Chocolate Macarons

Hello all,
Some weeks ago I made chocolate macarons, after not having baked macarons for over two years. I was worried that I had lost my touch, but alas it was fine!

That proves that this recipe is an easy one, and that really, you have to be really unlucky to fail with it. The macarons may not have been perfect (I think I would've needed another minute of beating the batter), but they were very tasty. That's really all anyone can ask for!

Chocolate macarons

INGREDIENTS

• 100 g almond powder
• 3 egg whites (about 100-110 g)
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 185 g powdered sugar
• 15 g cocoa powder
  

DIRECTIONS

I like to prepare my egg whites by leaving them in room temperature for a day before I start baking. It yields better macarons in my opinion.
 
Preheat the oven to 150°C.
Sift the almond powder and throw away the large pieces.
Mix the almond powder with the powdered sugar and the cocoa and sift again.

In another bowl whisk the room tempered egg whites until it starts to foam. Then gradually add the tablespoons of sugar. Whisk the egg whites until thick and shiny. You should be able to hold the bowl upside down without anything pouring out.

Add the almond-powdered sugar-cocoa mix to the eggs and mix. This is where it can get a bit tricky. Obviously the almond-mix should get completely incorporated within the egg whites, however you usually need to mix it a bit more. I usually pick up a bit of the batter with a spatula and if it falls down in a ribbon like shape it is ready and should not be mixed anymore. Mix it too much and you get flat macarons.

Pour the batter into a piping bag with a round tip and pipe the batter onto baking trays prepared with baking sheets. Now it is important to let the piped to-be macarons rest on the baking trays in room temperature for about an hour. I know you're eager to see how they turn out, but the resting of the macarons is super important, because the surface dries a bit and that makes them not loose their shape when they are baked, and it enables the feet to come out when baked (if the anatomy of a macaron is a mystery to you, I highly recommend googling it, but below a photo follows to explain some things).

After the macarons have rested for about an hour in room temperature, bake them at 150°C for about 14 minutes.

Let the macaron shells cool completely before you fill them with ganache. For my ganache recipe click here.

I also painted my macaron shells with a bit of edible gold, just so that they would look a wee bit more luxurious.

And that, my friends, is really all there is to it!
I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Much love,
Mona

Macaron Earrings

Earrings: Made them myself, see how you can make your own here

Blouse: Book of Deer (old)

Hello all!

I'm sorry I have been absent from the blog lately. People who follow me on Instagram (@curlsncakes) will know that I haven't felt great recently. My depression and anxiety hit me quite hard these last few weeks, and I haven't been very motivated to do much of anything. I am glad to say that I am feeling much better, the sun is shining and there is a smile on my face as I'm writing this.

This will be a tiny post, where I just wanted to say I'm back, and to let you all know that I've collaborated with this really cool site called Cut Out + Keep. Together we're bringing you a DIY on how to make polymer clay macaron earrings. The ones I'm wearing in this post.

You can find the DIY and a little interview here.
If you do decide to make these earrings please let me know as I would love to see your creations!

I'll be back with an outfit post very soon.
Much love,

Macarons & Instagram Giveaway

I cannot believe it myself, but a total of 1000 people are following me on Instagram (@curlsncakes). That's a lot of people. So many, that I would be highly uncomfortable if I was actually around 1000 people, but the distance that the internet provides makes me feel safe. Through Instagram I've met many special people. I've met people I can call my friends and I value the relationships I've made through social media very much.

In order to celebrate 1000 people (still can't process it) following me, I am hosting a Giveaway on Instagram. I will be giving a handmade (by myself) macaron necklace to one lucky winner. It will look like the pink one I'm wearing in these pictures but the winner will be able to choose the colour of her/his preference.

So if you want a sweet little macaron necklace, find the original post on my Instagram and follow the instructions.

I love macarons. They are the perfect little pieces of sweetness. I also love making macarons, even though it can be tricky. Macarons are volatile but that's part of their charm. Because they are so unpredictable, I respect macarons greatly. A good macaron is a piece of craftsmanship at it's best.

My beautiful bow headband is from Beau xoxo, which is one of my favourite etsy shops and because the theme of today is macarons, the print is of course of colourful and cute little macarons. I adore this headband!

Dress: ModCloth (here)

Headband: Beau xoxo (here)

Necklace: Handmade by myself, but you can win one on my IG

But back to the necklace. It will be in the colour of the winner's choice and completely handmade by me, so don't forget to check out the Giveaway on my instagram!

Much love!