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(name that song…)

What do you get when you fall in love?
Macs with no feet to burst your bubble
That’s what you get for your baking trouble
I’ll never fall in love again…

The first time I made macarons, it didn’t turn out too bad. I think I got it too easy. Meh…I’ve done it and that’s it!

In January, I told Deeba and Jamie (or did I beg?) I will be joining Mactweets for Mac Attack 4. I’ve had the book, I Love Macarons , since December and was curious to try the 2 main recipes there. I also thought to test my luck and see if it will pull me through another round of experimentation. Oh, boy, and did The Universe ever slap me back with a resounding ‘Better luck next time!’ and made me hate myself for undertaking numerous failed recipes. (The recipes from the tiny book above didn’t work out for me.)

Eight batches of macarons from different recipes later, here I am.

Macarons with Lemon Curd

Yes, you read that right. I said EIGHT. 8!

Making macarons became torture and I asked myself several times — “ARE YOU I-N-S-A-N-E?” during those sad nights of baking.

What do you get when you fall in love…

I became desperate. Our deadline for posting for Mac Attack 4 is today and I had none to show for all my efforts as of yesterday. Before I headed to bed the other night (technically past midnight yesterday), I wailed tweeted about going for my eighth try, and feeling sorry for all the chickens I’ve failed (21 eggs!!!). Deeba gave me the link to the 2-egg-white recipe that she adapted from “Ottolenghi – The Cookbook”. I decided that I might as well try it because I have nothing else left to lose aside from 2 more eggs, putting my egg count to 23 as of last night.

I almost cried and danced when I saw feet about 6 minutes into baking time of the first tray in the oven.

Dancings queens with dancing feet

Can you blame me for dramatic reaction? And the abundance of photos? I just need to remind myself that It’s okay! You did it! All those depressing night after night of macaruins are a thing of the past.

True story: I think in my 3rd attempt, I ate a whole tray of baked macaron shells out of anger and frustration. Yep.

I didn’t put any other color or flavorings to the meringue cookie shells, but I made up for it with a very flavorful filling of lemon curd, inspired by my recent Key Lime Meringue Pie. I made lemon curd thickened with cornstarch. It was good, but not good enough to post. I still have to tweak the recipe to have a good flavor and consistency without tasting the cornstarch. I know, I know… The starchy taste wasn’t noticeable once it’s sandwiched between two shells, but I’d just be lying to myself if I say that it’s great. Do you have any suggestions to thicken the curd for the filling? I’d love to hear about it.

In my mind I wanted to have this macaron as a  miniature version of a Lemon Meringue pie: the meringue being the shell, and the lemon curd as filling. I’m happy with it, but I’m going to experiment more. I have renewed macaron baking confidence. Haha.

Aside from that pie concept, one of my other goals was to have no waste with the recipe. I had 2 egg yolks from the meringue recipe that went to the curd. If there’s one thing I learned from my macaron Hall of Shame, I’d say I’m done wasting eggs!

This little piggy will go to the hennery to ask penance from the chickens we've failed.

The funny thing is, while I mixed the batter for the meringue, I knew this would work. Something about the texture, weight, and feel of it that made me think this one is different. Ah, lather, rinse, repeat.

And this is just the beginning of my Macaronicles: The Saga.

P.S. I forgot to mention that this month’s Mac Attack theme is Mac-A-Valentine and we’re supposed to have Valentine-inspired Macs. I’m not one to go with convention, and instead of something chocolate, I’d prefer the puckery lemon curd. Plus, nothing says ‘I love you’ more than never giving up and sticking with it through hell and back. Eight batches of failed macs in pursuit of the best. Now THAT’s what I call love. (Or martyrdom.)

Nutella on crack — as in, Nutella made with more hazelnuts! Creamy, crunchy, and chewy Nutty Nutella Mochi (mochi = sticky rice cake) is like an Asian version of one of my guilty-pleasure chocolate, Ferrero Rocher. It’s very easy to make and lots of fun!

I used to be hooked on Ferrero Rocher as a child. I would have these gold foil-wrapped chocolates in my school bag and the pocket of my school uniform. When I discovered Nutella, it was like manna for my insatiable chocolate-loving young palate and definitely a much cheaper option than Ferrero Rocher. I would eat it mindlessly by the big spoonfuls (prior to Nutella, I consumed jar after jar of extra creamy peanut butter!). At some point I did learn to restrain myself…sometimes. Nutella lovers — you know what I mean, right? It’s just physically straining to not give in to the craving! Ha ha.

It is with glee that I will participate in World Nutella Day (hosted by these lovelies: Ms Adventures in Italy, Bleeding Espresso, and World Nutella Day) with this Japanese-inspired  treat:

I’ve always wanted to make stuffed mochi (addendum: I grew up with mochi or sticky rice cake, but we just call them by different names in the Philippines), so I thought I’d combine that with Nutella. And guess what? They are perfect together!

It’s very easy to make. Crushed hazelnuts and nutella are combined, lumped into balls and placed in the freezer to keep its shape when molding the rice cake around it. The rice cake is a combination of glutinous (sweet) rice flour, water and a little sugar. A little food coloring if you want to make it interesting. You can add flavors as you wish. The resulting paste is zapped in the microwave for a couple of minutes and then the wrapping begins!

The stickiness is the tricky part and it’s easy to solve by keeping your hands and work surface generously floured. Put in the freezer again to set. And voila! You got yourself some Asian Ferrero Rocher to snack on. No spoon needed.

I loved this experiment so much that I’m going to make more over the weekend. This will be a fun Valentine’s treat for friends, family and lovahs.

Happy World Nutella Day and Happy Friday!

NUTTY NUTELLA MOCHI (THE ASIAN FERRERO ROCHER)

Ingredients (makes 8 mochi balls – recipe easily doubled, tripled, what have you)

• 2 tablespoons Nutella spread (you can easily substitute w/ other hazelnut-based or chocolate spread…but really, why would you do that? J)
• 3 tablespoons (about 30 grams) hazelnuts/filberts without shells
• 6 tablespoons glutinous/sweet rice or mochiko flour, plus a lot of extra for flouring surface and hands
• 7 tablespoons water, divided
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• (optional) a drop of liquid food coloring

Other materials needed: aluminum foil, parchment paper – you don’t need anything longer than 4 inches in width when you tear it from the box.

Preparation

1. (Optional step – Roasting Nuts) Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Spread hazelnuts in one layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 5 to 8 minutes (start checking the oven at 5). Be careful not to scorch it. Stir once during baking. Cool completely on a wire rack.
2. Ground hazelnuts in a food processor or grinder into rock salt consistency. Depending on your preference you can go finer than 3mm or you can go for chunky. Keep in mind that pronounced angular edges tend to tear the mochi as you mold it.
3. Mix Nutella spread and ground hazulnuts n a small bowl until all nut pieces are coated. Form 1-teaspoon balls using a measuring spoon and a small teaspoon. Scoop from measuring spoon, place the spread back in and scoop again until you form a ball. It shouldn’t take more than 3 strokes. Once you get the hang of it, it will be a breeze. Drop each ball on the aluminum foil. Place nutella balls on the foil in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour before making mochi so they will harden.
4. Combine glutinous rice flour, 6 tablespoons water, food coloring (if desired) and granulated sugar in a small bowl. Heat it in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir. If the sticky paste peels away from the side of the bowl as you stir, add the remaining tablespoon of water until combined. If not, return bowl in the microwave and heat in 20-second intervals until the paste peels away from the sides of the bowl, then mix with water.
5. Take the frozen Nutella balls from the freezer.
6. Dust the parchment paper and your work surface (could be just plate) with rice flour. Place a small mound of flour on your work surface for dipping. Flour your hands generously. I find that the best way to ‘dust’ my hands with rice flour is to wash and wipe, and flour my damp hands. Spoon at least half a tablespoon of sticky paste (a.k.a. mochi). Dip all exposed areas onto your mound of flour. Once it doesn’t stick anymore, peel it from the spoon with your hands, then dip all un-floured areas in flour. Press this mound of paste until you form a  4mm-thick wrapper. Dust your hand with flour whenever it sticks to the paste. Use that floured mochi to grab a Nutella ball from the foil, and then carefully wrap it around the nutella. You can stretch it a little, and flour any sticky surface as needed. Once two mochi ends meet, to pinch them together with floured fingers – it’s just like working with clay. It takes a little practice to get this right, but once you realize that the trick is really to keep your hands from sticking to the mochi, you will be fine. If all else fails, you can eat your mistake. Mmm..Nutella.
7. Lightly roll each Nutella stuffed mochi in flour, and place on the floured parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes to set. Or you can eat it right away, really.

Notes: I do repeat the importance of putting flour on the surface or your hands when making the mochi because it is extremely sticky. The mochi paste recipe has provisions for extra paste when you need to start over with the mochi wrapper.

Variation: You can wrap a whole hazelnut in Nutella and freeze it. You can use any imaginable filling you like and you can put any flavorings in the mochi paste itself – from extracts to powder. The mochi paste can also be just rolled in rice flour and eaten plain.

One of the best things about mochi is that you can be very creative about it. Make it savory, make it sweet, it will succumb to whatever flavor whim you fancy. It’s open to experimentation without a lot of fail.

For those who haven’t eaten mochi or sticky rice cake before, it is like a very soft (sticky/stretchy) pillow of gnocchi. I grew up eating sticky rice cakes and would prefer them to gnocchi on any given day. Try it! – Joy

I love biscotti. For the longest time, I sat back in awe, envious of friends (on- and offline) who make it look like it’s a walk in the park to prepare. For me it was intimidating, especially the fact that it has to be baked twice. I don’t know why, but just the thought of that thwart any attempt at it! Enter Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox’s book, “The Craft of Baking: Cakes, Cookies, and Other Sweets with Ideas for Inventing Your Own“. I pored through the pages, checking the ingredients and processes, and unapologetically drooled over the sweet delights. Then, like cowlick on a well-manicured lawn of a hair, 3 recipes stood out: those of the twice baked cookie variety called the Biscotti. Hello, self-imposed yoke.

It’s crazy to think that some of us have mountains to move when it comes to baking:

• Mt. Cake
• Mt. Macarons
• Mt. Pie
• Mt. Jelly Rolls…I’m still talking about baking here…
• Mt. Cinnamon Rolls
• Mt.Homemade Bread

What else? What’s your baking nemesis?

My friend is leaving to go back to her new home across the border, and I wanted to give her something for their long flight. Biscotti would make a perfect travel snack: light, TSA-friendly, and will survive the journey. And there it was, my work cut out for me and I was ready to face another fear in the kitchen. Luckily, my first try worked like a charm. DeMasco’s recipe is a winner.

Of course I had to try making the chocolate first. Priorities dears.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti with Coffee. The coffee was just there for props. I haven't had coffee in 13 days. THIRTEEN! Days! And I'm ok. Really. Did I tell you I'm okay?

The dough was sticky and fragile to work with, but incredibly good to eat. I’m a dough/batter-eater. I cannot resist tasting it, unless it is yeasty. It pretty much goes that if the dough tastes good, the baked product will be good, too. So I do intensive testing. With my mouth. Do you? If not, you’re missing out. Well, unless you’re pregnant, then don’t do it if it has raw eggs like this one.

The trick to transferring this dough from the floured counter to the baking sheet is the speedy lift-and-support-entire-length action. It does have the risk of sagging and breaking apart.

Making biscotti and proof that I may have taken Karen DeMasco's"generously floured work surface" too far. It really didn't stick. At all. I mean, how could it?

The hardest part in making these is the baking time. Your kitchen and its surrounding open spaces will be filled with the come-hitherto aroma of brownies baking in the oven, and a hint of something that tickles your nose, trying to let you in on a little secret. You know what it is? Espresso. The book says the cookies will fall flat in taste without it, and I’ll have to agree. No, I don’t even want to try it without!

The Biscotti Council

These biscotti are not too sweet, and would make a perfect companion to coffee or plain milk. Thinking of tea? This is your mate. It’s not too overpowering, even for a light tea.

There are only a few left of this batch, and the generous bag of biscotti I gave my friend for the trip is on the verge of missing the flight, I was told. If that isn’t the best compliment for it, I don’t know what is.

If you’re looking for a biscotti recipe to start you baking, look no further. This newbie approves. And for the seasoned biscotti bakers, this is a worthy addition to consider for your repertoire of old favorites.

For me, honestly, I can’t wait to make more that will last long enough to make it past the front door without being eaten, so I can mail them to friends! I love sending care packages of food, and it almost sounds selfish because I get such sheer pleasure in doing so. :-)

The full recipe can be found online (it’s the 3rd recipe down), and that’s the exact one in the book. I thought I’d just link to it because it’s a long one, plus I didn’t change anything in the recipe.

Happy baking this weekend!

Dare I tamper with our Ultimate Brownies?

Yes, yes I did!!!

Hop on over to Craftzine for my guest post about the “healthier” version!

Here are the ingredients of the two versions, side by side:

Download the Original recipe:     

Download the Healthier recipe:  

I joined this fantastic, dedicated, inspiring and fun group of bakers last March: The Daring Bakers. I wanted in on the amazing and hugely popular–yet highly secretive–monthly challenge. You can’t “reveal” the recipe and results until the designated date.Let me tell you, most of the recipes the “hosts” (it’s different every month) pick ones that I would not willingly subject myself to by my own choice. That’s the beauty of it. Even if you can clearly see the recipe is The Tome of recipes, you still go ahead because you know that several hundreds of the other members are doing it with you…through days, nights, arm/back/leg pain in the kitchen, several trips to different markets to procure all the ingredients, thinking of variations to make,…until you all come up with the results, take a bite and pat yourself on the back.

The August 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers’ cookbook Kaffeehaus:  Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Every month, I tell myself that I’m going to finish the challenge way ahead of the 27th deadline and reveal. Then I think about having to keep it to myself for days or weeks! That’s hard. I finished this last Tuesday and took photos, then more photos of the sliced cake the next day. Then forgot to post. Haha. This is classic.

The finished cake was a beauty to behold!

I’ve never made buttercream in my life, and having a taste of this cake’s fresh chocolate buttercream was dreamy. I was Mmm-Mmm–Mmm-ing at 3am while gliding in the kitchen.

And that’s all I’m going to say for now. Wait until I post more photos later. Sorry, foodies, cooks, bakers, and food voyeurs, it’s a busy day ahead. Please come back later. :) I will also let you know what I did to have an almost stress-free slicing of those pesky, sticky caramel slices!

I rarely make lists as posts, so consider this a treat.I didn’t even make one for Canada Day! Shame shame. Anyway, if you’re still looking for ideas for the weekend, here are some easy peasy suggestions, ye American neighbors.

• Summer Strawberry Fro-Yo or Honey Peach Fro-Yo will beat the heat, the ice cream craving and that stupid weight-loss diet. Eat with little guilt. Savor it.
• Baked Garlic Rhubarb Wings features the season’s rhubarb. Plus it’s baked! I have no doubt this will be a surprise hit at your party.
• If you do not care about having greasy, fatty wings (didn’t I just make it the most appetizing thing in the world?!), say hello to our Homestyle Buffalo Wild Wings. Yes, that B-W-W. I guarantee it’s that good.
• For something that looks a little fancier — and still healthy — try the Tuna-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.
• What about some Baked Potato Beet Salad?
• For a good dip for your chips or crispy breads, make this Spinach and Artichoke Dip. I can still remember how good it was. Mmm.

Here are recipes for dessert (or snack) that require a little more work, but you will get a lot of love from the people who will enjoy it:

• Bailey’s Cafe Mocha Cheesecake
• Caramel Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

Or if you want to bake something that’s easy and still be good, try these Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes or Honey-Cheese Corn Muffins.

Yes, it’s true, when you come to my party you won’t see the usual fares. :p

Happy Independence Day weekend, friends!

Every now and then, an idea will spark for me from even the smallest triggers in life. This in particular was the result of a discussion about surprises. Mine was to be about dessert. The person that this surprise was for is someone special, so one cannot simply buy something from the store. I wanted to know what would make the best of the best. A kind of channeling of Tyler Florence, if you will.

I gave it a thought and I knew exactly what to do. Since my brother does not like cake, and my nieces and nephews tend to be picky, and my sister will eat generally anything with a sweet tooth, the only thing that made sense for me to prepare were brownies.

A quick google search led me here, The Ultimate Brownie Recipe. And I thought I had all the ingredients listed.

The result is this:

What was I missing? 3 unsweetened cocoa squares. Over 25% of the ingredient I needed was already used from what I thought was a full box of unsweetened cocoa.  What did I do? I dug up some semi-sweet chocolate chips and measured out on the scale 3 oz of the sweetened stuff.  I also reduced the amount of sugar by 1/4th cup to compensate for the sweetness coming from the chocolate chips.

Another thing I did differently was the choice of flour. I didn’t know the immediate impact on brownies but I used bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. I am also not a fan of nuts in my brownies, so I omitted the walnuts.

The result is this adapted recipe:

Better Than Ultimate Brownies

Ingredients:

• 5 1-oz squares of unsweetened chocolate
• 3 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup butter
• 5 eggs
• 2 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease 9 x 13 pan.

2. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate squares and chips, and butter; set aside.

3. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at high speed for 10 minutes. [I definitely recommend a stand mixer for this.] Add melted chocolate mixture, salt and bread flour and mix until just blended. Let the batter sit on the counter for 20 minutes before pouring into the greased pan. Let air bubbles escape by tapping the pan.

4.Bake for 30 minutes and test with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, take the brownies out to cool before serving.

I believe my substitutions made these brownies above and beyond that of the original Ultimate Brownies! Each square is dense and chocolate-y, and has a nice chewiness to it. It’s better than store-bought or just-put-in-the-oven brownies. If you happen to be lucky enough to have some left over after a few days, you’ll be fighting over the the last few bites of super-moist and ultimately soft and chewy brownies. A little sacrifice of instant gratification truly pays off for these. ;-)

Give them a try in your kitchen and let us know how they turn out!