Salted Vanilla Caramels

I don't know about you but I just love anything that says 'salted caramel'. So when I saw this recipe I just had to make it. 

The caramel was very easy to make and quick with a candy thermometer to get the right temperature. Using vanilla beans was interesting, I thought they were easier to scrap out....others have made it look easy! but i guess like most things it gets easier with practice! The recipe shows them made into nice moulds, but who really has 50 of one mould about the house. So I opted (as suggested to) pour it into a cake tin and then cut into squares when firm.

Next step, tempering chocolate! Right first off need to get a digital thermometer to be able to read the low temps 25-45 degrees C. I used Equagold dark Belgium couverture chocolate.

What?? ..... how is it that people know when i'm doing something fiddly! finally had the kids away/asleep and my parents come knocking at the door! So juggling talking and concentrating on what I'm doing.... arghh..... so frustrating! The temperature of the chocolate goes up and down so quickly, you really do need to move fast.

I managed to dip them in the chocolate and set aside to dry and sprinkled with sea salt flakes.

Not too bad for my first go at this. There is still a bit of a streak in the chocolate and the finish could be shinier. I'm not sure there is that crack when chocolate is tempered correctly! 

But overall it was very fun to make and surprisingly easy! I may or may not have had a better result if i wasn't interrupted so i really can't blame my folks for that. Hmmm.... though maybe a should create a sign......




From the fridge the caramel is a bit chewy, but room temperature they are soft and soo easy to eat!..... nom nom


....shame there's not enough for everyone, you would love these!

Brioche

Pastries......yum.....which one to do first! ....Ok so this one looks easier, Brioche. All i need to hunt down is some fresh yeast! Fresh yeast? ..... thankfully you can get this from places like Nosh in NZ. Pastries also require lots of eggs and butter.

As this was my first attempt I decided to make half qantity. 
Wow!.... I am so surprised at how easy they are to make. From mixing to letting it proove. It did take longer to double, maybe room wasn't warm enough. But the trickiest part was rolling into balls, measuring out the grams for each and rolling them was a bit sticky.

With the dough made the night before and all you need to do is roll out, proove a little then bake. So easy. Cooking them at 180c for only 10mins to get them golden. Super quick. 

 And what a beautiful smell on a saturday morning to be able to munch into this. Enjoy with butter and jam and cup of tea/coffee. Delish!

Its safe to say that this was a SUCCESS!! Lucah thinks so too!

Macarons

These delicious treats started in France way back in 1791. They have now become so popular that you can find them at Mc Cafe! ..... yes really!
Often confused with macaroons (this is a coconuty biscuit). Please remember there is only one 'o' in macaron! repeat....mac...a...ron....
Frustrates me when things are not said correctly, must get this from my mum... 

I've tried making these once before and apparently they were good, but not up to my standard and they didn't get that special lift/foot that the macaron is known for. 

So here goes my attempt at Zumbo's macaron recipe:

I decided to start with the basic recipe, to practice getting the right texture and that lift. But sprinkle it with freeze dried raspberry powder (to give some colour and flavour other than almonds) and chocolate filling. 
Gathered all my ingredients and equipment. First problem, needed to go get a much finer sieve for the almond meal! This is not that easy to find, fortunately, i found one at Stevens which worked, but i think that could even me finer. Took my time measuring out all the ingredients making sure it was exactly as the recipe. Making the meringue and getting the sugar syrup to the right temperature was easy for me. Have made a few meringues and pavlova's before and the recipe was clear to follow. 

Now piping the rounds. The recipe says to have a 13mm nozzle (similar), i didn't have this but i cut the piping bag to be about that size at the tip. 

Here they are pre cooked and some with raspberry powder on top. (will pipe smaller next time as they do spread a little bit while getting a skin on). Before you put them in the oven they must NOT be sticky to touch but dry. This will help get that lift/foot.

I would like to tell you that they all turned out, really well! However, thats not the case, this is the only tray that survived. Most of them got burnt!! 
Why oh why did i not test one tray with the cooking time and ...... without the kids around!! so distracting!

Next time.... one tray at a time and not too far back in my oven. Needs to be lower temp and less cooking time, and....

don't do this type of baking with kids around. Keep your eye on the macaron!

Here are the final ones that made the cut, filled with chocolate ganache. And a larger dessert macaron with chocolate ganache, berry compote and whipped cream, served with whipped cream on the side. 

Raspberry and chocolate, classic combination. But a little strange looking with the raspberry powder sprinkled on top. Overall very pleased with how they did turn out! Next time will attempt to colour the mixture. 
Mmmmm.....so many flavour combinations to choose......

Challenge

Adriano Zumbo is a well known pastry chef based in Australia. You might recall seeing him on Masterchef Australia a few times with his amazing desert challenges. Think macaron tower, croquembouche, V8 cake. And probably more to come. 

Its a dream of mine to be able to make these amazing deserts and pastries. So I have challenged myself to use his book 'Zumbo' and attempt to create some, if i can, all of his recipes. Im not able to go into full-time study at the moment, looking after the family is a priority. So this is my way of learning these skills. From a recent visit to Melbourne, a friend and I enjoyed an amazingly decadent cake at Zumbo in South Yarra. It was there that i made the decision to buy myself a copy.

It may take awhile, juggling family, business, sport, so stay with me....