BT21 Marshmallow-Macaron Music Box

 My friend wanted to surprise his girlfriend again with a BT21 themed birthday creation so he requested for a music box with RJ as the standing figurine.

I also made a BT21 themed bake last year for her and you can see it over here.

This year's bake involves quite a bit of precision since I needed to make a box with a working mechanism that can rotate the figurine.

It's also my first attempt at making a tall marshmallow figurine that can be viewed from all angles. 

The smaller 3D seated figures were also rather challenging especially Mang whom I didn't really nail in terms of looks 🤭.

I replaced the water in the gelatin bloom, sugar syrup and for rehydrating meringue powder with cold brewed rose tea for a light floral scent. Check out my Deco Marshmallows book for the basic recipe and techniques. I also show you how to replace fresh egg whites with meringue powder in this reel.

See the process of making this epic project in my reel over here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBLk6U6yR3t/?igsh=cGRoYWd0eHdrenhi

with love,

Phay Shing

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'Knight Z Travels Around the World' Macaron Carousel

 This is the fourth consecutive year I am making a macaron carousel for a young knight! Knight Z has taken a liking to travelling around the world so this is this year's macaron carousel for him!

This was an epic bake that needed a lot of time and planning so it was broken up into several sessions. The great thing about macarons is they shells filled or unfilled can be frozen so it gives me the freedom to take it at a more relaxed pace.

You may want to check out my reel for creating the large macaron base over here and the carousel roof over here.

Here's a picture of the partial assembly which I leave to set overnight:

I filled the large macaron pieces with a ring of vanilla bean white chocolate, dairy-free dark chocolate ganache and crunchy chocolate crisp pearls.

The globe spheres are actually hemispherical macaron shells filled with the same dairy-free dark chocolate ganache and Ferrero Rocher.

Smaller macaron pieces are just filled with the white chocolate and dark chocolate ganache.

Here's the reel of the assembly:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAbBrwFyP87/?igsh=YjUzeW16ZnU0YXEw

with love,

Phay Shing

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'Capybara in Teacup' Macaron

 I needed to make some blue hemispherical macaron shells for an epic project so I took the chance to play around with this for fun!

We have a teacup plush toy and one of the capybara plushies we have fit so nicely in it I simply had to make a mini macaron version of it! The capybara is a hand-shapeable filling. I made it gula melaka coconut flavoured with a pandan gula melaka coconut surprise inside. Here's what it looks like when you take a bite of it!

I couldn't bear to do the cut of the capybara so I made a plain round version of it to do the cut scene. Here's a peek at how I piped the hemispherical shell and how I made the capybara filling! 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_HIjKlSuhb/?igsh=MTlsanlvamkxbWtkdg==

I shared the coconut filling recipe in the captions of the reel. I can't share this low fat low sugar hand shapeable filling as of yet as I only discovered it recently and am using it as a class material. It's texture is similar to Orh Nee or Mont Blanc dessert and it's relatively neutral tasting so it can take on many flavours. It's temperature stable too so it won't melt in Singapore's tropical heat.

Stay tuned for the epic project that made use of the blue hemispheres! 

with love,

Phay Shing

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"Grumpy's Bath" Macaron Cake

 It's been a long time since I made something out of curiosity and for fun! This project and experiment came about because I was wondering what I can make with the colours of batter for a batch of milk bottle macarons I had to make for a client's baby's first month celebration. The image of Grumpy Bear in a duck floatie came to mind and I started to giggle 🤭. 

I took this chance to experiment with making a 3D macaron tub. Although it would have made things easier if I had a silicone loaf pan, I decided to risk using metal disposable loaf tin wrapped in parchment and disposable paper loaf pans as experiments. So glad they worked!

I used my default Swiss meringue method recipe for making the macaron shells.

Here's the video tutorial of how I made the tub. Please read the captions in the reel for important technical details:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7wMvAxSdMg/?igsh=MWt0OWlkeDFua2Yzcw==

I coated the insides of the tub with a thin layer of royal icing to reinforce the thin macaron shell although this is optional. You may coat with a layer of chocolate instead. Did it turn out too sweet? Nope! That's because I filled the macaron tub as well as Grumpy and the duck floatie with a tangy lemon ganache. I included two layers of lavender honey butter cake as well in the tub. All bubble baths can't do without the bubbles so I made the foam out of aerated honey lemon jelly.

Check out some works-in-progress pictures below and the cut cross- section of the tub!

I have a sable cookie stool and some mini meringue duckies in storage I used as props.

I coated the base of the duck floatie with a thin layer of ganache to insulate it from the jelly

My kids loved the tangy macaron cake! It's been some time since they had a just-for-fun bake from me too!

Lemon ganache

(Adapted from here)

Ingredients: 

250g white chocolate couverture 

60g fresh lemon juice

zest of 2 lemons

60g heavy cream

Steps:

1. Melt chocolate over double-boiler or in microwave oven. Set aside.

2. Heat the rest of the ingredients until warm (46C) in a small saucepan or microwave. Don't worry if it looks a little curdled because when milk/cream comes into contact with acid, this happens.

3. Pour warm lemon juice and cream over melted chocolate. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth and emulsified. Press cling wrap onto surface of ganache.

4. Let the ganache firm up in the fridge for half an hour or overnight in air-conditioned room (22-24C). Transfer into piping bag.

Honey Lavender Cake

(adapted from here)

I baked the cake in the same mini loaf pans I used for piping the macaron bathtubs. I didn't want to grind the sugar with dried lavender flowers because I wanted to simplify things and have less things to wash/set up. So in my adaptation of the reference recipe, I made a concentrated lavender tea instead and replaced the yoghurt with that. I reduced the sugar by a little as well.

Ingredients (3 mini loaves):

50g unsalted butter

45g caster sugar

10g honey

1/8 tsp salt

1 medium egg (about 45g without shell), lightly beaten

75g cake flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

30g concentrated lavender tea*

* Steep 3g dried lavender flowers in 45g hot water for 10 min. Strain and squeeze out as much tea as possible from the flowers. Reserve 30g for the cake.

Steps:

1. Grease loaf pans. Preheat oven to 160Cfan/175C.

2. Whisk together baking powder and flour. Set aside 

3. Cream butter, sugar, honey and salt until pale and fluffy.

4. Gradually add egg and mix until smooth after each addition.

5. Gradually add half the flour mixture by sifting over the batter, mixing well after each addition.

6. Add concentrated tea. Mix well.

7. Add the remaining flour mix gradually by sifting over batter and mixing well after each addition.

8. Pour into loaf pans and bake for 25 min or until skewer comes out clean.

7. Cool in pan for 10 min before tipping the cake out and cooling completely. 

I sliced the loaves horizontally till 1.5cm thick for layering in the tubs. I brushed the cake with a little lemon syrup too but this is optional.

Honey lemon foam

Ingredients:

5g gelatin bloomed in 40g ice water

25g lemon juice

30g honey 

80g hot water 

Steps:

1. Dissolve honey in hot water. Add lemon juice. Mix well

2. Melt bloomed gelatin and add it to honey lemon water. Whisk until well combined.

3. Set the mixture over an ice water bath and gently stir with a whisk for 5min to cool the mixture down and thicken it.

4. Whisk more vigorously to create the foam bubbles.

5. Chill in fridge for 5 min to stabilize the bubbles before scooping onto the bathtub to create the "bath bubbles".

You may watch the video of the process over here in my reel:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8BLaS4S8Sv/?igsh=MWJtcHp6Z2NxOXBvdQ==

with love,

Phay Shing

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Monkeys with Apple Tree Macaron Ferris Wheel

I have an interesting request and challenge for a monkey themed macaron ferris wheel bake. This was what I made!

It's my first attempt at changing the ferris wheel design while retaining the working mechanism. I also made use a stiffer macaron batter to create textures for the tree foliage and trunk. I used my default Swiss Meringue method recipe but in two ways for this bake. I used all the egg whites for the Swiss meringue for the ferris wheel frame, small parts and base to create sturdier shells as well as create the textures by underfolding the batter. I used part of the egg whites to mix with sifted dry ingredients to form an almond paste, and used the rest for the Swiss meringue to make the bananas and monkeys as I wanted the macaron shells to have a smoother finishing.

I used royal icing and edible marker for the details. Have a look at the decorated macaron shells! I made them concurrently with the Charizard carousel bake!

I always make extras in case of accidental uglification or butter fingers

Mango flavour was requested. As this creation consist of some load-bearing parts and parts that do not need to bear load, I filled them differently. I used a firm and fairly low water content mango white chocolate buttercream as the base, but include homemade mango jam for pieces that can afford to be softer.

Mango jam

Ingredients:

250g mango flesh, cubed

25g sugar (or to taste)

pinches of salt

1-2 tsp lemon juice

Steps:

1. Place all ingredients in saucepan and cook until 50% of original weight. For a drier jam if you want to reduce water content further, which I did for jam in the ferris wheel base and wheel itself, I reduced it further to 30% of original weight but left the portion for monkeys and bananas at 50% of original weight. You may puree the mango but it's optional. Cool completely before using. You may prepare in advance and store in the fridge or freezer.

Mango white chocolate buttercream
Ingredients:

300g White chocolate, finely chopped or use chips

60g unsalted butter or vegetable shortening

1/8 tsp salt

45g Freeze dried mango powder (you may add more but I didn't want to soften the structure too much)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Place everything in microwave-safe bowl and melt the chocolate. Mix well.  You may use double boiling method too if you wish.

2. Place bowl in a cold water bath and use electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy. Remove from cold water bath once the buttercream starts to firm up, continue beating until desired fluffiness. You may also choose to let the mixture firm up slowly at room temperature for half an hour before transferring into piping bag.

Here's the reel of the assembly and the ferris wheel in spinning action! 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cyam2-syoAz/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

If you would like to learn how to create macaron ferris wheels that is as sturdy as what I made and spins as smoothly, do join me for my Penguin family Christmas Carnival masterclass. I have both online and studio versions. Studio participants get to have access to online class material free of charge! Online class is ready for viewing anytime and there's no expiry date.

with love,

Phay Shing

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Charizard Macaron Carousel

 This is the third consecutive year I am baking for a little man's birthday so you may find a common theme here 😉

The knight is slaying Charizard this year and it's a mini macaron carousel! The Pokeball on top of the carousel is an iced cookie with chocolate coated marzipan ball inside. 

I used my default Swiss meringue method recipe for the macaron shells and used royal icing and edible markers for the details. I used royal icing transfers for the Pokeball that the knights are holding to make it easier. 

Just to share some photos of the process...

Piped batter for knight with royal icing transfer Pokeballs

Charizard piped batter

Filling the knights with dark chocolate ganache and white chocolate buttercream with a dark chocolate chip added to turn it very slightly brown

Filling Charizards the same way

I added crunchy chocolate balls for the large carousel pieces

Assembled carousel frame. I think it looks breathtakingly beautiful in this earthy neutral colour😍

The fillings I used are adapted from my default recipes to make it either dairy-free or with minimal dairy. I made them firm enough to stay firm at 30C, which is a pretty common temperature for room temperature in Singapore.

Dark chocolate ganache

Ingredients:

90g bitter dark chocolate, finely chopped or chips

25g water

3g light corn syrup

9g unsalted butter, softened

Pinches of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Place all ingredients except butter in microwave-safe bowl. Use medium power and 20 second bursts to melt the chocolate. Stir after each heating cycle. You may also use double boiling method to melt the chocolate.

2. Add butter and mix well. Let the ganache sit at room temperature to firm up for half an hour before transferring into piping bag.

White chocolate buttercream

Ingredients:

100g white chocolate, finely chopped or chips 

20g vegetable shortening (or butter if your ambient temperature is cooler)

1 dark chocolate chip (optional, I added for a slight brownish tinge)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pinches of salt

Steps:

1. Place everything in microwave-safe bowl and melt the chocolate. Mix well.  You may use double boiling method too if you wish.

2. Place bowl in a cold water bath and use electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy. Remove from cold water bath once the buttercream starts to firm up, continue beating until desired fluffiness. You may also choose to let the mixture firm up slowly at room temperature for half an hour before transferring into piping bag.

Here's a reel for the assembly process. I took the liberty of using two-toned icing for Charizard's flame.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyLaa8-ynqE/?igshid=MWZjMTM2ODFkZg==

If you would like to learn how to create macaron carousels like this one, join me for my studio or online masterclass for the reindeer macaron carousel, one of my classic pieces. The online class version is available internationally, ready for viewing any time and there is no expiry date. You may ask me any technical questions that you have and learn from other participants who have joined the class over the years 

with love,

Phay Shing

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My Melody and Kuromi Macaron Carousel

 My friend requested for a My Melody and Kuromi macaron carousel and this was what I made!

I used my default Swiss meringue method recipe for the macaron shells.

Here's a video tutorial on how I create My Melody's lop-eared fold. A secret I have kept for many years! Some people asked how I did it way back in 2017 but I wasn't ready to reveal it yet.

The details are added on using royal icing and edible marker. I made royal icing transfers for My Melody's flower

I like to experiment and change designs along the way so this time round, I did something a little different for the carousel frame.

These are some of the standard pieces.

I included some small flowers piped using #2D tip from underfolded batter.

Blueberry ganache is the logical choice for filling to match the purple frame so that's what I used as the filling. The natural purple from fresh blueberries is lovely! I used a stiffer and darker coloured ganache for the middle of the carousel frame, hidden from sight by adding some freeze-dried blueberry powder to impart a stronger blueberry flavour without adding moisture. 

Blueberry yuzu ganache

Blueberry compote:

150g blueberries

15g yuzu juice concentrate (or lemon juice)

15g sugar

Light colored ganache:

150g white chocolate (finely chopped from bar or use couverture chips)

75g compote

15g unsalted butter, slightly softened at room temperature

Dark colored stiffer ganache:

150g white chocolate

45g compote

5g yuzu juice concentrate (or lemon juice)

20g freeze dried blueberry powder

10g unsalted butter, room temperature

You may not use all the ganache for the carousel but they cam be kept frozen for longer storage.

Steps:

1. Prepare blueberry compote. Cook over medium-low heat until reduced to about 140g in total. Press through sieve to remove the skins.

2. Melt white chocolate over double-boiler or using microwave at medium-low power in 10 second bursts, stirring between each heating cycle.

3. Mix warm compote with freeze-dried blueberry powder and yuzu for the stiffer ganache. Heat it up again slightly if it has cooled down after mixing.

4. Pour warm compote/compote mixture over melted chocolate. Stir in one direction until well mixed. Use an immersion blender if you wish.

5. Add softened butter and mix well. Press cling wrap onto surface and refrigerate for at least half an hour or until ready to assemble.

I added some chopped toasted hazelnuts coated in dark chocolate in the middle of the larger macarons like the base and the roof. I used a 1:1 ratio for nuts: dark chocolate by weight.

In order to support a softer filling than I normally use for load-bearing macaron structures, I piped a ring of medium-stiff royal icing for the central pillar pieces of the carousel frame.

I also reinforced the straw with royal icing so that the characters don't have the risk of sliding down the straw.

As usual, I let the weight bearing pieces rest overnight after partial assembly before adding on more load. This is to allow the royal icing time to harden fully.

I think the carousel frame looks lovely on its own 😍

Here's a reel of the assembly process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CttiocAAq95/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

with love,

Phay Shing 

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Giraffe Macaron Swing on Fruits n Cream Cake

 I don't usually take requests in December as it is a busy month for me. At most I will accept one request. Someone wanted a giraffe swing with elephant and dog in it, on top of a fruits & cream cake. Here it is!

I used my default Swiss meringue method recipe with separated egg whites for the macaron pieces. As the swing is a structure that needed to bear weight, I made the fillings firm enough even at Singapore's indoor room temperature without air-conditioning. The macaron shells are filled with a stiff mango passionfruit ganache and dark chocolate-butter filling.

Mango passionfruit stiff ganache
80g white chocolate, finely chopped or use chips 
20g unsalted butter
1/8 tsp salt
30g warm water
20g freeze dried mango powder*
20g freeze dried passionfruit powder*

*You may use fresh fruit but you need to reduce it over low heat until thick.

Steps:

1. Mix freeze-dried fruit powders in warm water until you form a paste. Set aside.

2. Melt chocolate, butter and salt. Set aside to firm up. Use spatula or electric mixer if you wish, to whip until it looks like buttercream.

3. Add fruit paste into white chocolate mixture in a few additions.

Dark chocolate filling
You may use ganache but I wanted something really firm to support the weight plus movement of the swing.

100g dark chocolate
50g butter
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Steps:

1. Place everything in heatproof bowl and melt over double boiler. Alternatively you may use microwave.

2. Set aside to firm up. If your environment is very cold, I would suggest using ganache or this will become too hard to work with when set.

I used my default vanilla chiffon sponge recipe but baked in two 7"x1.5" round pans lined at the base and sliced each one horizontally into two to get four layers of sponges. Baking profile was 150C for 15 min, 140C for 15 min, followed by 130C for 20min with steam baking. Note that every oven is different so adjust accordingly.

Requester wanted the cake covered in cream so I prepared more cream for it. Feel free to use your favourite Chantilly cream recipe that can hold up in your climate. I live in hot and humid Singapore so stabilizers are needed. You may use gelatin as stabilizer but I go for what was easy, tastes good and it works!

Whipped cream
250g Whip topping (non-dairy whipping cream)
200g double cream (high fat dairy cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Note: Non-dairy creams are pre sweetened so there is no need to add sugar. Please add sugar if you are using dairy cream only.

Steps:

1. Whip whip topping until really stiff peaks with vanilla extract.

2. In another bowl, whisk double cream until it is just able to form a hint of soft peaks. Don't over whisk!

3. Fold Whip topping into double cream in a few additions.

Your resulting cream should be relatively smooth and able to hold its shape at aircon temperatures and briefly for 10min in hot kitchen.

I went for simple, slightly rustic and elegant design for the cake, with the exterior showing a hint of what's inside. The sponges were brushed with simple syrup (1:1 water:sugar)  before slathering on the cream.

Mango, Korean strawberries and green kiwi as fruits in the cake.

Watch the swing in action over here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmRCT-9AwGC/?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=

with love,

Phay Shing 

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