lavender macarons

Hello macarons!  This is only the second time I've made macarons since these raspberry macarons I blogged about last year.  They're a bit of a specialty dessert...and frankly I was a bit nervous to make them again.  Ha!  I knew that I needed a special occasion to motivate myself to make them again, and the opportunity came last month!

So......I've been internet/instagram friends with Amy from Constellation Inspiration for a long time now, and I FINALLY gathered the courage to ask if she'd be interested in a baking date.  She said "YES!", we started brainstorming ideas, and boom...we got together!  

I won't lie, I was pretty nervous about driving into Van and having a sleepover with a somewhat stranger (yes...a sleepover.  we went all in...haha), but from the moment we met it felt as though we had been friends forever.  We instantly bonded while flipping through cookbooks, browsing our favourite food blogs, eating doughnuts, and baking of course!  Seriously though, Amy is the sweetest, and I love having a new friend who doesn't mind talking about cake and doughnuts 99% of the time, understands #foodbloggerproblems, and who inspires my own creativity!

Anywho.....we created a beautifully whimsical spread comprising of an earl grey lavender layer cake topped with lavender macarons (inspired by the lovely Linda Lomelino!), cupcakes topped with mini macarons, and flowers galore.  Keep scrolling to see the final photos below, and be sure to hop on over to Amy's blog to see the full spread and cake recipe!

Amy had also invited her photographer friend Victor over to take photos, and it was such a fun experience to be on the other side of the lens during a food shoot for once!  Victor was so awesome, his photos turned out breathtakingly gorgeous, and the three of us were laughing the whole time.  #squadgoalsachieved

So, without further ado, here is the macaron recipe!  And I'm sorry (not sorry) for all of the photos!  I couldn't bring myself to cut any more. Ha!

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Lavender Macarons 

recipe: slightly adapted from Linda Lomelino - Basic Macarons

Directions:

1) Grind the ground almonds further by using a food processor/blender. *Careful not to grind them too much, or for too long at a time, otherwise you'll end up with almond butter!

2)  Use a sifter to get rid of any large pieces that are left over.  Now you can measure out 100 grams and set aside.

3)  Use a sifter to mix the ground almonds together with the powdered sugar.  Repeat 2 more times.

4)  In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on high until the eggs start to foam.  Then, slowly add your granulated sugar and food colouring, and continue mixing until the mixture becomes quite stiff. (If you hold the bowl upside down, it shouldn't be able to slide out!)

5)  Gently fold the dry almond/sugar mixture in using a spatula.  It's hard to explain what the consistency should be like, but often it's described as "lava".  Place a blog on your parchment or silpat, and see if it slowly flattens.  Then you're good to go!  If it flattens too much and runs everywhere than you've mixed it too much.  If it's too stiff and doesn't flatten at all, then fold it a bit more!

6)  Fill a large piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip (or just cut the piping bag) and pipe the macarons onto baking sheets.  Sprinkle on a few pieces of dried lavender onto half of the macarons right away.  Remember that the shells will “flatten” once you’ve piped, so don’t make them too big. About 1" diameter is enough.

7)  Let them set for 60 minutes to form a dry skin.  *This is important since letting them sit out is what helps the feet to form.

8)  Preheat oven to 150 degrees C. Bake for about 11-13 minutes. You can test if they are done by touching the tip of a macaron, if it “wobbles” they are not done. Let cool completely, then fill and sandwich together with a macaron of matching size. Store in airtight container in the fridge, preferably for a day or two before eating.

Ingredients:

100 grams blanched, ground almonds (grind more than 100 grams!)

200 grams powdered sugar

110 grams egg whites (around 3 egg whites, depends on the size of your eggs.) *it's very important to let your eggs age at least 1 day, and for them to be at room temperature before you start baking - don't skip this step!

50 grams granulated sugar

purple food colouring (optional)

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Lavender Buttercream

recipe: Kelsey Siemens

Directions:

In a very small saucepan, heat cream on medium high and add dried lavender to steep for 5 minutes.

Strain out lavender and allow cream to cool.

Mix together icing sugar, butter, and 2 tablespoons of cream.  Add more cream if necessary to achieve a nice piping consistency. 

Place buttercream icing into a piping bag and pipe onto macarons.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container until eating.  These are great the next day or two!

Ingredients:

3 cups icing sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup cream

1 tsp dried lavender

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The three of us seriously had so much fun!  I can't believe that I've only known Amy and Victor for such a short time, and I can't wait to create pretty things together again SOON!

Photos of macarons on wood table by me.
All other photos by the very talented: Victor Yuen

Now, please head over to Amy's blog to see MORE cake photos and to find the cake recipe too!  And give her a follow on instagram (@constellationinspiration) for more drool-worthy creations!

-Kelsey

P.S.  ALSO.......Amy and I are getting together next week to bake another cake, and Victor will be there too lending us his mad photography skills.  I can't wait!

apple hand pies

So, here we are, halfway through February and I'm already yearning for Fall.  Seriously, if we could just have Fall keep going and skip Winter, that would be great.

In the midst of my pining I decided to make pie.  Hand pies to be specific!  I used up some of the last few Elstar apples that we had in storage, and what a perfect ending it was for them.  Now hand pies take quite a bit more time than normal pie does! Ha!  I grew a bit impatient halfway through the process, but I promise that they're worth it.  I think these little parcels of perfection would be so great for a picnic, or bbq where more dishes would just be a hassle.  That's the beauty of a hand pie...you just pick it up with your hand, and eat it!  Heck yes!

Now, if you've been around the blog for a while you'll be aware of the fact that I don't actually like pie all that much.....well USED to not like pie that much.  You see, when I was younger, I really didn't like the idea of cooked fruit, and then I was not too sure about pie crust (what was I thinking?), and as I got older I clung to the idea that "I didn't like pie".  First of all, because I was stubborn, and then because I  was scared of all the pie I would consume if I decided I liked it...since my mom is the queen of pies and we tend to bake quite a number of them around our house.

Anyhow, I ate a hand pie to make sure that they were good......and then I ate another one, and maybe another.  So yeah.  I am now officially converted.  I LIKE PIE!  (And am no longer a freak of nature.)

So, without further ado....here is the recipe!

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Apple Hand Pies

pastry recipe yields: dough for 4 pies - (we refrigerate whatever we don't use)
pastry recipe: Jean Pare - Company's Coming: Desserts

Directions

1)  Mix together flour, salt, baking powder and brown sugar in a large bowl.

2)  Cut up lard and add to dry ingredients. 

3)  Using a pastry cutter (or a plain old fork works as well), cut in lard until your mixture is crumbly.

4)  Break your egg into a liquid measuring cup and beat well.

5)  Add vinegar to the measuring cup.

6)  Add very cold water to the measuring cup, until the mixture measures to 1 cup.

7)  Pour liquid mixture over flour mixture slowly, and stir.

8)  Use your hands to work the mixture together until it no longer crumbles apart.  This is where experience will come in, as you don't want to overmix the dough!  Once you make it a couple of times, you'll get the feel of it.

9)  Divide into 4 equal parts.  Each part will make one pie (or quite a number of hand pies), so you can choose to use it all at once, store some of the dough in the fridge* for up to 2 weeks, or pop some of into the freezer for later!

*If you do refrigerate your dough overnight (or for a few days), be sure to take it out at least an hour before you roll out it.  Otherwise it will be too stiff!

Pastry Ingredients

5 cups Flour

2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder

3 tbsp Brown Sugar

1 lb Lard (or vegetable shortening)

1 Egg

2 tbsp Vinegar

Cold water

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Hand Pie Apple Filling and Assembly

**NOTE: the number of hand pies this recipe yields will be dependent on how much pastry dough you use, and how big you make the pies.  I made a bunch of filling, and then filled hand pies until I was sick of it!  Hand pies have a higher ratio of dough to filling, so you may want to double the filling recipe if you plan on making a lot of hand pies.

Hand Pie Assembly

First, assemble your apple filling.  Peel your apples, and then dice them into smaller pieces than you would for a regular pie.  Toss the apples in a medium bowl with cinnamon, flour, and sugar.

If your dough is in the fridge, be sure to take it out about an hour before you want to roll it out.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie dough, and then use a round cookie cutter to cut out circles. (Note: you want your dough very thin, but not so thin that it will rip once you start stuffing it with apples!  this might take a couple trials to get just right).

Spoon a bit of apple filling onto half of the circles, and then place a matching circle on top of each of them.  

Use a bit of water on your fingers to wet the inside edge of one of the circles, and then pinch the edges together tightly until it seals.  Then, use a fork to further seal the edges and make a decorative pattern (see photos below).  Place each hand pie on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a baking mat.

Cut one or two small vent holes in the top of each hand pie.  Brush a bit of milk (or whisked egg) on top of the dough to help them get brown and glossy, and sprinkle with a bit of coarse sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 18-22 minutes, or until bubbling occurs and apples are soft!

Apple Filling

3 medium Elstar apples (or any tart apple of your choice)

3/4 tsp Cinnamon

 2 Tbsp Flour

1/3 cup Sugar

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So the moral of the story today is....don't be stubborn, and pie is delicious.

-Kelsey

beignets

Cheers to the first doughnuts of 2016!  Jordyn and I decided to mix it up a bit, and try our hand at beignets!  Now, these are made with a yeast dough, although it's also common to use choux pastry.  I think that means that we'll have to make them again soon to see which we like better!

Now, the process for these beignets is quite a long one, so be prepared!  The rising time is quite a bit longer than other doughnuts, but the pay-off is worth it.  Beignets are also best served warm and fresh, although we did find that they froze well (place in freezer without dusting with icing sugar).

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Beignets

slightly adapted from: handle the heat

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the water, sugar, and yeast.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and cream.  Then add to the yeast mixture.

Add half of the flour, and mix until combined - use a dough hook here, or a wooden spoon and some determination.  Keep mixing, and add in the salt and butter.  Gradually mix in the rest of the flour, and keep working the dough until it is smooth, and a bit tacky.

*If you don't have a dough hook, just flour your work surface and knead the dough by hand.  It will take a while, around 10 minutes.

Place the dough into a creased bowl, and cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.  (Yes this is a long time!  But it's worth it.) 

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer, or in an electric frying pan to 360 degrees farenheit.  Place the icing sugar in a large bowl or 9x13 baking dish for tossing the beignets.

Roll the dough out to about 1/4" thickness, and cut it into squares.  Deep-fry each square until it's golden brown on both sides, flipping constantly while cooking it.

The beignets will float to the surface as they're frying, and if they don't, you might need more oil in your frying pan, or the oil might need to heat up a bit more.

Once the beignets come out of the frying pan, gently roll them on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels, and then roll them in the icing sugar while still warm.

***NEVER leave your oil unattended!!  Not for one second.

*It's helpful to have 2 people frying and coating the beignets here, especially if you're frying several beignets at once.

Beignets are best served warm, or at least the same day.

You can freeze them if you'd like, and coat them in icing sugar once you bring them out of the freezer and just before you serve them.

Ingredients

3/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1 large egg

1/4 cup milk*

1/4 cup cream*

3 1/2 cups flour 

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

(Oil - for frying beignets)

Topping:

1 1/2 cup icing sugar

*The milk and cream may be replaced with 1/2 cup of evaporated milk.

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Now go on and make yourself some delicious parcels of fried dough people!

-Kelsey

mint brownies

I think we can all agree that brownies are the bomb.  Especially when they are served warm with ice cream.  Am I right?  Why mess with perfection, one might ask.  To that I would say...why not?  Especially if it leads to something this delicious.  

Now, these brownies will always remind me of one of my university roommates, Rochelle!  She was often a taste-tester of mine while we lived together, and we spent many nights bonding as I baked and she cleaned up behind me (hahaha...it was the perfect relationship :P).  I'm pretty sure this was her brainchild, adding mint chocolate chips instead of regular ones....and it is pretty amazing.  I love that it gives an old classic a new spin!  It's nice to mix it up now and again.

These are incredibly rich, chewy, and just overall decadent morsels of goodness!

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mint brownies

recipe: slightly adapted from Brooke - allrecipes
yields: ~24 servings

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2)  In a large bowl, beat together the melted butter, sugar and vanilla.

3)  Add the eggs one at a time, and beat well after each one.

4)  In a separate medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

5)  Gradually mix in the flour mixture to the egg mixture until completely blended.

6)  Use a spatula to stir in mint chocolate chips.

7)  Spread the batter into a greased 9x13 pan.  The batter is thick, so use a spatula to ensure it is spread out evenly.

8)  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. **Be careful that your toothpick isn't just hitting a mint chocolate chip when inserted, as that can be misleading and lead to overbaking.

9)  Remove from the oven once it's done, and allow to cool slightly before cutting.  Top with powdered sugar (or frosting if desired), and serve (preferably with ice cream!)

Ingredients: 

1 cup butter, melted

3 cups white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup mint chocolate chips

[optional: powdered sugar for topping]

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Happy baking everyone!  And brace yourselves for some Christmas baking coming at ya soon!

-Kelsey