Comments on: Mad about More Macaron Flavours

By: Amrita

Amrita — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 07:11:04 +0000

Honestly, dear, you’re a macaron GOD

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 10:57:02 +0000

Hi Karen,

These macs. look gorgeous !
There is this matcha powder for cakes and pastry selling only at NTUC J8.
Bought it for a friend recently and the feedback was good. You might want to give it a try. S$5.90 per tin (40g)

rgds
Jennifer

By: landa

landa — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 11:43:09 +0000

I just bought some black sesame seeds to try this flavor out. Do you add your seeds on top before or after you bake? Yours look absolutely gorgeous!!!!

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 12:52:13 +0000

Amrita: Ehrm, thanks!

Jennifer: Thanks for the tip! I bought mine from Marketplace at Vivo City. S$10.40 per tin (30g). The sencha was so much cheaper. I’ll try the J8 one when I run out, which I’m hoping is not anytime soon!

Landa: Thanks! I add the decorative seeds after. I thought they may burn in the oven, which is why I left them out. I guess it can’t hurt to try it out on a few!

By: Amrita

Amrita — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:04:54 +0000

Karen

Do you grind the sesame seeds yourself? Or is it ok to use those sesame powder things they sell? Do you add a lil icing sugar while grinding?

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 16:22:06 +0000

lovely macs espeacially the sesame seeds. Did u subsitute the almond with all sesame powder or just add a bit to the mixture because it has a dark colour in them?

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 01:54:50 +0000

Amrita: I didn’t know sesame powder could be bought. Some icing sugar helps to prevent the seeds from turning into paste - much like grinding almonds.

Mary: Thanks! You can substitute with any amount you want, depending on how much sesame flavour you want. I didn’t substitute the entire amount though.

By: Mary

Mary — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 10:48:50 +0000

hi karen, i find it hard to grind the sesame to powder form and tend to have lots of bits of skin thus making it difficult to seive. How do u managed to blend it into fine powder and do u roast the seed first. TQ

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:42:48 +0000

Mary, I didn’t have any problems with grinding the seeds. Yes, there may be a small amount of husk/shell but I actually added them back in after sifting because it was such a tiny amount. I think your blender or food processor may be too big, that’s why it can’t grind the seeds finely. You may want to try grinding larger amounts.

I didn’t roast, but I don’t think there’s any harm in doing that.

By: Ambrosia

Ambrosia — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 04:49:23 +0000

Karen, your macs r all very nicely done! Salivating but can take too many cos of the high sugar contents.

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 07:46:15 +0000

Thanks, Ambrosia. Yes, macarons do have a fair amount of sugar. I’ve reduced the amount of sugar in the macarons (as much as I could without affecting the texture & structure) as well as in the buttercream.

By: monica

monica — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 06:34:13 +0000

those are absolutely stunning macarons, karen! i am addicted to your website…
what did you use as the mango flavor for the actual macaron? mango juice/puree or dried mango?

thanks for such inspiration!

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 13:54:58 +0000

Thanks, Monica! I used mango puree for the macaron.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 05:26:57 +0000

Hi Karen,

I bought my black sesame powder at SQ 2 ($5.80 for 300g) Made in Taiwan quite nice. Did u add any black colouring to the macs. Mine is not as dark as yours.

rgds
Jennifer

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:24:57 +0000

Hi Jennifer.

I didn’t add any colouring to the black sesame macarons. Is there even such a thing as black colouring? The only thing I can think of is squid ink and its use in pasta. I ground my own sesame powder. Maybe that makes a difference.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:40:29 +0000

Hi Karen,

Yes, there is. PH sells them. Its the colour use for sugar paste.

By: celestine

celestine — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:27:11 +0000

hello.
your macarons look really nice. how do i order from you ? can you please reply me to my email? thanks.

By: lee phutrakul

lee phutrakul — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 05:57:56 +0000

Is there a recipe for these super yummy looking macs? I live in New York. It’s so hard to find asian-flavored macs.

By: yujai

yujai — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:37:17 +0000

OMG! I love sesame!! Your macarons look sooooooooo good
How can I order them?

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 01:07:53 +0000

Yujai: Thanks! If you live in Singapore, you can order them by sending me an email. You can check for available dates here. If you live outside of Singapore, I won’t be able to ship them to you since they won’t survive the journey.

By: yujai

yujai — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:27:18 +0000

oh….no!!
I am outside of Singapore T_T
how long does these macarons usually last in room temperture?

By: melina

melina — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 06:03:48 +0000

hi karen. do u use mango essence for the shell. i added mango puree to mine and it was a disaster

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 10:27:56 +0000

Yujai: It really depends on your room temp and the filling. In Singapore (high temp and high humidity), they might survive a max of 20-30 mins before the filling starts to melt.

I’ve filled them with ganache in Europe in winter and they kept at room temperature for days. The shells dried out somewhat though due to the low humidity.

Melina: I used puree, but only a tiny amount. The puree should not be too fluid, otherwise the consistency of your batter might be affected.

By: Carlos

Carlos — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:05:08 +0000

Hi karen,

Your macarons look amazing!
With the green tea macarons, do u use much matcha powder?
I’ve tried making green tea macarons but the shells seem to get wet marks about 10 seconds out of the oven! I’ve tried baking for longer but it still seems the same :(…
Please oh please solve my dilemma….

By: Moh

Moh — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 07:53:42 +0000

Hi Karen

I stumbled upon your wonderful website today as I have recently taken on the ‘Macaron Challenge’! You are indeed the Macaron Goddess, and in Singapore too where the shops mentioned like NTUC and Phoon Huat etc are all just too familiar.

Your macarons are beautiful and the flavours so creative and your blog most inspiring…..

I have been looking but do you have the basic recipe written somewhere? When you say buttercream filling, do you mean just butter and icing sugar?

I have gotten to the stage where feet have appeared but the shell lack lustre and are hollow. How can I improve on this?