Macarons part 4 - Hello Kitty Macarons

I had the whole sunday just to laze around, so i decided i would make the mini apple pies in the morning and macarons in the afternoon. Big plans for a sunday!! Phew..

Today- i decided to make some hello kitty macarons after seeing them on http://i-heart-baking.blogspot.com/2011/06/hello-kitty-macarons.html. I used to love anything and everything hello kitty when i was younger. My parents still remember me going crazy when we went to a shop selling hello kitty stuff in Tokyo..

Am aware that in my previous posts about macarons, i never detailed the ingredients or method, so here it is below.

First to make the macaron shells; i used:

125g ground almonds
107.5g egg whites
75g castor sugar
175g icing sugar

1. Sift the icing sugar

 2. Next, sift the ground almonds (check out the cool jar i bought!)

2. Beat just the egg whites in a bowl with an electric whisk

 It should become frothy and white..like this

3. Once peaks start forming, add in castor sugar

4. Continue beating till stiff peaks form

 5. To test if ready, you should be able to hold the bowl over your head (obviously, nothing should drop out!)

6. Next, add in the sifted ground almond and icing sugar

and start folding..

 Until you get a smooth consistency

Also, you should have a texture like lava..see below (And another tip that i learnt from macaron class, is that if you put your finger to touch the mixture, it should quickly dissolve back into the mixture..then you know its ready.

Get your nozzles and couplers out (i use 10 and 12 wilton ones) and a piping bag as well

  Assemble the piping instrument

and pipe!

(tip: if you have problem piping round shapes, i suggest pre-drawing circles on the parchment paper to make it easier and obviously your macarons would be quite consistent in size..it works, believe me!)

I felt that my mixture was a bit too grainy and after troubleshooting, i think its because either the ground almonds are too coarse (i.e. several websites recommend popping it together with the icing sugar into a food processor instead of sieving it) or because i didnt fold it enough.
Pop into the pre-heated oven @ 150 degrees for around 18-20 minutes.

The outcome...

There seems to be quite prominent peaks in the middle, despite me tapping the trays hard on the table top after piping. I believe its because the mixture was quite grainy and wasnt as smooth. It did have nice ruffled feet and it rose to good height as well though.

Leave the trays to cool, and once ready, carefully peel the parchment paper off the macaron (not the other way around, as you dont want to crack the macarons). Start matching the macaron halves together according to size, and then fill and sandwich them together. I chose a cream cheese filling as i love it. It is also very simple to make and keeps well.

Recipe of cream cheese frosting (from DC Cupcakes) (makes enough for 24 cupcakes):

1/2 stick (57 grams) of unsalted butter

6 ounces  (170grams) cream cheese

4 cups of sifted icing sugar

¼ tsp vanilla essence

1.    1. Put butter and cream cheese into mixer and beat until light and creamy

2.    2. Cream on medium high speed (about 1 minute) until light and creamy

3.    3. Add icing sugar 1 cup at a time, mix cup by cup until incorporated.

4.    4. Scrape down bowl before adding last cup to ensure all sugar mixed in

5.    5. Add ¼ tsp vanilla essence

6.    6. Whip on high speed (about 1-2 minutes) till light and fluffy

 I used edible pens to draw the eyes, nose and whiskers..

Practice practice practice! I personally think it would have looked quite nice if the tops were smooth though! However, it tasted really good. Will not give up..stay tuned for my second attempt.