Are You a Master Baker or Disaster Baker? Contest and Giveaway RECIPE #4

Are You a Master Baker or Disaster Baker? Contest and Giveaway

Recipe #4 Manuela’s White Macarons with Milk Chocolate Fudge

Recipe by Manuela Kjeilen. (All photos courtesy of passionforbaking.com’s Lise Sternersen, and the dishes featured in the photos were created by Manuela Kjelien unless otherwise noted).

I’ve never made a macaron in my life and the thought of having to bake one for this challenge made my heart pound. I’ve been dreading this week ever since I learned macarons were on Manuela’s hand-picked list of recipes for the challenge.  Making something so delicate and beautiful is very intimidating for my skill level, but despite my mixed emotions towards the macaron; I knew I had to overcome my anxiety and push myself for the sake of the challenge. I just kept telling myself, “relax, take it easy, you got this. Now just do it and bake like a master!” I feel a headache coming on! 

If you’re here for the first time and would like to join the challenge or check out what we’ve been up to, click the links to view Recipe #1 Mocca Meringues Ice Cream Cake, Recipe #2 Norwegian Cream Cake  and Recipe #3 Manuela’s Best Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe . 

The requirements for this weeks challenge are the same as the previous three weeks and are written below: 

Bake the next recipe in the challenge series then take a photo of your “Master or Disaster” piece. The Woobox Submission Form is listed at the end of this post, and it’s also where you will share a photo of your creation. The link will be available on all my social media sites for easy access to post your photos for the entire duration of the contest. 

*NOTE* 

In order to be eligible to win the $700.00 Ankarsrum Original Mixer you must enter a photo for ALL 6 recipes in the challenge. To win the Baking Book: Love Manuela,  you are required to enter 3 recipe photos.

FOR THE OFFICIAL RULES CLICK HERE

RECIPE #4

Manuela’s White Macarons with Milk Chocolate Fudge

White Macarons with Chocolate Fudge: Recipe by Manuela Kjeilen. (All photos courtesy of passionforbaking.com‘s Lise Sternersen, and the dishes featured in the photos were created by Manuela Kjelien unless otherwise noted) 

This stunning creation is the work of Norwegian born award-winning blogger and “Master Home Baker” –  Manuela Kjeilen.

( You can read more about Manuela and the Contests Official Rules HERE )

Attached to each of the six recipes sent to me by Manuela were notes written by her as they related to each one of the recipes. Below is what Manuela said about Recipe #4:

I would love it if they (that’s you) try my recipe for macarons, I know a lot of people have problems with macarons, but this recipe I never have gotten a complaint about! These macarons go straight in the oven, no need to rest before baking as many recipes ask for.

Manuela’s  inspiration for her macaron recipe is also accredited to the recent Royal Wedding of Megan Markle and Prince Harry. 

Manuela said, I wanted to make elegant macarons with a romantic touch, that would be perfect for a wedding! I have always loved the simple look when it comes to cakes, cupcakes, and cookies and always focus on taste first and by just adding a little chocolate hearth on top of the macarons, gave it a beautiful look.

Manuela’s macarons are beautifully “royal,” and the perfect bite for any wedding. 

In all honesty, I’m terrified to make Manuela’s beautiful recipe but I have high hopes it will go well based on my success with her other recipes in the baking challenge.  This recipe is straight forward and sounds easy enough to make. I especially like that it does not require any resting time for the batter.

So now that you’ve seen the STUNNING photo of Manuela’s White Macarons with Chocolate Fudge, here’s a photo of my rendition. 

Recipe by Manuela Kjeilen, Food and Photo by At Home with Rebecka

This recipe had me sweating bullets and actually gave me a pounding headache. I was so focused on creating the perfect macaron that I didn’t drink or eat anything except macaroons all day as my anticipation had gotten the better of me.

My batter tasted delicious but the almonds were not fine enough to achieve Manuela’s perfectly smooth-white cookie. I over baked them AGAIN, leaving the bottoms browned and too crunchy for a perfect macaron. The filling is simple to make but I had issues during the frosting step as I managed to get chocolate finger prints all over my cookies. Thankfully, I had enough nice ones to take photos. 

Despite the errors, my family loved these sweet morsels. The cookie was chewy and flavorful, and the chocolate frosting more like caramel than chocolate. They definitely  went down easy!

I will make macarons again and go into the next bake with less panic and more knowledge. Like Manuela always says, “Practice, practice, practice!”  

Recipe by Manuela Kjeilen, Food and Photo by At Home with Rebecka

Recipe by Manuela Kjeilen, Food and Photo by At Home with Rebecka

What I Love About This Challenge

This week’s challenge was crazy-hard for me and my kitchen looked like bomb went off in there. I’m proud to have lived through my first attempt at making macarons and happy to add two more of Manuela’s recipes to my baking repertoire (Manuela’s White Macarons and Chocolate Fudge Frosting). The list keeps getting longer and my skills are growing with every delicious recipe.

Manuela’s White Chocolate Macarons with Chocolate Fudge

You will need the following items in order to “successfully” bake this recipe: 

1. Macaron templates (find free downloadable templates HERE and HERE)
2. 2 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper
3. 1 -10 mm piping tip
4. 1 Medium disposable piping bag
5. The recipe conversions from European Measurements are Manuela’s US converted recipes or were calculated with the iPhone APP “Kitchen Pro”
6. Chocolate candy hearts (optional)

I’ve added a few more notes in the recipe; however if you need step-by-step instructions after reading Manuela’s recipe, then please check out her helpful how to videos. (Manuela’s beautiful photos of her creations are located HERE)

[recipe title=”White Macarons with Milk Chocolate Fudge” servings=”24 to 30 pieces” difficulty=”medium”]

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 Cups (160 G) Egg Whites* (divided in two)

1 Cup (200 G) granulated sugar

⅓ CUP (80 ML) WATER

2 ⅓ CUPS (225 G) Powdered Sugar or confectioners’ sugar

 2 ⅓ CUPS (225 G) almond flour

1 Teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped 

FILLING:
Milk chocolate fudge frosting. Recipe below

DECORATION:
Chocolate heart, optional

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 275F° (135 ºC). Use the convection setting for this recipe.
Prepare a piping bag with a (10mm) plain round decorating tip.
Line two baking sheets with silicone macaron baking mats or with parchment paper, if you use parchment paper, add a little dot of the macaron mixture underneath each corner of the parchment paper so it stays attached when you pipe. NOTE: Place macaron templates under parchment paper. Remove after piping the batter by gently sliding them out one side  
Place 1/3 cup (80 g) egg whites in a standing mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment.
Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring slowly until all the sugar is dissolved. Try to not get any sugar on the sides of the pan. (you can always brush it away with some water and a baking brush.)
When the mixture starts to boil, remove the spoon and attach a candy thermometer to the saucepan.
Once the sugar syrup temperature reaches 235F° (113ºC) begin whipping the egg whites on high-speed.
When the sugar syrup reaches 240F° (115ºC) and the egg whites are foamy, remove the syrup from the heat and slowly pour into the whipped egg whites.
Avoid pouring syrup onto the whisk.
Continue to beat the meringue for 5-8 minutes until cool to the touch.
Meanwhile, combine powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar, almond flour and vanilla bean paste or seeds of a vanilla bean in a large bowl.
Add the remaining egg whites. Mix with a silicone spatula to evenly moisten all the ingredients.
Mix in a small amount of the cooled meringue into the almond mixture to loosen the batter
Then;fold in the rest of the meringue into the almond mixture until a smooth batter develops and flows like “lava”. Check mixture often to avoid over-folding.
Transfer mixture to the prepared piping bag and pipe out rounds of batter onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake straight away for 12 minutes; (there is no need for you to wait until the piped cookies are dry to the touch, as many macarons recipes instruct, you may bake them as soon as they are piped.)
To check if the macarons are ready, touch the top of the macaron and try to wiggle it.
The cookies are done when the top is firm and does not wiggle.
Let cool completely on wire racks, before removing them from the baking matt/trays.
Make the milk chocolate fudge frosting, preferably while the macarons are in the oven.
Fill the cookies with milk chocolate fudge frosting (about a tsp for each sandwiched cookie.) and sandwich the cookies together.
The chocolate hearts I made with a silicon mold, see picture further down.
Make sure you use chocolate that is tempered, most chocolate bars at the supermarket are.
Add a little dot if melted chocolate on top of the macaron, place the chocolate hearth on the chocolate dot, press slightly and let dry so you are sure the chocolate hearth stays attached.  

MILK CHOCOLATE FUDGE FROSTING:
1/4 cup (25 gram) powdered sugar, optional
9 tbsp. (125 gram) butter cut into 1- inch pieces
1 1/8 cup (200 gram) milk chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp. espresso coffee, strong in flavor, optional
1/8 tsp. salt
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150 ml) heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium-size saucepan, add powdered sugar, heavy cream, butter, chocolate, salt, and coffee.
Warm it over medium heat, stir at all times, until the chocolate/butter is melted and there are no lumps, around 10 minutes.
Let it cool in the saucepan, once cool place the saucepan in the fridge from 30 minutes up to a 1 hour, all depending on how cold your fridge is.
Transfer the mixture to a small bowl, before you place it in the fridge.
Make sure at times to check the frosting if it is firm, I stir the mixture with a spatula (every 20 minutes) to prevent lumps.
Once the frosting is firm, spread it on top of your cake, or use it as a filling in your macarons.

Enjoy, it is so delicious. [/recipe]

Now it’s your turn to bake your “Master or Disaster” piece! Remember you must post a photo of your completed dish to the WooBox link (listed below) by August 15, 2018 Midnight CST

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