Slices of me

I have been unwell these past 5 weeks with sore left knee and to top up the malady scale, migraine and tummy bug crept in 2 days ago and joined the party. I did keep hay fever at bay though, but its leg is on the door :-(

Anyways, no point feeling sorry for myself, crying over spilt milk, blaming genetics and what have you - I dragged my limping self to the kitchen and checked the pantry. This arvo (afternoon to you non-Aussies), I mastered enough energy to come up with baked goodies. This will pass time and make me a bit more useful.

I tried this: HAZELNUT MACARONS.

Ambitious feat.

I crave for that wonderful gooey French dessert that my work colleague Clairebear (yes that is her name, with the bear :-) generously shares with us. Her boyfriend is an award winning French Patisserie Chef. Real deal. We get to sample his French Macarons before it was presented to the Melbourne Jury something. His Chai Macarons won that competition. I bought a whole box of his gorgeous macarons. I was surprsed that for a self-proclaimed dessert snob. I did enjoy authentic french macarons! I luv the purple ones. I do not remember what it is really because I had a whole array of technicoloured ones. They were all divine. Thanks Clairebear for having him in your life.

For the first time in my life in Australia I can say: I have connections!

Now for the Hazelnut Macaron that I have ambitiously created following a googled recipe.

Hazelnut macarons
• 2 cups hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggwhites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 100g dark chocolate, melted
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Place hazelnut meal, sugar, eggwhites and vanilla in a food processor and process for 1 to 2 minutes or until a thick paste forms.
Using your hands, roll tablespoon  of mixture into balls. Place on trays, allowing room for spreading. Using a spatula, flatten each macaron slightly. Bake for 15 minutes or until macarons are light golden. Allow to cool on trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Spoon melted chocolate into a snap lock bag. Snip off 1 corner and drizzle chocolate over macarons. Allow to set before serving.
***

I skipped the chocolate bit. I am still after all a dessert snob.

It turned out okay a bit burnt but more Danish-butter-cookie-hazelnut than a macaron. I know I can never make that perfect round discs - and to double that like a sandwich is kinda exhausting. I salute the chefs. They make them perfect. Practice indeed makes perfect.

I gave them to my good boy and he tasted it. He smiled and said he liked it. He always does. I bake with my usual trial and error but he always appreciates them and eats them like they were perfect.

Took me back to a time when I tried to make ensaymada, I over did it and when Rich asked what it was I said: OTAP.   Hahahaha...:o) :o) :o)

(Note: Ensaymada is soft buttery bun, while Otap is hard, flaky overcooked biscuit.)

Richard's favourite though is Banana Bread. No magic recipe there. Just easy packet kind of vanilla cake but I add over ripe bananas, extra egg yolks and nuts. He loves them and can eat the whole cake. Today I put in extra ground hazelnuts for more bite. It turned out crispy outside and moist inside. It was near perfect.

Like everything in this world, nothing needs to be perfect when it just gets bitten into anyway. But the thought always counts and when I tried the macarons, I can taste the perfection of my attempt.

As with the banana cake, the macaron slash danish butter cookies slash hazelnut cookie was deliciously perfect in its own way.