Macaron 2014.2

Ughhhh. FAILURE. Which I don't deal well with. I'd like to pretend this didn't happen but I won't.

Flat. Footless. Some underbaked. Some overbaked. The important thing is they taste good!!!!

It's the first time I've failed to get feet on my macarons though, I feel like I'm going backwards.

Possible reasons - overwhipped eggwhites? over mixed mix? did not bother to dry out properly as had same issue as in Jan where it was taking FOREVER and I wondered if I could get away without doing it. I guess not.

I've been using a different recipe to usual and I wonder if this has anything to do with my not drying problem. I'm going to revert to my old recipe for the next batch and see if it makes a difference!

Macaron 2014.1

First macaron attempt this year and not too bad. They looked like macarons and tasted delicious but as usual I struggled with my oven temp and timing.

First tray that went in the oven was over browned and a bit too crisp so I dropped the temp and covered with foil. I think just the foil would have sufficed as the other trays were all too soft. I ended up pulling soft shells off the tray and leaving the middles behind.

I also had a first time problem....after 2 hours my piped mix still hadn't become touch dry! This has never happened to me before, it's always been fine after about 40 mins. Not yet sure if I did something wrong with my mix or because my new flat is extremely damp.

I feel much more confident with my mixture and piping though! Yay! Next time I hope I get my oven temp/timing correct!

Picture is of the slightly browned overly crispy ones. I forgot to photograph the slightly anaemic squishy ones. They were all plain almond vanilla macaroons with different coloured butter icing as filling.

2014....resolutions

Number 1. To actually sew the dress I started last year.

Number 2. To actually blog the exhibitions I go to and the beautiful things I see.

Number 3. To overcome my fear of running since hurting my knee over a year ago and rediscover my love of running.

Number 4. To become confident at making macarons and give other meringue-y things a go too!