Macarons, cakepops and cupcakes
Red wine muffins
Preparation time: approx. 25 minutes (plus baking time)
Makes 12
250 g butter
250 g sugar
1 sachet of vanilla sugar
pinch of salt
4 eggs
2 tbsp rum
250 g flour
3 tsp cocoa powder
3 (level) tsp baking powder
150 g grated dark chocolate (60 % cocoa content)
100 g flaked almonds
125 ml red wine
100 g roughly chopped dark chocolate (70 % cocoa content)
butter and 2 tbsp flaked almonds for the tin
1 Pre-heat the oven to 180 ° (Gas Mark 4, fan oven 160 °C). Grease a muffin tin well and scatter with flaked almonds. Beat the butter until smooth, then gradually mix in the sugar, vanilla sugar and salt, making sure the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the eggs one by one and add the rum.
2 Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, grated chocolate and almonds together. Stir in the wine, then the egg mixture, and stir until all of the ingredients are well combined.
3 Divide the batter between the moulds of the muffin tin, scatter over the chopped chocolate and bake for 20-25 minutes. Take the muffins out of the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Macarons
with chocolate and orange ganache
Preparation time: approx. 40 minutes (plus standing, baking and cooling time)
Makes 25
For the meringue
90 g ground almonds
150 g icing sugar
2 egg whites (approx. 72 g)
pinch of salt
20 g caster sugar
orange food colouring
For the filling
1 unwaxed orange
100 g plain chocolate
130 ml cream
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp orange liqueur (to taste)
Also
100 g plain couverture chocolate
1 Grind the ground almonds once again along with the icing sugar. Put the egg whites in a bowl with the salt and beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is white. Sprinkle in the caster sugar. Continue whisking until the sugar crystals have dissolved and the mixture is very stiff. Whisk in the food colouring until the mixture is the required colour. Finally, stir in the almond icing sugar mixture in 3 stages, using a wooden spoon.
2 Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Fill a round-tipped piping bag with the macaron mixture, and squeeze approx. 25 dabs, each with a diameter of approx. 2 cm, onto each baking tray. Let the macarons dry in the air for 10-25 minutes. Ideally the surface will have become smooth then, and any air bubbles will have disappeared.
3 Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 150 °C (Gas Mark 2). Place each baking tray on the bottom shelf and bake for approx. 12 minutes. Remove the trays and leave the macarons to cool. Turn them carefully after approx. 2 minutes so that the undersides can also dry out.
4 To make the filling, wash the orange in hot water and grate the peel finely to get 1 tablespoon of zest. Chop the chocolate and heat together with the cream and honey in a pot, stirring constantly. When the chocolate has completely melted, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the orange zest, butter and orange liqueur. Leave to cool down to room temperature.
5 Spread the ganache over the lower halves of the macarons. Place the remaining macarons on top and press them together lightly.
6 To decorate, chop the plain couverture chocolate and melt it in a hot bain-marie. Scatter over the macarons in thin strips to create a pretty pattern. Leave to dry, then refrigerate for approx. 1 hour so that the filling becomes firm.
Macarons
with chocolate ganache
Preparation time: approx. 40 minutes (plus standing, baking and cooling time)
Makes 25
For the meringue
90 g ground almonds
130 g icing sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 egg whites (approx. 72 g)
20 g caster sugar
For the filling
100 g plain chocolate
200 ml cream
Also
cocoa powder for dusting
1 Grind the ground almonds once again along with the icing sugar. Put the egg whites in a bowl with the salt and beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is white. Sprinkle in the caster sugar. Continue whisking until the sugar crystals have dissolved and the mixture is very stiff. Whisk in the food colouring until the mixture is the required colour. Finally, fold the cocoa powder and the almond icing sugar mixture into the beaten egg white in 3 stages, using a wooden spoon. The meringue mixture should have a thick, foamy, gooey consistency.
2 Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Fill a round-tipped piping bag with the macaron mixture, and squeeze approx. 25 dabs, each with a diameter of approx. 2 cm, onto each baking tray. Let the macarons dry in the air for 10-25 minutes. Ideally the surface will have become smooth then, and any air bubbles will have disappeared.
3 Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 150 °C (Gas Mark 2). Place each baking tray on the bottom shelf and bake for approx. 12 minutes. Remove the trays and leave the macarons to cool. Turn them carefully after approx. 2 minutes so that the undersides can also dry out.
4 To make the filling, chop the chocolate. Heat the cream in a pot, stirring constantly, but do not allow to boil. Remove the pot from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until it melts. Leave to cool then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
5 Before serving, beat the ganache with an electric whisk until it is stiff. Spoon the ganache into a piping bag and pipe it onto the bottom halves of half the macarons. Press the macarons together lightly. Serve sprinkled with cocoa powder.
Macadamia muffins
with white chocolate
Preparation time: approx. 25 minutes (plus baking time)
Makes 12
100 g white chocolate
75 g salted roasted macadamia nuts
2 eggs
100 g butter
100 g sugar
300 g sour cream
60 g durum wheat semolina
200 g flour
2 tsp baking powder
butter for greasing
1 Pre-heat the oven to 200 °C (Gas Mark 6, fan oven 180 °C). Grease the moulds of a muffin tin generously. Roughly chop the white chocolate and macadamia nuts. Separate the eggs. Using an electric whisk, mix the egg yolks with the butter, sugar and sour cream until creamy.
2 Mix the macadamia nuts and chocolate with the semolina, flour and baking powder. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the beaten egg white to the egg yolk mixture, tip in the flour mixture and fold everything in thoroughly with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are wet.
3 Spoon the batter into the moulds of the muffin tin and bake for approx. 20-25 minutes. Remove from the moulds and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Macarons
with vanilla buttercream
Preparation time: approx. 1 hour (plus standing, baking and cooling time)
Makes 25
For the meringue
90 g ground almonds
150 g icing sugar
2 egg whites (approx. 72 g)
pinch of salt
1 sachet of vanilla sugar
blue food colouring
For the filling
2 eggs
100 g sugar
pinch of salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
125 g butter
yellow food colouring
1 Grind the ground almonds once again along with the icing sugar. Put the egg whites in a bowl with the salt and beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is white. Sprinkle in the caster sugar. Continue whisking until the sugar crystals have dissolved and the mixture is very stiff. Whisk in the food colouring until the mixture is the required colour. Finally, add the almond icing sugar mixture in 3 stages using a wooden spoon. The meringue mixture should have a thick, foamy, gooey consistency.
2 Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Fill a round-tipped piping bag with the macaron mixture, and squeeze approx. 25 dabs, each with a diameter of approx. 2 cm, onto each baking tray. Let the macarons dry in the air for 10-25 minutes. Ideally the surface will have become smooth then, and any air bubbles will have disappeared.
3 Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 150 °C (Gas Mark 2). Place each baking tray on the bottom shelf and bake for approx. 12 minutes. Remove the trays and leave the macarons to cool. Turn them carefully after approx. 2 minutes so that the undersides can also dry out.
4 To make the filling, put the eggs and the sugar in a mixing bowl. Use an electric whisk to beat the mixture until it is frothy, light and airy and the sugar crystals have dissolved. Place in a hot bain-marie and continue to whisk. Stir in the salt and vanilla extract. Keep stirring over the heat until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from the stove, pour into a flat dish and cover with foil. Place in the fridge for approx. 30 minutes. Beat the butter with an electric whisk for approx. 10 minutes until it is fluffy, then whisk in the food colouring and the cold vanilla and egg mixture, spoonful by spoonful. Pour into a piping bag and pipe onto the bottom halves of the macarons. Press the upper halves down lightly on top. Keep the macarons cool until they are ready to serve.
Doughnut cakepops
Preparation time: approx. 30 minutes (plus baking and cooling time)
Makes 12
For the dough
3 eggs
130 g sugar
4 sachets of vanilla sugar
260 g flour
1 sachet of baking...
