Mad about Taking A Short Break
Today I delivered my last macaron order for the next 4 weeks or so. Thank you all for your very generous support! While I do have a lot of fun baking and sandwiching macarons, sometimes it does get a tad stressful, especially when there are back-to-back orders on consecutive days. My apartment is also in need of some tidying up - a chore that I’ve barely found time for in the last month. This is why I’m taking a short break from taking macaron orders.
I’ll continue baking during the break, of course. In fact, I still have a couple of cake and muffin orders for August. Just no macarons for sale for the next month or so. I intend to use this time to try out new cake decorating techniques (specifically, royal icing and sugar gum paste) and maybe dream up new macaron flavours.
I couldn’t have found a better way to end my macaron baking frenzy this week than with a special request for Ispahans. I don’t usually make them for sale, but I really couldn’t say no to a really nice customer who put in a request for macarons as well an Ispahan macaron as a wedding gift for a friend who loves “anything Ispahan”. This time, I even made tiny sugar droplets for the rose petals. Sadly, these don’t hold up too well in our humid climate.
Inspired by the Ispahan order, I decided to make a few more Ispahans yesterday and made another trip to the supermarket. There, I found Indonesian raspberries on the shelves! I had no idea that it was possible to cultivate raspberries in Indonesia’s tropical climate.
I also found some time this weekend to experiment with new colour combinations. I liked the combination so much that the white shells and pink filling colour combination will be the new look for raspberry macarons from now on, instead of the old pink on pink.
I’ll still be baking, so do stay tuned, especially if you’re hoping to read about something other than macarons here!
July 24th, 2007 at 1:48 am
hi karen!
just leaving a (very very very belated) note that i and my friends absolutely adored your macarons, and also the tiramisu cake, which amazing stayed fresh-tasting and ’springy’ (or should it be spongy? haha) after 5 days in the fridge. the macarons, however, didn’t live to see another day. lol!
July 24th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Thank you, Esther! I’m really happy that you and your friends enjoyed the macarons and tiramisu cake. Macarons are addictive little treats, aren’t they? Sometimes I have a couple of extras from orders and I usually gobble them up within 2 days!
July 25th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
really nice colours. looking forward to seeing more of your creations.
July 26th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Thanks, Edith! I popped by your blog and saw that you’ve made macarons lately too.
July 26th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
yes, macarons are really addictive! one of my friends (incidentally, the one who introduced me to the mad world of macarons) has been in some kind of macaron withdrawal - the other day, she even dreamt of being condemned to the 18 levels of hell for stealing macarons! rofl.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
hie karan , really adore yr latest macaroon…so pretty just like the original if not even better.
Karan may i ask if u still use pure icing sugar? ( where can it be bought in singapore) because the macs that i made ( still not perfect though) are really hard and dry.
Does yr macs goes really hard when its in the fridge?
thanks
July 26th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Esther: Oh dear, I think your friend could use a macaron fix soon!
Mary: Thanks! You can use SIS icing sugar. It should be available in supermarkets that carry SIS sugar. You may want to reduce your baking time. The macarons will turn harder once they cool down, so you don’t want to bake them for too long. They shouldn’t be dry on the inside. The macarons I make actually tend to turn a little softer if I keep them beyond 4 days in the fridge.
July 27th, 2007 at 12:23 am
thanks karan, but do u used pure icing sugar for yr macs for them to stays soft.
Is it really different if i’m using the normal icing sugar(mixture of cornflour) , the macs will come out harder than usual.
Unfortunately, in kl don’t have SIS nor any pure icing sugar….i think here people don’t know the existence of this type of sugar because when i asked them …they look at me in a very weird way….hehehehe
Does supermarkat in singapore like Giant sells them.
thanks again
July 27th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Mary: I have not used anything except pure icing sugar for macarons. I’ve read that there will be a difference if the percentage of cornflour/starch in the mixture is high. Giant in Singapore does not seem to carry this brand. If you can’t buy pure icing sugar, you can grind your own. Just grind coarse/fine sugar until it becomes a powder and sieve it to get rid of any large grains that may remain.
July 28th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Hi Karen,woah those are some fat maccies!!! Generous filling…I like… =) Mine have been rather tempermental the last few times and the latest one gave me baby feet…sheesh! Will try again after a period of rest…for now,testing out this cool bar recipe and if it succeeds,will drop you a mail on it! =)
July 28th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
thanks karen for all yr info, really aprreciate them.
Karen , how to do managed to pipe the filling so nice and even, mine are always all over the place.
Did u use a nozzle or was it using a spoon to . What i usually do is to blob a big round filling in the middle of the macs using a spoon.
Care to share any tips if that alright.
thanks again
July 29th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Mary,if I may step in? What I usually do is refrigerate the filling till it is firm but still ‘pliable’. If you want to,you can use a nozzle but lazy old me blobs it down the centre of the mac and I just gently press on the other mac evenly and gently till the filling spreads out nicely to the edges. You may care to do so in an air-conditioned room so the bowl of filling doesn’t get too runny whilst you are working with the others. Chill the macs when you are done to set the filling in them.
July 31st, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Thanks, Stef, for helping with the reply! I’ve been really busy lately. Mary, there is no need to pipe if the filling is firm enough.
July 31st, 2007 at 2:15 pm
WOw.. Karen, your pinky macarons are really so adorable and sweet…. esp that white shell with pink cream. It’s so sweet looking….
August 2nd, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Hi Karen,
I would really like to try making macarons myself. Being a total newbie, do you have a recipe to recommend?
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:43 pm
OMG, it looks SO nice! this is my first time on this web..it really looks so tempting..!
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:29 am
Jenny B: You can try the recipe on alacuisine.org or the one on Helen’s blog: tartelette.blogspot.com
Nionio: Thanks!
August 12th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Hi Karen,
Just seen ur blog abt macarons. Could u possibly drop me an email if you start making ur macarons again? =) wld like to order as I am a foodie yet hapless in cooking or baking.. Wld love to taste those pretty-looking macarons. I feel the ones at Bakerzinn r too ‘commercial’ =) hope ur not related to them.
Thx!
August 14th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Felicia: Sure, I’ll let you know when I start making macarons again. Nope, I’m not related to Bakerzin in any way.
August 28th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Hi Karen,
wow your pink macarons so beautiful. May I know what is the fillings for your pink maracons?
Cheers,
Alice
August 28th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Alice: Thanks! The Ispahans are filled with rose buttercream and small pieces of lychee.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:28 am
Hi Karen,
I’m interested in your Ispahan, Can pls contact me at sngsmurfs@yahoo.com.sg.
Thanks
September 26th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Everything is so beautiful! I would love to order some but, saddly, I live too far away
May I ask how you flavor your cookie “shells”?
Thank you for so generously sharing your tips!
September 26th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Emily: You can try adding a small amount of fruit puree, taking care to adjust the dry to wet ingredient ratio. I usually avoid artificial flavouring, but you can use it if you can’t make the puree.
September 27th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
hi karen!!! i love your macarons and ispahan..do inform me when you decide to bake them again!
ekinfan99@hotmail.com
December 5th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
They really look like Hermé’s Ispahan…fabuleux !!