What are you baking today?

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i am baking bugs. for grandkids halloween. got this cute pan for my b'day. doesn't make to many at a time, and that is a drag. but will make at least two pans. if batter left will just put in cupcake pans. i am not very good at decorating cakes but am certainly willing to give it a try.
 
i am baking bugs. for grandkids halloween. got this cute pan for my b'day. doesn't make to many at a time, and that is a drag. but will make at least two pans. if batter left will just put in cupcake pans. i am not very good at decorating cakes but am certainly willing to give it a try.
That's the stuff great memories they will remember for years to come. Great tradition.
 
That's the stuff great memories they will remember for years to come. Great tradition.

thanks simonbaker, i certainly hope so. these came out more defined than most of these special pans do. got ten big bugs and ten cupcakes. will frost tomorrow. they are chocolate so i think less rather than more frosting to keep the designs clear. :chef:
 
The egg whites are finally done curing so I'm making macarons all this week! Started off with foie gras macarons~ foie gras and strawberry jam sandwiched with pistachio macarons.
 
i made a stiff crisco butter flavor frosting. colored small amounts. it was stiff enough that i used my finger and toothpicks only. i frost the designs on the different bugs. spot on beetle and lines on snails and so on. did use some sprinkles. they are really cut. i call them a success. we will see what the kids think.
 
i made a stiff crisco butter flavor frosting. colored small amounts. it was stiff enough that i used my finger and toothpicks only. i frost the designs on the different bugs. spot on beetle and lines on snails and so on. did use some sprinkles. they are really cut. i call them a success. we will see what the kids think.

They sound cute. I wish you could post pictures.
 
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PattY1, hope you enjoy the picture! :) Aged egg whites whip better than fresh, which is why I was curing them.
 
Those look interesting. How do you cure egg whites? What's the purpose of doing that? I've never heard of that--I know how to cure yolks, but not whites.
 
My bad, I guess using the word "curing" was a misnomer. I just wrote a post today regarding how I'm completely butchering the English language, so sorry if I offend!:(
I simply meant that I was waiting for the egg whites to age in the refrigerator. I waited over a month this time 'round, so I got super excited when writing the post!
Here's a hibiscus macaron picture in hopes I'll be forgiven! :)
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Thanks, Chocotuile. Your English was fine--I just couldn't figure out how you could make meringue from the cured egg whites if you cured them like egg yolks. This explains a simple process to do so better than I can (Cured Egg Yolk | From Belly to Bacon). Next question, were your eggs farm fresh? I haven't made anything requiring whipped egg whites from my farm fresh eggs yet. I know that if they sit in the fridge for 3 weeks, they peel easier if you make hardboiled eggs (but 3T of salt in the water does the same thing).

Would you pretty share the recipe for the hibiscus ones? Please!!!! The look lovely.
 
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CWS4322, sadly I'm not located anywhere remotely near a farm so no, they weren't farm fresh eggs. They sat in the fridge for 1-1.5 months. Here's the recipe. Have fun! :chef:
Hibiscus Macaron

Yield: 30 medium size cookies
Ingredients:

200 gr Powdered sugar, sifted

125 gr Blanched almonds, ground and sifted

90 gr Egg Whites, room temperature and aged

25 gr Powdered sugar, sifted

3-4 drops Red Food Color
Hibiscus Ganache

2 Tbsp Hibiscus powder (you can find this in ethnic grocery stores)

100 gr Heavy Cream

100 gr White Chocolate, chopped

Directions:
1. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Finely sift together 200 grams of powdered sugar and ground almonds. I sifted 3 times so it’d look like fluffy powdered snow. Add in food color.
3. In clean bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Slowly and gradually add in the remaining powdered sugar. Whip on high speed until stiff peak.
4. Gently fold egg whites into nut mixture. The final batter should have the texture of magma (I’ve never seen magma in person, have you?), which means slightly viscous but still a bit runny.
5. Spoon batter into piping bag. Pipe 3/4 inch circles (you can make them smaller if you want a more delicate-looking macaron; I like ‘em big!) onto baking sheet.
6. Bang baking sheet against counter EVENLY. I’ve unevenly banged them before, and they don’t end up as circles as a result! Rest at least ½ hour.
7. Preheat oven 325 degrees. Bang baking sheet against counter again.
8. Bake 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through, if needed. I'd prefer not opening the oven at all, but oven hot spots make it so that one side inevitably browns and I don't want them browning at all!
9. Immediately after removing from oven, pour hot water between parchment paper and baking pan, making sure the hot water reaches each macaron. The steam from the baking pan and hot water causes the macaron to release itself from the parchment paper; otherwise, you’d have a hard time lifting them off the parchment! Wait 30 seconds, then use an offset spatula to transfer macarons to a wire rack to cool.
10. Ganache: Put white chocolate in a tall container.
11. Put hibiscus powder in a separate bowl. Pour in heavy cream. Microwave until boiling. Infuse (leave at room temperature) for ½ hour, then microwave until it boils again.
12. Immediately pour hibiscus cream over the white chocolate. Let sit 1-2 minutes for the chocolate to melt somewhat.
13. Use immersion blender to blend until evenly mixed. Tall containers work best for immersion blenders, so it doesn’t whip all over the place. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a large bowl and a spatula to mix well. Try not to add too much air into the ganache.
14. Cover the surface of the ganache with plastic and refrigerate 1 hour. When the ganache is soft enough to pipe, but hard enough that it isn’t runny, spoon into a piping bag.
15. Upturn half of the macaron shells. Pipe desired amount of ganache on this half. Some people like more ganache (me) and some people like less (Mom!), so she was hovering next to me, saying "Not that much! Not that much!" Place a shell on top to sandwich the ganache.
16. Fridge overnight in airtight container. Enjoy at room temperature.
I copied/paste from my blog so sorry if there's too many words/steps and the formatting isn't pretty!
 
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