Shirokuma and Furoshiki Vegan Macarons

 I had requests for vegan macaron classes so I have been doing rigorous testing for vegan macaron recipes. After trying French and Swiss meringue methods, I decided to try Italian meringue because Italian meringues have the added advantage of the stabilizing effect of sugar in the form of sugar syrup. After some attempts, I am satisfied with this Italian meringue method recipe especially since it is stable enough for a creation like this!

It's summer in the Northern hemisphere now and this year has been especially hot with the El Nino effect going on. Watermelons are definitely welcomed! Shirokuma thinks so too! 

You may ask why did I choose this theme and subject? It's because of the testing I have been doing for class material. I have decided on making simple character Hanami dango macarons with the colours pink, white and green so naturally this image of Shirokuma and Furoshiki came to mind! Note that this design is not for class material. I will be sharing the simple character vegan macaron class material soon so you can sign up for it with Tottstore.

Piped batter. I am sure you can't tell the difference between vegan and egg white based!

Freshly baked shells!

I used royal icing transfers (vegan of course) for the watermelon slices. They can be baked together with piped macaron batter, just like regular macarons.

These macarons are filled with the filling I will be sharing in my class too, which is matcha, vanilla and strawberry vegan white chocolate ganache.

See my reel for the piping process and the filling!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ct87AZQgbqW/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Stay hydrated and cool during this hot spell!

with love,

Phay Shing

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Hidden Superhero Chiffon Cake

Finally back after a few weeks away! Here's my belated Father's day post!
There's a Mighty Superhero inside every Dad! Happy Father's Day!❤️
With lots of love,
Susanne

 

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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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Easy Custard Pudding (Father's Day Special)

Wondering what easy and delicious treat to make for Father's Day that can be adapted for a variety of preferences? This easy pudding can take on many flavour variations and you can set it in tart shells to make them into tarts! Scale portion according to your needs.

I shared the custard pudding earlier in 2020 (see this post) but made slight modifications to it in this updated post.

Custard pudding

Ingredients:
6g gelatin, bloomed in 30g ice water
2 egg yolks
40g sugar*
Pinch of salt
100g + 160g milk**, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp caramel flavouring (optional)

Steps:

1. In saucepan, heat 100g milk until hot but not boiling

2. Whisk yolks, salt & sugar in heavy jug/bowl

3. Pour hot milk in thin stream into egg mix while whisking continuously

4. Pour back into saucepan & cook over medium-low heat, whisking continuously

5. Once custard starts to thicken or reach 71C, remove from heat.

6. Wait for 1 min or until custard is 60C. Add gelatin & whisk until melted

7. Sieve mixture through fine sieve. Add vanilla & 160g milk. Whisk until smooth. Spoon into jars/tart shells to avoid bubbles. Pop bubbles with skewer if need be

8. Refrigerate for at least 2h or overnight. Consume within 3 days. Highly recommend to serve with maple syrup if you are keeping it plain.

* Adjust amount according to taste. Replace/mix with brown sugar for a caramel note.

**🥛Richer: Replace part or all with cream

🥥Non-dairy: Replace with other types of plant milk

🍵Infusion: Heat milk with herbs, tea leaves/flowers

☕ Coffee: Replace part with coffee

🍫Chocolate: Add finely chopped dark chocolate to hot custard, reduce amount of gelatin

🥞Caramel: Sub a small portion with maple syrup & reduce sugar. Use brown sugar

🍓Fruity: Replace half with reduced fruit puree. Reducing over low heat destroys gelatin-destroying enzymes & intensifies fruit flavours.

This is a great way to use up excess yolks too!

Catch a glimpse of the texture and how jiggly it is in my Instagram reel:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CteLk-kAwPu/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

In case you are wondering what the black decorative parts are made of, it is marzipan naturally coloured and flavoured with black cocoa powder. I didn't wait for it to dry at all before placing on the pudding, thinking that it is just for photography so I was going to take photos/videos shortly after decorating. It turned wet so quickly😆. Feel free to use chocolate for the decoration instead. Marzipan works too but make sure you dry it thoroughly and only place it on shortly before consuming. Homemade marzipan, uses only a few ingredients, tastes great and it is easier to work with than chocolate, especially in hot and humid kitchens in Singapore. It works like fondant but tastes much better.

Black cocoa marzipan 

Ingredients:
24g superfine almond flour
18g icing sugar + extra as necessary*
4g black cocoa powder
1/2 tsp water
1 tsp honey (about 4-5g)

* I use icing sugar with cornstarch already added. 

Steps:

1. Sift together almond, icing sugar and cocoa powder. 

2. Add honey and water and mix until a ball of dough forms. 

3. Roll out between parchment paper to 2-3mm. Cut to desired shapes. Dust very lightly with icing sugar if it gets too sticky.

4. Leave marzipan cutouts to dry in the open or loosely covered box at least overnight before using it to decorate. Store any unused marzipan cling wrapped in airtight condition for up to 6 weeks at cool room temperature.

with love,

Phay Shing

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Deco Marshmallows

I am super excited to share what Deco Marshmallows is about and will update this blog post periodically once I receive any news from Marshall Cavendish about the book.

ISBN: 9789815084191

Here are the dates of release for various sources that I received from the publisher and what I gathered from the internet and people who notified me.

Singapore: Available at Popular, Kinokuniya and Amazon Singapore.

UK*: Available on Amazon and other bookstores  (no longer available from 1 Sept 2024)

Australia and New Zealand: October 2024 (Already available for pre-orders on Angus & Robertson)

Malaysia: Available at MPH

Thailand: Available at Kinokuniya 

USA*: October 2024 (Already available for pre-orders on Amazon US and Barnes & Noble) (Will not be available from 30 Dec 2024)

Ebook: Amazon, Google, Kobo and Overdrive in due time

I have received many of requests for getting the book earlier overseas when unfortunately the wait for it to be on Amazon or ebook forms is a long one. You may try this service that matches travellers to buyers if you would like it earlier at a more affordable shipping cost.

*********************************************

I stumbled into the arena of marshmallows by accident because I had no intention of exploring what to me a couple of years ago, was simply one-dimensional tasting candy. Someone wanted to learn character marshmallows and one of the  baking studios I work with asked if I could teach. One thing led to another and after discovering the endless possibilities and depth of flavour you can achieve, I decided to do a book to share my discoveries!

What motivated me to write yet another book despite knowing the tremendous amount of work involved was precisely what I am going to share in Deco Marshmallows:

1. You can use templates to create piped shapes more consistently instead of using freehand piping. Great for the artistically challenged!

2. You can do away with piping on a bed of dusting so you save a lot on dusting.

3. You can use gelatin or agar-agar as gelling agents according to your dietary preference so vegetarians can have a go at marshmallow-making too! (Note that egg whites are still used so it is not vegan but I have a vegan option mentioned in the book)

4. You can make it sugar-free if you like and it will not look any different from marshmallows made with regular sugar! Diabetics can have a taste of cute marshmallows too!

5. Many types marshmallow flavours from natural ingredients, various fillings and coating options are covered in the book to show you how to make marshmallows much more than one-dimensional tasting candies.

6. Marshmallows can be paired with other pastries or confections too to create something extraordinary!

7. I like to make use of common kitchen items like foil, zester/grater, citrus juicer, skewers and scissors as tools so you don't have to own a large collection of specialized tools for making cute marshmallows.

I am sharing what went on during four days of photoshoot. We took it at a more relaxed pace this time, spreading over more days than previous books. Note that these pictures were taken with my phone camera off the screen of the photographer's laptop or tablet so quality isn't the best but you can get the idea!

Back cover

Title page

Page fillers. My favourite shots because they are super whimsical and hilarious!

The gingy on the table looks like he is happily running towards his friend in the mug. "Wait for me! I want to join you in the hot chocolate onsen!"

I think this one is hilariously self-explanatory 😆

Grumpy octopus is not too thrilled about being with a cheeky friend and having an audience of narwhals

Cats in watermelon wonderland. This one has more of a subtle sweet feel and will be used with the acknowledgements/dedication pages.

The design portion of the book is broken up into three sections.

Pretty Awesome covers everything that is not a creature so it is mainly plants and objects.

Cute and Magical covers all kinds of creatures...well... cute and magical.

Update 06/10/23: There has been a delay in the book hitting the shelves due to potential copyright issues with one of the entries in this section "Cute and Magical". We have taken out the princess and replaced it with a cute girl dressed up for the Lunar New Year instead.

Perfectly Matched covers how marshmallows can be paired with other pastries, confections or desserts.

Here's a special behind-the-scenes reel I shared on Instagram! 

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

As with all our Creative Baking books, we cover the basics, techniques and frequently asked questions/troubleshooting in detail so you can apply what you learn for your own designs. My motto has always been "Teach people how to fish and not simply feed them the fish."

Having seen all these, are you as excited as me?

Stay tuned for periodical updates!

UPDATE 25/07/2024:

All the recipes in this book are based on the use of fresh egg whites. If you have concerns about having unbaked egg whites in your food or if the sale of food with unbaked egg whites is not allowed in your country, you may use egg white powder or meringue powder as replacements. I mentioned this briefly in the book but if you need exact ratios and method of using these replacements, please watch the reels and read the caption for :

Egg White Powder

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C84I744ywEl/?igsh=MTIzOGI1OGQ2b2syOA==

Meringue Powder 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9wt2xmS_ca/?igsh=cmpzZ3RnaGJoOXR6

I also included a point-by-point comparison of all 3 forms of egg whites in the caption of the meringue powder replacement reel so that you can see which type is most suitable for your needs.

* UPDATE 09/08/2024:

I just received news from the publisher that their third party warehouse and book distributions partner in the UK has gone into administration. This means that my books will no longer be available in the UK market and on Amazon UK with effect from 1 Sept 2024, and will cease to be available in the US market and on Amazon US with effect from 30 Dec 2024.

So if you have been considering getting my books, you should try to get them before the dates given. In the meantime the publisher is trying to find other sources to reach the international audience. Book distribution within Singapore is not affected. Digital version is also not affected.

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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