MACARONS VS MACAROONS?

What are Macarons/Macaroons? Most Americans are familiar with the coconut macaroon. I found the Macaron (with one o) in Paris all over the city. I would compare the popularity to the chocolate chip cookie of the USA. Both delicious, but very different. What is your experience with the discovery of the French Macaron?

MACARONS


Dating back to the 18th century, the macaron is a traditional French pastry, made of egg whites, almond powder, icing sugar and sugar. This sweet pastry came out of the French courts' baker's oven as round meringue-like domes with a flat base. Macarons, also anglicized "macaroons", are not to be confused with a similar pastry also called macaroons. Macarons are sandwich-like pastries made with two thin cookies and a cream or ganache between the cookies. Macaroons, on the other hand, are dense cookies made either with coconut or with a coarse almond paste. Macarons come in a wide variety of flavors varying by store and season; ranging from traditional to exotic. At the Versailles Court in Paris, members of the Dalloyau family, whose descendants later founded the gastronomy house of the same name, served macarons to royalty in the then ruling House of Bourbon. In the 1830s macarons were served two-by-two with the addition of jams, liqueurs, and spices. The macaron known today is the "Gerbet" macaron, born in the 1880s in the Beleville neighbourhood of Paris. The double-decker macaron filled with cream that is popular today was invented by the French pâtisserie Ladurée.




MACAROONS


Macaroons are sweet foods made either with coconut and egg white or with a coarse almond paste formed into a dense cookie or confection. They are often confused (due to the very similar spelling) with the French Macarons which are entirely different in appearance. The English word macaroon comes not from the French macaron, but from the word maccarone, regionally used in Italy to refer to maccherone (kind of pasta, with a hole and a larger diameter than bucatini) - because almond macaroon paste is the same colour as macaroni pasta. Macaroon cookie biscuits often use egg whites (usually whipped to stiff peaks), with ground or powdered nuts, most commonly coconut but sometimes almond. Almost all recipes call for sugar, which caramelizes and provides body and a smooth, moist texture to the macaroon. If the coconut or other fabric used is very sweet, however, the sugar may be omitted. Macaroons are commonly baked on edible rice paper placed on a baking tray. A coconut macaroon is a type of macaroon most commonly found in the United States, although invented in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland. It is a conventional macaroon with a distinct coconut flavor and containing shredded dried coconut. They tend to be closer to a soft cookie than their meringue cousins, and about as sweet. Increasingly, coconut macaroons are dipped in chocolate, typically milk chocolate. Versions dipped in dark chocolate or white chocolate are also becoming more commonly available. Nuts are often added to coconut macaroons, typically almond slivers, but occasionally pecans, cashews or other nuts. In Australia, a blob of raspberry jam is often concealed in the centre of the macaroon prior to cooking.

YIKES IT IS COOOOOLD! ANYONE FOR HOT CHOCOLATE?

When it is cold it is time to break out the hot chocolate.  Here is a Mayan recipe to give you a little happy in your lock down of winter.

Mayan Hot Chocolate


6 cups water or milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 ounces Karolina chocolate rounds

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

Stick cinnamon (for optional garnish)



In a large saucepan, combine milk, sugar, chocolate, ground cinnamon, and salt. Heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate has melted and the milk is very hot. (Do not let the milk come to a boil.) Cook 2 to 3 minutes more over low heat, still stirring. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Beat with a Karolina molinillo (frother) or a rotary beater until it is very frothy. Pour into mugs, garnish with cinnamon sticks, and serve.


Makes about 6 (8-ounce) servings.

SCONES DE CACAO.......

gOOd mOrning!

 CACAO SCONES

Makes 8 scones
For a breakfast treat, afternoon pick-me-up or a double chocolate dessert serve these with a cup of steaming Drinking Chocolate (see Karolinacacao.com for Mayan Hot Chocolate)

Ingredients
1⅔ cups unsifted all-purpose flour

⅔ cup 58%Cacao

2 teaspoons baking powder

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ cup sweetened dried cranberries

⅔ cup milk

1 teaspoon milk

1 tablespoon coarse sugar


Directions
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line a baking pan with parchment.
Combine flour, 58% Cacao and baking powder in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade, processing until uniform. Cut butter into 5 slices and blend into dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add cranberries and milk and pulse until the ingredients come together. Transfer to lightly floured surface and with floured hands form into a 9-10 inch circle about 1-inch thick. Brush top with milk and evenly sprinkle with sugar. Cut into 8 wedges. Bake 12-15 minutes. Serve warm.

Recipe by



MEESES & MICES & MOUSSES, OH MY!

If you have ever had mousse you know how easy it is to eat a large amount.  Back in the day I was a food server with a chocolate mousse addiction.  They put mini chocolate chips inside and I love crunchy, soooo.....

This mousse is made with DARK chocolate so it will be very intense and hopefully you can stop at one!

DARK CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Ingredients

• 14 oz. EL REY Apamate Dark 73.5%
• 5 oz egg yolks
• 2 oz eggs
• 5 oz sugar
• 2 oz water
• 18 oz cream

Directions

Melt chocolate to 110 degrees and set aside.

Prepare the "pate a bombe" mixture by beating the eggs and yolks on medium speed until thick.

Cook the sugar and water to firm ball stage (245 degrees). Pour cooked sugar over whipped egg mixture while whisking at medium speed until cool.

Whip cream to light, soft peaks in a separate mixing bowl, taking care not to over-whip.

Fold about ¼ cup of the cream into the melted chocolate.


Fold the "pate a bombe mixture into the rest of the cream, taking care that the bombe mixture is not too warm or too cool. Carefully pour the warm, melted chocolate into this mixture, gently folding until incorporated.


Recipe by El Rey



CHOCOLATE CHERRY BROWNIES!!!!

There are so many ingredients that make this so much richer and gooey than the typical brownie.  If I had this in a jar like a certain chocolate/hazelnut product I would probably need an intervention!  If you need to make someone jump and skip, gime them some of these brownies in a box with a ribbon and watch the entertainment.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BROWNIES

Ingredients
butter for greasing pan

2 cups / 10.5 oz / 300 g dried cherries

scant cup / 200 ml / 7 fl oz port wine

1/2 cup / 2 oz / 55g / whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup / 1.5 oz / 40 g unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

10.5 oz / 300g 58% dark chocolate rounds

5 1/2 tablespoons / 2 3/4 oz / 80g unsalted butter

2 cups / 10.5 oz / sifted muscovado sugar

4 large eggs

scant 1/2 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g creme fraiche or sour cream

1 cup / 5 oz / 145 g chocolate rounds

more cocoa powder, for dusting

A day or two before you want to bake the brownies, place the cherries in a medium bowl and pour over the port. Cover and set aside. Stir every twelve hours until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 325F / 170C and place a rack in the top third. Butter and line a 13 x 9 x 2-inch rectangular baking dish with parchment paper. An important step if you want to eventually get these brownies out of the pan. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.

Make a double boiler by placing a stainless steel bowl over a small pan of gently simmering water - the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Place the 10.5 oz / 300g of chocolate into this bowl along with the butter and sugar. Stir just until the chocolate has melted and the ingredients come together into a mass. Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer and allow to cool (cool enough that it won't cook the eggs when you add them). Mix on slow and add the eggs, one at a time, letting each get incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula a couple times along the way. Add the flour mixture and stir by hand until combined, then add the creme fraiche, remaining chocolate rounds, and the cherries with the port. Stir until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about an hour, or until just set. The center of the brownie should be set and not at all wobbly. Allow to cool completely in the pan. You can cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap at this point and the brownies will keep for a couple days. I recommend chilling before slicing if you want small, precise squares. Also keep a tall glass of warm water on hand to wash your knife between each cut. Enjoy at room temperature dusted with a bit of cocoa powder.

Makes one large pan of brownies.

Prep time: 900 min - Cook time: 60 min

ROSEMARY OLIVE OIL CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE?

ROSEMARY OLIVE OIL CAKE



Recipe by Kim Boyce


"Rosemary Olive Oil Cake As Kim notes,you don't need to use a specialty olive oil for this cake. But if you have one with a lot of flavor, the cake will be that much better. This is one of those recipes where I think using regular sugar is the way to go. There was plenty going on with the interplay between the rosemary, chocolate, and olive oil - and I'm not sure adding less refined brown or Muscovado sugar would have been the way to go. The last note I'll make is to suggest chopping up a chocolate bar for this. It's just not going to be the same if you use uniform chocolate chips. Aim for big chunks 1/2-inch in diameter, you'll end up with all sorts of shavings and littler pieces as you are chopping, and having that mix of flecks and the big chunks is pretty great."


Olive oil for the pan

Dry ingredients:

3/4 cup / 3 oz / 80g spelt flour

1 1/2 cups / 7.5 oz / 210 g all-purpose flour

3/4 cup / 4 oz / 115g sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Wet ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup / 240 ml olive oil

3/4 cup / 180 ml whole milk

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

5 ounces / 140 g bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons sugar for top crunch

Preheat the oven to 350F / 175C. Rub a 9 1/2-inch (24 cm) fluted tart pan with olive oil. Alternately, I used a long (4 1/2 x 13 inch) loaf pan, and lined it with parchment paper.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring any bits of grain or other ingredients left in the sifter back into the bowl. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the olive oil, milk and rosemary and whisk again. Using a spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry, gently mixing just until combined. Stir in 2/3 of the chocolate. Pour the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly and smoothing the top. Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate and run a fork along the length of the chocolate so that the batter envelops it just a bit. Sprinkle with the second sugar.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is domed, golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. My cake, in the alternate pan, took closer to 50 minutes. Also, just when my cake was nearly finished baking, I decided I wanted a bit more color on top. I finished it under the broiler for a minute - which caramelized the sugar on top as well and gave it a bit of crunch. Don't walk away from the cake while it is under the broiler.

The cake can be eaten warm or cool from the pan, or cooled, wrapped tightly in plastic, and kept for 2 days.

Serves 8 -12.

Recipe adapted from Good to the Grainby Kim Boyce.

Prep time: 15 min - Cook time: 45 min