Wednesday 30 June 2021

Naturally Coloured Hedgehog Hojicha Chocolate Macarons

I am excited to share with you how to make these naturally coloured hedgehog hojicha chocolate macarons! 

It is not just the design that I am excited about, but also a technique that works! Besides teaching the basics of French method, how to make 3 colours of batter in a single batch, and how to pipe the hedgehog design, I will show you how to incorporate royal icing transfers onto macaron shells. There are various cute character macaron designs whereby the character is holding objects. It can be a challenge for the new baker to incorporate another layer of the object using macaron batter. The option of using transfers means that there is no need to freehand pipe the object or up the challenge by having to prepare additional coloured batter(s) for the object. 



A yummy and easy filling of hojicha chocolate ganache that is firm enough for Singapore weather will be taught. 


The registration link for this class is not up on Tottstore website yet but it should be some time in July. So keep a lookout for it! 


With love,

Phay Shing

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Saturday 26 June 2021

Chipmunk Chiffon Cake

 


My little chipmunk nibbling on a slice of watermelon!๐Ÿ˜† Isn't she cute??๐Ÿ˜›


Hope this ๐Ÿฟ๐Ÿ‰cake made you smile!๐Ÿฅฐ 


Are you reading for school reopening? Have a Blessed weekend!๐Ÿ’•

With love,
Susanne
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Tuesday 22 June 2021

Anime Character Macarons (Edible marker technique)

My friend requested for some macarons in the likeness of her daughter's favourite Anime characters: Levi and Nezuko! 


In case you think that these aren't macarons, let me reveal the side view of these! 


Just a note here for macaron bakers, don't fret if you don't get nice even feet all around for intricate shapes where some parts are rather thin. You need to have sufficient batter volume at each spot to get nice feet so this would be extremely challenging to achieve for fine parts. I would rather have nice defined shape of the macaron when viewed from the front but have a little uneven feet, than to have even feet all around but undefined shape from the front. And honestly, recipients care more about how macarons look from the front than to be concerned about whether the shells have feet all around. We bakers are human too so don't aim for perfection. It will kill the joy of baking๐Ÿ˜‰. Seek to continue learning and improving your skills instead. 


As anime characters tend to have a lot of details, some careful planning needs to be done. I try to use as few colours as possible for the base macaron batter to make the baking process more manageable. But it still turned out to be a whooping 10-colour batter bake! 

Piped macaron batter

Choose colours that are easy to overlay with edible marker so that you can minimize the number of colours of batter. E. G. Lighter shade of grey can be painted over with darker grey, the light brown sleeves of Levi and the details of the eyes can be added in on white macaron shell. I used the Swiss meringue method recipe but modified it slightly. I transferred about 5g of unwhipped egg whites from the almond paste portion to the meringue portion. This is to produce an overall more stable batter but still smooth and not overly dry, as I know the figures will need a long time to pipe. Instead of colouring individual almond pastes and then adding in the meringue, I prepared a single batch of underfolded batter and then split into the various coloured portions to continue macaronaging. The reason for this is due to the small portions of each colour needed. 

I added in the details on baked shells using edible marker, vodka and paint brush for all the colours except white where I used edible paint made by mixing white gel colouring with a little vodka. I didn't use royal icing at all as the features are too fine to work with icing as the medium. 

All the stuff needed for edible marker work! 

I have edible markers from Rainbow Dust and Americolor. I like Rainbow Dust as their edible markers have a super fine tip on one end and a thicker tip on the other. I like Americolor set for the range of colors in the pack although the tips are thicker and harder to control if you are using directly for fine work.

Where does the paper cupcake case come in then? You may use parchment paper if you wish but since I have these around and they don't require cutting, I might as well use it. I use the paper case as my palette for mixing colours. Sometimes I need a duller or browner hue I mix black or brown with say green to get the shade. I colour small patches of brown/black and green with marker adjacent to each other, then use the brush with a little vodka to mix the colours and apply it to the macaron shell. This method is a lot faster and uses less dishes compared to making edible paint for every single colour you need. I hand painted the popcorn that the cow was holding in my recent Star Wars macaron creation too.

I use the brush with some vodka to "erase" or lighten any shades too. For erasing, brush affected area with a little vodka and quickly dab with paper towel and repeat as necessary. This is how I create some eye shadow effect too except I don't use paper towel. 


As-baked shell and fully painted/drawn shell for Levi 

Dark chocolate ganache was requested for the filling flavour. 



I may do up a Youtube video for this edible marker technique since some have expressed interest for it but probably not so soon as I still have another choux pastry video to edit! Still really busy with classes, requests and life in general. 


With love,

Phay Shing

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Sunday 20 June 2021

Cony and Brown 'XO' Chiffon Cake


Hugs & Kisses! XOXO to you! ๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ˜˜ 

How is everyone doing this week? 

Cutest XO alphabet molds from @moldyfundotcom

I baked a Rainbow chiffon cake in the alphabet molds. 

Last week of school holidays! Stay safe and take care! 

With lots of love,
Susanne
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Wednesday 16 June 2021

TV Room Macaron Scene

I made this for someone who is a fan of Star Wars and K drama, and who is born in the year of the Ox! 



Can you tell which drama they are so engrossed watching? 

I used Swiss meringue method to make the macaron shells. The couch pieces are flavoured and coloured with freeze-dried raspberry powder and the large base shell is coloured and flavoured with cocoa powder. 

These were made on 3 separate days due to my schedule! The large chocolate macaron shells are 15cm in diameter. 

I prefer to use Teflon sheets to line the baking tray for large macaron shells or shells that need straight edges as Teflon sheets do not wrinkle like parchment paper. I prefer to use parchment paper for macaron shells that need intricate designs as I can see through parchment better than Teflon. I hope this helps im explaining why I use different types of material to line my baking trays. 

Here are the freshly baked character macaron shells! 


Here are the decorated characters! I always make an extra set in case my butter fingers accidentally damage something.

I decorated the shells with royal icing, edible marker or edible paint made by washing edible marker with vodka. The technique of using edible marker and vodka is a quick way of decoration. I drew the popcorn and the TV scene using this technique. 

This TV scene is painted using edible marker and vodka to create a water colour effect. The canvas is royal icing transfer that has been thoroughly dried. This icing transfer is glued onto the black rectangle macaron shell with more royal icing to create the TV. 

I filled the base chocolate macaron with dark chocolate ganache, crunchy chocolate balls and a little raspberry white chocolate ganache



This isn't the first time I made the raspberry macaron couches. I made it a couple of years ago too in this scene

I added a little dark chocolate ganache to the raspberry ganache such that the shade matches the macaron shells. I also flavoured and coloured the royal icing that joins the pieces together with freeze-dried raspberry powder and a little cocoa powder to help the shade to match the shells. 

Couches on the giant base shell! 

This project took me almost a week, including a day to plan, conceptualise and make the templates. Although it did test my patience, it is really satisfying to see the finished product. Hope it puts a smile on your face as it did to mine๐Ÿ˜Š. 

With love,

Phay Shing 

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Tuesday 8 June 2021

Safari Themed Macaron-Choux Pastry Bake (Yuzu and vanilla flavours)

This was a last minute request that I took up although I hardly accept requests now as I find it hard to find time to work on Youtube videos. But because I was coming up with content for a mixed-genre class in December, I decided to take up this challenge. Presenting my take on safari theme using macarons and choux pastries! 



The filling for macarons is something new from me - - yuzu ganache that is complete with bits of yuzu rind. The choux pastries were to be filled with vanilla diplomat cream. Just before consuming. 

I used the Swiss meringue method for making the macaron shells. I baked the macarons concurrently with another mixed-genre creation, choux bunnies in macaron teacups. That's why you see the purple, blue and teal rounds here. 


I made some edible paint with gel colouring, vodka and a little royal icing, to add in the details on the tree and bushes. 

It's a pity half of it was obscured from view by the choux animals ๐Ÿคฃ. 

You may refer to this post for the recipe for choux pastry and the craquelin. Here is a picture of the craquelin on the piped batter, just before baking. 


I decorated and assembled the choux animals using royal icing. 

You may refer to this post for the vanilla diplomat cream recipe. I will share the new yuzu ganache recipe here. I actually prepared 2 different types, one firmer but milder in flavour and another stronger flavoured but wetter. Some pieces like the macarom tree may do better with a firmer filling so it doesn't collapse. Other pieces like the large 15cm diameter base macaron can do with a softer, wetter filling in the middle. 

You can't really see clearly from this photo but the ganache in the middle contains specks of yuzu rind. 

Yuzu ganache recipe
Ingredients :
Firmer ganache
150g white chocolate chips or finely chopped
28g yuzu juice concentrate (no sugar added) 
12g whipping cream
10g unsalted butter
A pinch of salt

Softer ganache with yuzu rind
150g white chocolate chips or finely chopped 
30g yuzu juice concentrate
10g unsalted butter
30g pureed yuzu jam with rind (include as much rind as possible) 
A pinch of salt 

Steps:
1. For each of the type of ganache, place all ingredients (except jam) into microwave safe bowl. Heat on medium-low power for 10 seconds and mix well. Repeat heating and mixing until all the chocolate is melted. Do not overheat. 

2. Press cling wrap on surface of ganache and refrigerate overnight. When ready to fill the macaron shells, let the ganache sit at room temperature to soften a little before whipping it up with electric mixer or a spatula. 

3. Fold in jam if using. Transfer into piping bag and fill the macaron shells. Store in fridge in airtight condition for at least 24h before serving. Let the macarons come to room temperature before opening the airtight box. This is to prevent condensation from forming on the macaron shells. 

Here's a view of the assembled scene without the birthday girl's age on it! 



This scene somehow puts a smile on my face ☺️. I hope it brought you some joy too! 


With love,

Phay Shing 

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Thursday 3 June 2021

Sushi Chiffon Cake


Is this the cutest, squishiest Sushi cake ever?๐Ÿ˜›

Just sharing for those who may be keen to learn how to make the Sushi chiffon cakes =) I will be teaching this item with @howtocakeit finally after many requests!

I will be teaching live on July 16th 8pm EST (8am GMT+8), and you will also get lifetime access to the video tutorial, workbook and private FB group =)  

Sign up link is here.

Also there is a special promo this week - bundle up with my Galaxy Chiffon Truffles Class and get 25% off for 2 classes!

It's going to be super fun! ๐Ÿ’•

Stay safe!

With lots of love,

Susanne



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