French Parisian Macarons, revisited...

J just sent me this link for making Nutella Macarons! Mmmm, I need to try these! Reading through the blog commentary on the recipe by Nicole of BakingBites.com, I noticed she incorporated much more technique than Martha Stewart did in her Macaron version. (By the way, I've been spelling "Macaron" completely wrong, what an idiot! Okay, maybe not completely idiotic since "Macaroon" is the accepted anglicized version of the original.) Anyway, I digress - Nicole's instructions make so much sense! Like the instructions she gives when adding the sugar to the egg whites...I've tried recipes before where they boil the sugar and water first before adding it slowly to the egg whites being whipped. I've never had a problem with nice glossy meringues using this method and it makes total sense to do it. Also, she adds a couple of the egg whites (non-whipped) to the "meal" mix which solves a big problem that I had with trying to get the egg whites (whipped) folded in nicely into the meal mixture. It just turned out to be a mess trying to get the beated egg whites into the meal mixture directly. I felt that I was losing so much of the air in the meringue by trying to fold the whites in. I have a feeling Nicole's way is going to solve my problem since I know for sure from past experience, folding meringue into a more fluid mixture makes for a better end product (I'm thinking mousse, etc.)

After trying Martha's Macarons a second time (referencing my *Update at the bottom of that post) and to my dismay failing miserably, I have renewed hope after reading Nicole's BakingBites.com post and am looking forward to creating beautiful looking Macarons once again! Now only to find Hazlenut Meal...

Baby Booties Cake Topper

Isn't this the cutest cake topper?

Co-workers from work threw me an awesome afternoon tea shower and gave me the top of the cake to enjoy at home! It was so delicious! Chocolate and Raspberry, yum-e! And check out those cute little favors!

Loved the Piping!!!

Moffles attempt...w/o a waffle maker doh!

So I finally tried Jenn's moffles recipe (Mochi Waffles) on Memorial Day morning.

I had been dying to try these! The only problem...I don't own a waffle maker. Whah..????!!! I've got an ice cream maker, a bread maker, a deep fryer, a couple crock pots and two rice pots. Heck, I even have a George foreman grill! But no waffle maker. What's up with that? So what do I do instead? Well, I bust out my pan and my egg fry rings. Here they are being buttered up in a bowl:

Looking good after pouring the batter in:

Removed the rings...so far so good!

Doh! Spillage!!!!

oh well - at least they're cooking.

I convinced myself that I had made "hidden Mickeys" on purpose, hahaha.

Besides my utter failure at cooking these with the WRONG appliances, the taste wasn't too bad. Not as crisp as the waffle maker would get them, but they tasted pretty darn good still with butter and some syrup. Thanks Jenn!