Blackberry Syrup 

Ingredients
2 pints blackberries
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 lemon, zested

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until liquid is reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 10 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to break up blackberries as they cook. Strain syrup to remove seeds and serve warm.

Source: Eat Boutique

Orange Vanilla Simple Syrup

Makes 2 cups

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 orange
• 1 vanilla pod or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar dissolves.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel of the orange in strips, avoiding the bitter pith. Add to the saucepan. Juice the orange and add to the saucepan.
3. Remove the seeds from the vanilla pod and reserve for another use. Add the pod (or extract) to the syrup, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until reduced by 1/3, or until you reach the desired consistency.
4. Remove the pod and peel, cool syrup to room temperature, and enjoy.

Source: Eat Boutique

Cranberry Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh cranberries
1 cup water
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

Place 1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) frozen or fresh cranberries, 1 cup water, and 3/4 cup granulated sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer until cranberries are falling apart, about 15 minutes.

Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl and let the strainer sit over the bowl until the syrup has cooled to room temperature, about 1 hour. Discard the solids and refrigerate the syrup in a container with a tightfitting lid for up to 2 weeks.

Source: Chow.com

Nerd's Corner:

Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Simple Syrup

I always get confused on how October should feel like.  Here, in San Francisco Bay Area, it's been sweltering hot since the summer and the severe draught drags on.  Despite an earnest effort by retail stores to lure us into the spirit of the seasons, it just doesn't feel so... yet! I hope.

I found this easy and light recipe from My Little Expat Kitchen -- and it's really yummy.  The coconut whipped cream perfectly compliments the coffee and the mint leaves finishes it off with super refreshing feeling.

Yield: 10 small glasses

Ingredients
500 ml (2 cups) freshly brewed, strong, hot filter coffee (I was out of coffee, so I used instant coffee - 2 packets per cup and that worked out alright).
90 g demerara sugar
20 ml Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur (I skipped this too.)

Special equipment: shallow baking tray or dish 33 x 24 cm in size (approximately), suitable for the freezer, plastic wrap

Preparation
Make the coffee and while still hot, pour it into a large jug and immediately add the sugar. Stir well to dissolve. Give the coffee a taste and add more sugar if needed.  Make it sweeter than you usually drink it.

Pour the mixture into the  baking tray/dish and cover with plastic wrap.

Freeze the coffee granita mixture for about 1 hour or until the liquid starts forming crystals around the tray (Mine took about 2 hours to start freezing). Take it out of the freezer and scrape the granita with a fork, breaking up the ice, and put it again in the freezer. Repeat the same process every hour, until the granita is completely frozen. This will take about 4 hours, depending on how strong your freezer is.  In the end you must have a mixture that resembles icy snow.

You can eat the granita now or keep it covered with the plastic wrap. It keeps well for 4-5 days but it’s at its best during the first two.

Coconut whipped cream

Ingredients
1 can coconut milk (400 ml), full-fat (thoroughly chilled - overnight preferably)
2 Tbsp icing sugar
½ tsp pure vanilla extract (I omitted/forgot this)
pinch of salt to taste

Special equipment: stand or hand-held electric mixer
Preparation
Skim the cream that rises to the top and put in the mixing bowl of the stand mixer (chill the bowl for half an hour before whipping will help speeding the process).  Add other ingredients and beat at high speed for about 3-4 minutes until soft peak is formed.  Serve immediately or the cream can keep in an airtight container for a few days.

Scoop the granita into glasses and spoon a dollop of cream over the granita and top it with sprigs of mint and serve.  Enjoy! :D

In the last blog, I was so happy that my macarons were starting to resemble macarons and not just some weird-shaped almond cookies. Yay! And even though my oven is not behaving that cooperatively on most days (On some cold winter days, it could take up to an hour to get the pilot lit properly -- arghhh), I found ways around it (here).

These macaron shells have no extra flavors just different colors.  I filled them with store-bought dolce de leche that proves to be wayyyy toooo sweet.  I also made some lemon curd filling from the leftover egg yolk -- that turned out to be waaayyyy too runny  The foot was high, but the shells were somewhat hollow.  I did try to bake them on the lower shelves -- That was disastrous.

Two years ago, I embarked on a journey to try to bake French macarons but got so discouraged and humbled that I swore to never go on this hair-pulling, teeth-grinding, suicide-inducing baking experience ever again.  Alas, I should have known better.  You guessed it, never say never, right?  So here I am again, being drawn into the labyrinth of recipes and techniques, and with sugar-stained hair and wayyyy too much coffee in my vein, I'm doing it again.

Somehow, I faintly suspect that I'm more of a masochist than I care to admit. Oy Vey!!!!!

Anyhow, this time, I decided to put a method to my madness by sticking to one recipe and wrestle the little devil down until I somewhat master it before moving on and up.

Much to my satisfaction, I've got some progress!!! Hurray!!! And all the jubilation and elation is owed to the marvelous Not So Humble Pie's Macaron Troubleshooting with tips and tricks from Joy of Baking and shared passion and tenacity for achievement of Yaya Yayai who tirelessly compared baking notes with me -- THANK YOU!!!

The most joyful experience was to watch the long-coveted 'FOOT' all of a sudden materialized out of thin air.  Oh! Joy -- Now, at least, if I don't do anything else in life.  This will be enough -- I can safely say that this is closure for me. LOL.

So here is the recipe.  I make half the recipe for each batch.  It's more manageable for me, so I include the measurement also for easy reference:


Not So Humble Macarons v3.0128 - Full Recipe
yields approximately 50 cookies
(Half recipe measurement below)

    5 g dehydrated egg white powder*
  28 g granulated sugar
225 g confectioners (powdered) sugar
125 g almond meal**
100 g aged egg whites***


Not So Humble Macarons v3.0128 - Half Recipe
yields approximately 50 cookies
(Half recipe measurement below)

    3 g dehydrated egg white powder*
  14 g granulated sugar
113 g confectioners (powdered) sugar
  63 g almond meal**
  50 g aged egg whites***

* I used CK Products as recommended by Not-So-Humble-Pie, but I just checked on amazon and it was not available, so one's got to find another brand.  Just make sure it is dehydrated egg white and not  meringue powder.





** The 5-day aged egg white seemed to work perfectly.

*** I used Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour Super Fine Grind .  I may try Bob's Red Mill next time, if I can't find Honeyville

My First Succesful Macarons - Basic Macarons with Lemon Mousse Filling.  The foot formed but the color of the meringue was not white

- Prep two half sheet pans with parchment or silicone baking mats.

- Pre-heat your oven to somewhere between 290°F.  My oven heat is not the most consistent in the world and tends to overheat drastically.  That oven thermometer really is a life saver.  So I only use this temperature.

- Start by weighing out your sugar and egg white powder into a small bowl. Mix with a fork until uniform and set aside.

- Sift together your almond meal and powdered sugar.

- Weigh out your egg whites and begin beating them on low speed until foamy. Begin slowly sprinkling in the powdered egg white and sugar mixture as you beat. Then increase the speed to medium and beat until a firm meringue forms. (I sneaked and used medium high speed -- about 8 -- on my stand mixer and it turned out okay -- or so I thought -- to speed things up a bit).

- You want firm, glossy peaks in your meringue, you don't want to beat all the way to stiff peaks. So hold yourself back.

Man, I love that peak.  Won't be able to do that with my hand mixer though :P

- Beat in food coloring gel now (I use Buff) and then add 1/3rd of the almond mixture. Folding it in gently. Once combined, add another third of the almond mixture, and so on. For visual reference on how to combine and fold, see this video by Chef Nini. (Note: the batter should be deflated a bit to let the air out).
- Add your batter to a piping bag with a round tip (any size bit under 1cm works fine) and pipe rows of macarons.

I baked on these silicone mats I bought from Costco -- super good-valued compared to the original Silpat - much cheaper and they also have templates for piping newbies like me :)

So, I think I figured it out, but didn't have enough egg white to test this theory. So until the next batch, Bon Appétit.

I've adapted the recipe by Noreen's Kitchen to make only half the recipe.  Here it is.

Ingredients:
3 1/4 - 4 cups  all-purpose flour
1/3 cup  mashed potato flakes
1/3 cup sugar
1 packet instant yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 large egg (2 medium ones)
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1.  Heat butter and milk until melted

2. Place 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, salt, potato flakes, milk mixture, water, pineapple juice and vanilla in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer

3. Blend with dough hook until well incorporated

4. Add eggs - one at a time, blending with each addition

5. Add in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.  Resist the urge to add more flour or your end result will be a tough bread

6. Knead for 7-15 minutes until the dough forms a film in  The Windowpane Test  by pulling off a golf-ball-sized piece of dough and stretch it into a thin sheet between your fingers. If the gluten is well-developed, the dough will stretch into a paper-thin film without breaking. If quickly breaks...you guessed it, keep kneading).

7.  Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a soft cloth.  Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled, approximately 1 hour.




8.  Once the dough finishes rising, remove dough from the bowl and gently press air out.  Cut the dough into 2-4 oz. pieces and roll until smooth.

9.  Place dough balls into 2 oiled baking pans.  The size of the pan will determine the number of rolls you fit into them

10.  Preheat the oven to 350°F - cover and allow dough to rise until doubles, approximately 30 minutes.

11. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown

12. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.  Allow bread to cool before serving.

Ingredients:

Directions:

It's been a while since I baked apple pie.  And the other day, I went to McDonald's and got their apple pie on a rainy day -- Ummmm... I forgot how I miss the cinnamon & nutmeg aroma and the gooey juice of the apple.  So I decided to make one today, since it was cold out and thus perfect weather to bake a pie :D


After lots of trial on recipes, I settle for this one -- which is going to to be my go-to recipe from now on.
The recipe makes two 9" pie crusts, or one 9" covered pie crust.

INGREDIENTS

For the crust 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter,  cubed
1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon iced water (add 1 tablespoon at a time as needed)

Directions

• Using a rubber spatula, thoroughly mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
• Cut the butter into small cubes, then add to the flour mixture and cut vigorously with a pastry blender or two knives. Work as fast as you can so the butter doesn't melt.  As you work, periodically stir dry flour up from the bottom of the bowl and scrape clinging fat off the pastry blender or knives until the butter become pea-sized pieces; the rest of the flour should be reduced to the consistency of coarse crumbs or corn-meal.  The mixture should seem dry and powdery and not pasty or greasy.

• Drizzle over the flour and fat mixture the ice water.

• Using the rubber spatula, cut with the blade side until the mixture looks evenly moistened and begins to form small balls.  Press down on the dough with the flat side of the spatula.  If the balls of dough stick together, you have added enough water; if they do not, drizzle over the top 1-2 tablespoons ice water.

• Cut in the water, again using the blade of the spatula, then press with your hands until the dough coheres.  The dough should look rough, not smooth.  Divide the dough in half, press each half into a round flat disk, and wrap tightly in plastic.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, and preferably for several hours, or for up to 2 days before rolling.  (The dough can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 6 months; thaw completely before rolling. - If you need help with rolling out the dough, click here).

• While preparing the filling and rolling out the dough, preheat the oven to 350°F