gron
Over the summer, I decided to sort out baking magazines, cooking magazines, torn pages of recipes I liked from some unused cooking books, other recipes obtained here and there. The idea was to sort them out in two lovely albums I already had started and use regularly: one for savories and one for sweets. However, I got highly distracted and the albums are still to be made. Maybe this winter, by the fireplace…….
As I was sorting out through various magazines, I discovered baking blogs which I loved, which inspired me and encouraged me to not be afraid to be more adventurous in my baking and remind myself that practice makes perfect. I find that so many of us bake that it can sometimes be difficult to find ideas that really stand out and be inspired. There are so many caramel slices you can make and so many orios you can use. Originality, creativity and appearance that inspire is what I like to discover.
So anyway, after all this rambling, a few weeks ago, we had a dinner evening organised and I was to bring the desert. I thought that this was my opportunity to try my hand at a three tier cake and something different. What an adventure that was. On the Thursday I made the macaroons, on the Friday I made and assembled the three tier cake and on the Saturday, I decorated it with the macaroons, fresh fruits and fresh gypsophila. What I hadn’t counted on was that on those same days, we had workers doing some minor repairs in our house and it wasn’t the peace and quiet I had hoped for. One anecdote: I made the filling for in between the sponges and stored it the fridge till I was ready to assemble the cake. Later on, I went to take the filling out of the fridge, tripped over some tools from the workers and my lovely filling literally splattered all over the kitchen!!
I know that this cake is not perfect. I was not particularly pleased with the consistency of the icing but I am pleased with the overall result, especially for a first one. When I walked in to our dinner evening with the cake, everyone was wondering who was getting married! It was actually delicious and all gone in a flash so though no one wanted to cut the first slice!
To make the cake
For the macaroons:
- 100 grams of ground almonds
- 3 medium egg whites
- 200 grams of granulated sugar
- lots of pink coloring (always add a bit more than the color you want to end up with as it will slightly discolor whilst baking)
Whisk the egg whites and slowly add in the sugar when they are starting to foam. When the mixture is stiff, gently add the ground almonds and the coloring with a spatula.
Pipe in your macaroons unto a baking sheet and let them rest for 30 to 60 mns for a dry skin to form.
Place in a preheated oven at 150 C for 10 to 12 mns. If they wobble, they are not ready.
Leave them to cool on a cooling rack. Once cold, sandwich them with a filling of your choice. I used thick raspberry jam for mine. if your macaroons are going to be standing up like mine were, make sure your filling is thick or it will run and make a mess.
You can also keep your macaroons in an air tight container for a couple of days until you are ready to use them.
For the sponge cakes:
They are loads of recipes that you can use and I am sure you have your own that works for you but let me know if you need one. Best to make it fresh rather than store bought, also, greater will be the satisfaction of what you have done.
For the filling and the icing:
- 150 grams of mascarpone
- 50 grams of icing sugar
- 160ml of single cream
- colorant of your choice
Mix in the mascarpone with the icing sugar and add in the whipped single cream and the colorant.
Assemble the cake alternating the sponges and the filling and then spread the icing over the sponges. This is best done the day before or in the morning for the evening and place in the fridge or in a cool place to give your filling time to set before you decorate. Decorate with the macaroons and the fruits and add flowers to give it a final touch but make sure they are edible.
ENJOY BAKING AND CREATING !
CecileOdesign 