Anyways, enough about us (btw - you can join here =D), You want to know about the challenge. Or at least I want to share. It wasn't what I expected. I'd never had macarons before, and am still not sure if I have, but guess what? They're naturally gluten free. A substitution free challenge (or month of challenges), how awesome is that? Don't get me wrong, I love converting recipes, but sometimes its just nice to not have to think about that side of things.
Macaroons, either in their coconut incarnation, or the almond & egg one we did, are sweet. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think that they're too sweet. Yup. I'm one of (if not theyoungest) members, and I found them too sweet. I'm not claiming that I made them correctly, but I think that they came out okay =D. Maybe one day I'll get to try one of hers or his... We'll see.
The 2009 October Daring Bakers' challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming's The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.
Now, You're not fooling anyone, the real reason you're here is to see my results ;D. Here they are in all their interesting glory...
Egg Whites. Bring 'em up to room temp. This is a how-fast-can-the-air-work task. You just gotta wait. I used one real egg white & one boxed one.
I love whipping up egg whites & whipped cream, its so cool to see them double, triple, quadruple in size. *No whipped cream is in this*
Then you add the other ingredients & pipe 'em out.
Blue - Wildberry Tea (& colour). White - Cinnamon.
The pre-bake. Some are now mutants!
Yahoo! I got feet! (the little bubbles peaking out on the bottom)
Some of the blue ones are pretty too!
Then there's the mutants. I kinda love them =D.
Yeah. And then I tried to take them off. Oh well. They didn't taste too bad - mmm.
Sugar overload, but fairly good. Its only after a couple that the over-sweetness sets in.
And yes. I didn't fill them. Whoops. Kinda forgot.
So, that sums up this month's challenge. Fairly simple, easy to screw up & ends in a sugar high. What more could you want from a Daring challenge? I loved it =D.
Oh, don't forget to follow me on Twitter!
xoxo
Lauren
81 comments:
Ahhh you made little blue guys! I love the colors. And the same exact thing happened to me. So excited for feet, and then they fell apart. Oh well, still fun, right?
love your post and I myself find them too sweet.
adore your mutants
Haha, you're right, the amount of macaron posts did drop during October! Your macarons look really nice - yay, you have feet! We failed with the challenge recipe (we got something that didn't resemble macarons but was very tasty), so we used our old trusted recipe instead. Great job on this challenge!
Keep trying, Karen! You might want to try other recipes too... I failed on Ami's cause I basically think it is too little sugar :-)
Regards
Kris
Great job still! I used a Martha recipe for macarons for my first attempt and getting them off the parchment was so hard!
Good try and yours look similar to mine from the challenge recipe. I had more luck with helens.. Filling them with a not to sweet filling really does help the sweetness to level out.. On their own you do get sugar shock rather fast!
The blue ones are pretty! Definitely try one of the other recipes. Many people had trouble with this version.
Lauren,
I was thinking of you being happy about these being naturally gluten-free- no substitutions needed- yay!
I love your "feet"- mine didn't have any...
Despite the troubles, this was well done: funny post, too.
Fairly simple, easy to screw up & ends in a sugar high. What more could you want from a Daring challenge? I loved it =D . Love your comments love the colour and I think that they worked out OK. Chees from Audax in Australia.
The blue ones are cute. Do try other recipes too, I'm sorry they didn't work out so good for you.
Your feet look fantastic. Very nicely done! I'm super jealous of your smooth tops, too. :)
i love the mutants too. great job (and we ate plenty unfilled as well.)
Yeah they're pretty sweet...but you can balance them out with a salty or bitter filling to offset some of the sweetness. Congrats on getting feet being new to macaron making! Great job!
WOW!! Those look amazing... and such neat colors!
Blessings-
Amanda
I am so impressed and jealous on how your macs turned out! Great job!
Individuality indeed!!! I'm not giving up though, I will create a batch that look the same. Yours look great, even the mutants! :)
You got feet! Lovely pics.
They look perfect, they have feet, and ouch Lauren ... too bad they kind of broken apart when you transfered them. That's happen to most of us, glad that you not too disappointed with the taste.
Well done Lauren, they look fantastic!!! I found them really sweet too but I think a good filling would cut through the sweetness a bit.
beautiful! (as always) i had issues getting mine off the baking sheet as well... but thats because they were cooked on the outside and raw on the inside.
Super cute!!!!!!!!!!!! I laughed when you said the # of macaron posts had declined - SABOTAGE! :) Nice job, yours look lovely!
Ha ha you are so right..I had made macs *just* before the challenge and was about to post about the attempt, then had to sit on my hands for a month! :) Love the idea of cinnamon macarons, and the blue ones are super cute too.
Great job! You flavors so yummy. I failed miserably!
I love the half blue, half pink one!!! Lovely feet too :D
Love, love, love the blue! Well done!
Mine fell apart on the DB recipe too, but I do love the colours you did. WOW pretty. I think it's the 190C in the second round of baking that makes them fall apart. Yours do look lovely with the little feet! I finally went back to the Lebovitz recipe!
Love the "mutants!" Some photoshopping on them would be so much fun with speech bubbles ; ) Love the blue ones. I've never heard of wildberry tea. I should get out more!
Blue mutants are the best (wildberry tea yum). I broke a lot of the sheet too, But it tasted awesome anyways
what means the phrase too sweet? or at least when I was your age (without meaning to sound like I'm totally over the hill) there was no such thing...
i like your mutants, too.
I totally struggled with this macaron recipe, too. I actually did tweak a few things because from my experience it didn't seem too accurate and was a little vague in parts. Back to my old version, next time!
I loved the blue macarons! Great job and I loved all the pictures of the different stages. I agree, it was too sweet for me.
You've got feet!!! Wow! Mine failed! :( No feet, no tutus. But still an interesting experience.
Your macarons look really nice! and being moody i think that they worked out FINE. Thank you for the comments and dropping by. =)
Ooo you have pretty little feet! I love your mutants too! I always have mutants... as I keep forgetting to spread them far enough apart and before I know it they are kissing eachother (maybe that is what they meant with french kiss... lol) Anyway, love your colors and love the little feet! Well done!
i think many had trouble with this version so hope you'll not be giving up on them. kudos to you for trying them!
Way to go! So smooth and shiny! The mutants made me laugh - I think I've seen some of their cousins in my kitchen! You should really try them with a filling, though it's a totally different experience.
Love the color! I also get a kick out of all of us ambushing the interwebs with our daring baking!
Great job! I love the blue ones. Maybe your next ones can be savory ones... like lemon and thyme with creme fraiche... so they won't turn out too sweet!
Great job! Love your flavors, too! And I agree with you - I ate a few at first, thought I was fine, and then a while later I was sweeted out! They hit you!
What cute mutants ;-P! Well done!
Cheers,
Rosa
Aw they're cute! To help unstick them, I recommend removing the Silpat or parchment paper from the baking sheet as soon as possible to help them cool, and let them set a little bit once cool. Then, if they still won't pop off, use a small offset spatula or even a butter knife to help wiggle them loose.
You did a fabulous job on your macarons! I love your different flavor combinations. I had my share of mutants on my first batch and suffered the requisite sugar high. Definitely what you'd expect from a terrific DB challenge!
I love your blue mutants. I do agree that macaroons by themselves are a little to sweet, so I balanced the sweetness with a dark chocolate ganache and that worked well.
Mimi
Thanks for your note! Your macaroons are beautiful. Oat flour is another of my favorites for making gluten free cookies (just be careful about the brand, as some contains flour).
Hey you got feet! Yah know. I have found that I have a harder time getting them off the silpat then I do parchment paper. I have to wait until they are completely cooled and use a sharper edge spatula.
You did a fantastic job!
Yours look great! At least you have fantastic feet!!! Maybe we can work together to come up with the perfect macaroon recipe and become the magnificent macaroon millionaires!
They are so pretty! I'm not sure what happened with removing them; they looked perfect to me. Thank you for the compliment about mine.
I just think it's fabulous that you have such a passion for baking. There are good things in store for you!!! Keep up the fantastic work. We all learn from our good work and not so good work!
Hahaha, I really agree about the "billions" of macarons' posts in a matter of hours! Oh and your wilberry tea flavoured macarons' re genius!
with love from Singapore :)
Anyway I'd like to link you up :) Will that be okay?
They turned out so well - great job! I love the blue ones, and I am envious of your colours - my attempts at colouring came to nought. I quietly find them too sweet too.
Your macarons look lovely! Very nicely done.
Lauren, These look great. You have feet on a first go. I had lessons three months ago from a professional pastisserie school and when I tried them at home I didn't get feet the first time. The second time I got little feet. Now I have made them lots of times and mostly they are perfect but sometimes I still have macawrongs.
A trick to stop them sticking - put them in the freezer for a few minutes and they will come off easier. And yes, I agree, they are toooooo!!!!! sweet. I am in the throws of putting up macaron tips and tricks on my blog that will help. It will be up in the next day or so.
Regards,
Corry from www.bakeitoff.blogspot.com
Wow - no substitutions - how did that feel - must have been weird but anyway, you did a great job - but where is the filling? Did I miss it?
Ciao Lauren ! Great challenge ! I love the blue and the sprinkling !!!
those look gorgeous! great job, maybe someday i'll work up the nerve to try them ;)
ooh you managed to get feet!
too funny that you forgot to fill yours: I actually only filled a few for the photos and ate the rest just as is.
Lauren, I love your colors! I did have the same issue with my macarons. Just a few seconds longer baking would have helped me, I think, because the outer ones popped off easier than the inner ones. Yours are so pretty; congratulations!
PS - Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving an encouraging note. :)
-Alyssa
Thank you everyone - you're all so sweet =D.
Cheryl Harris - After awhile, it was just too much sugar & my body doesn't like it when I overdo the sugar!
Dollydoesdesserts - Of course! Link away =D. Just check with me first if you want to use pictures, etc. Thanks for asking!
Trissa - No substitutions was wonderful! I didn't do a filling, it slipped my mind...
Lauren,
I love the blue color...I need to try infusing some color next time. I can definitely relate to some of the problems you experienced. We just need to keep practicing!
They look incredible! Good job super baker!
There is a special place in my baker's heart for mutants.
Your macarons look fab. Like the blue!
Hi Lauren, just took a peek to look at your macs and since blue is my favourite colors, your mutants make my day! ;-) And yes, they are very sweet, you can only eat one (or two) of them and that is quite a shame with cookies ;-) :-D
By the way, thanks for writing a comment on my (very new, just like me ;-) ) blog!!
Un fuerte abrazo,
Lara
Love the blue...they look lovely! I wonder if that "steam underneath the mat" trick would have helped? And I agree with you that they are on the sweet side...but oh so cute! "See" you next month. :)
They look pretty! and I agree they are a little sweet for me too...
Mmmmm..wildberry and cinnamon sound delicious! They look great in the pans, too bad they got stuck :(
Lauren..awsome read, I was cracking up, and you DID get gorgeous feet and macarons, but the fact that they refused to come off without the guts holding on for dear life, doesn't matter, as long as they tasted good and gave you a sugar high (they ARE super sweet!). I'm so glad you had fun, and beautifully done all around!
ahhahahahaha. so cute. how could you not fill them though? you crazy canadian (i can say that because while i am an american im a canadian too...so i can be mean :P)
hey. try a different recipe--i didn't even use the one for the challenge (oops?), i read it and knew in my head it would be a bit dodgy to pull off in humidity, so as i make macarons a lot, i stuck with the one in my head instead :)
BUT do make them again!!! i'm gluten free too!! and i fell in love with macarons when i lived in paris for a year, and while yes they are sweet, the french only eat one at a time...yes life lessons are always learned from the French. hehe.
Gorgeous feet and I love the wildberry tea flavor! But, the mutants steal the show...
I agree with you, they can be a tad too sweet. Love the blue color-shade on your macaroons. Good job on this month's macaroon challenge!
i love the little feet! and the sprinkles, absolutely beautiful.
Those look lovely, except for the mutants of course!
I missed it again this month...ugh...maybe some day. If only I were in Canada!!!
I love all of them - and the mutants are my fav. Those are the ones that I test to make sure they tatse ok. And, it's great to see that we all have mutants. The perfect ones are the ones I take pics of.
Great job, Lauren!!!
Hi Lauren,
I just learned of your blog and see that I am late to the table. The multitude of photos are fantastic, especially the flops.
Feet on macaroons? I never knew the term before. We had macaroons in Paris last year, one must have macaroons when in Paris. I agree, too sweet. And pricey! But we can say we tried them.
I always eat like 10 of them, and realize, oh yeah, these are really sweet, I shouldn't have done that. ;P Your macs are so pretty!
Oh, I love the colors! And seriously, who needs filling when you've got such great cookies? ;)
Love the beautiful colours, and yu got "feet". Congrats.
Wonderfull post Lauren!
Your macarons look perfect - and you have feet!
And the blue one are so adorable!
Isabelle
Awww... the mutants! =) Nice post. The "normal" ones look great, and I'm sure the abnormal ones tasted just as good.
Lauren... Terrific macarons, even the mutants. I had a heck of a time with this challenge, but your's look delish! Sorry about being slow on the response. Been working a lot of overtime.
Eat4Fun - No worries! Hope you have a little break soon, if not just to take a breath and have a nice relaxed weekend =D.
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