should I say culprit.



    You must be asking yourself where this story is going, well here it is.  I arrived home Friday evening around 10:00 p.m. and decided to make myself a cup of the Tribute blend to taste it.  One cup was all it took, but it was so delicious that I had myself a second cup. Needless to say, it surely was a tribute, a tribute to me running around the kitchen with so much energy from caffeine, I think I would have run someone over, if they even got remotely in my way.  I looked like a mad scientist in the kitchen.  I couldn't sit at this point, so at 12:00 a.m., I put on my apron and began to pull out all my mixing bowls and ingredients to make the Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake to burn up some of this energy, because sleep was definitely not an option.

    The cake itself is not difficult to make, but does require a few time consuming steps.  At 5:30 a.m., I put the cake in the oven.  At this point, I was starting to crash from the caffeine and was extremely tired.  The last thing I remember was sitting down in the living room to relax for an hour, until I had to take the cake out.  The cake was only supposed to bake for 1 hour.  

    This is what I looked like at 5:30 a.m...




    At 9:30 a.m., four and half hours later, I woke up and screamed....Oh Sh*! as I was running into the kitchen knowing I wasted hours of hard work and over baked my cake.  Nobody's perfect right?  This is what the cake looked liked when I took it out of  the oven....


    Let's not forget about the bottom, shall we.... What a beautiful charcoal color.





    I'll be posting the non-burnt version of the Meyer Lemon Cake later tonight.


    Wednesday, March 27, 2013

    French Macaron - Pistachio - Spring Collection 2013 "Springtime in Paris"


    INTRODUCING......Legally Sweet Confections Spring 2013 Collection of French Macarons:

    "Springtime in Paris." 






    We invite you to take a culinary journey with us, to one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and experience French Macaron flavor combinations that will intoxicate your palate and awaken your senses. 

    Each week, a new gourmet experience will be introduced. Check back weekly to see our latest creations. 

    You can purchase the Spring 2013 Collection at our Etsy Shop.  Just click on the "Shop" button on the navigation bar above and discover and enjoy "Springtime in Paris" delivered right to your door! 

    These Pistachio French Macaron are absolutely delicious. The filling is a ganache that is infused with Crema di Pistachio, which is imported from the Bronte region of Sicily. At first bite, you taste underlying hints of vanilla and the second breath, you are intoxicated with the flavors of Crema di Pistachio which transports you to Italy, where romance and love is in the air.


    Bon Apetite!










    SHOP NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS


    You can purchase our French Macarons and other confections by clicking on "Shop" on the navigation bar at the top of the page and you will be directed to our Etsy store.



    Thank you,

    Legally Sweet Confections

    Saturday, March 23, 2013

    Irish Whiskey Cake







    Once again, here is another great recipe from my mother's recipe box.  Irish Whiskey Cake.  What is so great about this cake is its simplicity and taste of course.  All ingredients go into one bowl and you are done, with the exception of the butter and whiskey glaze you pour over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.

    With that said, let's run it:

    For the Cake:

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

    1/2 cup of oil
    1 ounce of whiskey
    4 Eggs
    1 cup of milk
    1 instant vanilla pudding mix (do not make the pudding just use the powder mix in the box)
    White Cake Mix
    1 cup of walnuts
    2 teaspoons of flour

    For the Whiskey Glaze:

    1 stick of butter
    3/4 cup of 10x, confectioner sugar, or icing sugar
    1/2 cup of whiskey


    Procedure:


    • Place the walnuts in the food processor with 1 teaspoon of the flour and process until walnuts are finely chopped.  Set aside.
    • Combine the white cake mix, oil, whiskey, eggs, milk, pudding mix, and chopped walnuts into the bowl of your mixer.
    • Mix until all ingredients are well combined.
    • Grease and flour your pan.
    • Pour the batter into a bundt pan or tube pan.
    • Bake for 1 hour.
    Sidebar:  Use your imagination, as you can see I used a rose pan and a silicone sphere pan to make my cakes.  You can use any pan you like such as a muffin pan, Easter bunny pan, etc., you will just have to adjust the cooking times.  My roses took about 10-15 minutes to bake.

    Whiskey Glaze:
    • While the cake is baking, melt the butter and whisk in the 10x sugar and whiskey.  Set Aside.
    • When the cake is finished baking, immediately when you remove it from the oven, pour the whiskey glaze over the cake and allow the cake to cool.
    Sidebar:

    If you are using individual molds, pour the whiskey glaze over each mold and let cool before releasing from the mold.
    • Once the cake has cooled run a spatula around the sides of the pan and remove from the pan.
    • Sprinkle with powdered sugared if desired.




    How easy was that!!  Let me know what you think about this recipe and your creativity regarding what type of mold you used to bake the cake.

    Enjoy!

    Wednesday, March 6, 2013

    Mom's Jewish Apple Cake





    The scent of cinnamon, sugar and apples, bring back so many childhood memories of my mother in the kitchen baking.  My sisters and I would gather in the kitchen to watch.  These moments were special and unforgettable, because the time we shared in the kitchen with our mother, not only bonded us as a family, but ignited my passion for baking.

    My mother's Jewish Apple Cake recipe has been handed down from generation to generation and I would like to share it with you and your family.




    The cake is dense, moist and layered with apples, cinnamon and sugar.  During the baking process, the apples, cinnamon and sugar placed on the final top layer of the cake, caramelize rendering a crispy, gooey, cinnamon sugar deliciousness that is amazing.

    This is the best Jewish Apple cake you will ever taste.  I mean it!  Now let's get baking....


    For the Cake Batter:

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    • 4 large eggs 
    • 3 cups of all  purpose flour
    • 2 cups of sugar
    • 3 tsp. of baking powder
    • Dash of salt
    • 1 cup of oil
    • 1/2 cup of orange juice (I use no pulp)
    • 2 1/2 tsp. of real vanilla extract
    Sidebar:  This cake batter is on the thicker side.

    For the Cinnamon Sugar and Apples:
    • 4 medium red delicious apples 
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 6 tsp. of cinnamon sugar
    Equipment:

    One tube pan.  

    Procedure:
    • Preheat oven to 350
    • Grease and flour the tube pan.
    • Peel and core the apples. 
    • Slice the apples in half and then slice the apple into thin to medium slices.  Continue to all apples are sliced.  Set aside
    • Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.  Set aside.
    • Place all of the cake batter ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer.  Using your paddle attachment, mix until combined.  Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl.
    • Pour half the cake batter into the tube pan and spread evenly in the pan
    • Place half of the apples slices in a circular pattern on top of the cake batter, starting from the inside of the tube pan and working your way out. Make sure you completely cover the cake batter with the apples.  
    Sidebar:  The end of each apple slice should be touching the next slice and there should be very little space between the apples.  See below:


    Apple slices layered onto the batter and half the cinnamon sugar mixture sprinkled on.


    Completed first layer with apples and cinnamon sugar

    • After you have covered the batter with half of the apple slices, sprinkle approximately half of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the apples, until each apple is thoroughly coated with the sugar mixture.  (I save a little extra of the cinnamon sugar mixture for the top of the cake).
    • Pour the remaining cake batter over the apples and cinnamon, spreading the cake batter evenly.  
    • Sprinkle the remainder of your cinnamon sugar over the apples.  You want to make sure you have an extra layer of cinnamon sugar on the top of the cake to achieve the crispy, crunchy top. 
    • Place the cake in your oven on the middle rack and bake for approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the cake springs back when touched and the top is crispy and browned. 
    • Remove the cake from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack.
    • Once the cake is cool, run an offset metal spatula or knife, whichever you prefer, around the sides of the cake to release it from the pan.  Remove the inner tube first.
    • Then holding the inner tube of the cake an on a flat surface, take your offset spatula and carefully place it between the bottom of the cake and the pan and gently turn the pan while you are making a sawing motion with the metal offset spatula.
    • Continue moving the spatula between the bottom of the cake until the cake is released.
    • Hold the inner tube upside down and with your other hand gently release the cake from the inner tube.
    • Once the cake is removed from the pan, place it directly onto the surface you are going to serve it on.
    Side Bar:   I typically start checking my cake at 1 hour; then 1 hour and 10 minutes, and so on.  Your cake tester will always have some crumb on it, due to the apples.  What you are looking for is a nicely browned top and few crumbs on the cake tester.  As we discussed in other recipes, everyone's ovens are different and baking times will vary.  Usually my cake is finished between 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes.


    Final layer of apples and cinnamon sugar on cake batter




    Top  of Jewish Apple Cake with the delicious caramelized apples, cinnamon and sugar.


    Ahh, doesn't that look great!


    Slice of Jewish Apple Cake layered with apples and cinnamon sugar

    Saturday, February 9, 2013

    Salted Caramel French Macarons filled with Salted Cararmel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

    Pink Heart Shaped Candy Clip Art Border



    Happy Valentine's Day from Legally Sweet Confections



    Salted caramel has a deep, slightly smokey, seductive and intoxicating taste.  This is the stuff, that can bring a grown man to his knees. 

    Legally Sweet's Salted Caramel Macarons  are made with French Coffee Extract infused into the actual shell.  The filling we make 2 ways, the first being Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream made with vanilla beans, or Salted Butter Caramel Cream.  Both fillings are made with homemade caramel infused with Fleur de Sel (a sea salt hand collected off the coast of Brittany in France).    Salted Caramel Macarons are a symphony of flavors well orchestrated.

    Say "I Love You" this Valentines Day, with Legally Sweet Confections' Salted Caramel Macarons, beautifully packaged in our signature chocolate brown box and luxurious ribbon. 




    Pink Heart Shaped Candy Clip Art Border

    Friday, January 25, 2013

    Valentine's Day Desserts - Coming Soon





    COMING SOON....... Sweets for your Sweetheart! 

    Legally Sweet Confections will be posting and offering a variety of sweet treats for you and your family to enjoy.   

    Romance is in the air and Legally Sweet Confections can assist you in making that special moment a magical and unforgettable evening. 

    Our French Macarons are beautifully wrapped in a gift box and make an excellent presentation.

    We are in the process of creating a variety of flavors for our French Macarons for Valentines day; new event favors; and ideas to help pop the question.  

    Shh...

    Here is a sneak peek at what were up to and the French Macaron Flavors being offered for Valentines Day:


    Friday, January 18, 2013

    French Macarons - Fresh Mint


    These Fresh Mint Macarons are absolutely delicious and unique.  While the fresh mint retains its wonderful herbal taste, the addition of creme de menthe subtly releases itself and creates the most light, delicate flavor working in symphony with the fresh mint, adding a cool minty flavor that is absolutely divine.





    You can see the fresh mint in the ganache.  So delicious.


    Fresh Mint Macaron
    Adapted by Pierre Herme Macarons

    BEFORE PROCEEDING I RECOMMEND READING MY POST "FRENCH MACARONS SECRETS OF SUCCESS."  TRUST ME ITS WORTH IT!!


    For the Macaron Shells:

                      *
    300g of Conectioner Sugar or Icing Sugar
    300g of Almond Flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
    110g of liquefied egg whites
    green gel or powder food coloring (the amount used depends on how bright you want the color to be, keep in mind macarons fade when baked.)


    Wednesday, January 9, 2013

    French Macaron - Tiffany Blue with Infinite Vanilla Ganache



    \




    It should be noted I measure temperatures by Celcius, but have included Farenheit for your convenience.  

    Also, I would recommend reading my Post "The Making of French Macarons, the Secrets of Success"   to provide helpful hints.

    FOR THE MACARON SHELLS:
    Adapted by Pierre Herme Macarons
    Makes approximately 70 macarons.  You can half this recipe.

    300 Grams of Confectioner Sugar or Icing Sugar
    300 Grams of Almond Flour
    110 grams of liquified egg whites* (Please see my post on "The Making of French Macarons"
    3 vanilla pods
    Gel or Powdered Food Coloring  (liquid food coloring will offset the balance of the ingredients so be warned Do No Use it)

    Sunday, January 6, 2013

    The Making of French Macarons - Secrets of Success




    As there are many blogs that address ratios of almond flour to icing sugar; temperature of ovens; positioning of racks; and perhaps rubbing a crystal ball before your begin so that you may obtain the pied (the ruffle around the bottom of the macaron), which will bring even the most talented pastry chefs to their knees.  I am not going to bore you or be redundant regarding the above; however, I will take you through each step and when possible, show you what each step is supposed to look like. In the near future, I will be making a video demonstrating from start to finish how to make these jewels.  

    Further, it should be noted that I make French Macarons using the Italian Meringue method as they produce a sturdier and tastier shell.

    A French Macaron should be just slightly crunchy on the outside and chew on the inside and yes it MUST have a pied. I have tried so many different recipes, some of which resulted in French Macarons that were cake like; no feet no matter what I did, including praying to macaron gods if they even exist; and some were just awful.  With that said, my advise to you is to practice, practice practice.  

    After a few months and yes I mean months, of making French Macarons, I have finally mastered them.  In fact, I can bake 300 hundred macarons a day and I know with certainty that I will have a pied (ruffle around the bottom of the macaron) and they will be baked to perfection.  How you may ask????  I will say it again, practice, practice, practice.  I must have obliviated hundreds of eggs for egg whites, but in the end it was worth it.

    You will have to go through many trial and errors before you know your oven's hot spots; what temperature to bake and for how long; and what is macaronnage?  How do you know when the batter is ready?  All these questions will be answered by following my techniques.

    Every French Macaron batter contains 2 (two) additions of  egg whites. The first addition is poured over the almond flour and confectioner sugar and the second is placed by itself into the bowl of your stand mixer.  

    There seems to be several schools of thought and/or disagreements among macaron makers and recipe book authors, as to whether the egg whites have to be "aged/liquified" prior to making macarons.  (It should be noted that aged egg whites are also referred to as liquified egg whites").   

    The first school of thought, which is widely held by the French, and considered the holy grail, is that aged egg whites must be used for macarons.  In fact, Pierre Herme, who was dubbed by Vogue "the Picasso of Pastry", only uses "aged/liquified egg whites."  Pierre Herme, explained the importance of "liquified/aged egg whites. I provided you with an excerpt below

    ......." liquified egg whites are egg whites that have matured for at least several days to a week in your  refrigerator.  By separating your eggs and placing your egg whites in a clean bowl, covered with plastic wrap and holes punched in the top.  During this time your egg whites lose their elasticity, the albumen  breaks down and they will be much easier to whisk to soft peaks without the risk of running grainy. Also you don't have to worry about bacteria because the sugar added to the egg whites is at a very high temperature that it kills any bacteria.


    The second school of thought which I have read in various recipe books and food blogs, is you can simply use egg whites immediately after you separate them.

    The third school of thought is to separate your egg whites the night before you want to make them and leave the out overnight on your counter or kitchen table.   

    So, I put these schools of thought to the test.  I have tried all three methods, several times, and performed a considerable about of research regarding the loss of elasticity and albumen breaking down.   

    Verdict:  Aged/liquified egg whites do make a considerable difference.  First, the pied (the ruffle around the bottom of the macaron, which seems to give most people the most trouble), was very high, in fact impressively high; second, the batter had a better consistency; and therefore my macaronnage was perfection.  Take my advice and plan ahead and age those egg whites.  

    I always have at least 1,760 grams of aged egg whites in my refrigerator at all times.  Keep in mind, I do sell French Macarons, so I always keep enough on hand at all times for at least 8 (eight) batches daily.  If  you are just planning to make a few batches just measure a little more than what you need, as the egg whites evaporate a little during the aging process.     

    I will show you what the proper macaronnage should look like, but the only way to learn is to get a feel for the batter as you incorporate the ingredients.  

    Equally important is the itallian meringue, which must be first made with sugar on the stove stop and carefully poured into the egg whites, until soft peaks.  Well, when I first started, soft peaks to me were not what is was to the French.  After many months of practicing I finally perfected the French Macaron.

    I will guide you through the steps, but if you want to learn the art of French Macarons, again you must practice, practice and practice some more.  I can now make French Macarons in my sleep with perfect and consistent results each time.  

    One last important point..... "Mise en Place"  SO VITALLY IMPORTANT!!!   Mise en Place is a French phrase which means "everything in place", as in set up. It is used in professional kitchens to refer to organizing and arranging the ingredients (e.g., spices, eggs butter chocolate, etc.)

    Recipes are to be reviewed several times  before you begin to bake to check for necessary ingredients and equipment. Ingredients are measured out, washed, chopped, and placed in individual bowls. Equipment, such spatulas and blenders, are prepared for use, and ovens are preheated. Preparing the mise en place ahead of time allows the chef to cook without having to stop and assemble items, which is desirable in recipes with time constraints.
    It also refers to the preparation and layouts that are set up and used by line cooks at their stations in a commercial or restaurant kitchen.

    I am also finicky about what ingredients I use.  Of course I use only French Butter, Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal which I buy here Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour; I use ONLY Valhrona French Chocolate, which I buy here Chocosphere.     Also, you cannot even begin to to make French Macarons without a Eat Smart Digital Scale and a digital candy thermometer, I use Maverick CT-03 Digital Candy and Oil Thermometer

    Now that the above is out of my system, let's get baking:

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