PIERRE HERME MACARONS

Ooooo la la, the amazing work of Pierre Herme!

MODERN LAMPS FROM BEACON LIGHTING

FAVOURITE RECIPES: MIXED BERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE AND CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE COCONUT MACAROONS

These are a couple of my favourite sweet recipes to bake and super easy!

MIXED BERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Makes 12

Ingredients

Olive oil spray, for greasing

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

2/3 cup caster sugar

2 cups frozen mixed berries

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

60g melted butter

200g white chocolate

4 tbs thickened cream

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.  Line the holes of two six hole muffin trays with cupcake cases and spray with olive oil.

2. Sift flour into a large bowl and add sugar.

3. In a large jug, whisk together eggs, milk and butter.  Add to dry ingredients with 80g roughly chopped chocolate, frozen mixed berries and stir until just combined.  Do not beat or over-mix.

4. Drop one large spoonful of mixture into each cupcake case until about three quarters full.  Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until slightly golden on top and the centre of each cupcake is firm to touch.

5. Allow to cool in tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

6. For white chocolate ganache, heat a small pot over a low-medium heat and bring cream to a low simmer.  Turn off heat and add remaining broken up chocolate, stirring until melted.  Pour into a bowl and place in the fridge to cool.  Once cooled, beat with an electric mixer until thick and creamy then place into a piping bag and pipe into cooled cupcakes.

CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE COCONUT MACAROONS

Makes 28-30

Ingredients

2 egg whites

1/2 cup caster sugar

100g milk or dark chocolate

2 cups shredded coconut

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150 deg. celcius or 130 deg. celcius fan.  Line two baking trays with baking paper.

2. Beat egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form.  Gradually beat in sugar, adding a little and beating until dissolved.  Beat until firm and glossy.

3. Finely grate half the chocolate and fold into egg-white mix with coconut.

4. Drop generous teaspoons onto tray, allowing some space for spreading.  Bake for 13-15 minutes, until pale golden and firm.  Cool on tray then transfer to a wire rack.

5. Melt remaining chocolate and drizzle over macaroons with a teaspoon.  Allow chocolate to set.

Such tasty and simple recipes, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Cara

GIRLS PINK HIGH TEA

This was a little high tea my friend and I put together for a lovely afternoon of catching up with the girls.

I think high teas are such a sweet and enjoyable way to catch up with the girls. Show your friends how much you care with a lovely table setting and some yummy treats to indulge in!!

BRIGHTEN UP YOUR HOME!

Add some colour to your life by brightening up those plain white walls!

This artwork definately adds some much needed colour to this very modern and crisp interior.

 I think this is a great interior! I'm loving all the texture in this room and the striking green artwork adds a touch of freshness to the colour scheme.  Gorgeous natural colours straight from nature!

 This artwork gives a really great energy to the room with so many vibrant colours and the scale of the artwork is perfect for such a large space.

 I really love this style, so much texture and almost an industrial feel.  Just add a nice simple piece of artwork and some reading material and suddenly it becomes more home like with a very modern feel.

So simple, yet it works so well.  I love how the artwork adds a touch of neutrals to the harsh black and white theme.

Hope you all enjoy brightening up those walls!


(Images from 1. Art and Interior. 2. Dream Fun House. 3. GAP Interiors. 4. Make Your House A Home. 5. Ultra Modern Style).

FAVOURITE RECIPES: CHOCOLATE FRENCH MACARONS

Macarons

• 1/2 cup ground almonds, sifted
• 1 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 1-2 tbsp cocoa, sifted
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 5 tbsp caster sugar

Ganache

• 75g dark or milk chocolate
• 1 tsp butter
• 4 tbsp cream

Method
For Macarons
1.  Preheat oven to 180 deg.
2.  Prepare two baking trays lined with baking paper.
3.  Mix the sifted ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
4.  Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar for about 30 seconds then over another 90 seconds gradually add in the sugar.  Approx. 2 minutes beating in total.
5.  Tip half the sifted mixture into the egg white mixture and using a medium spatula mix together by turning the spatula in soft slow continuous circles.  Once mixed in add the other half of the sifted mixture with the same gentle circle motion (try to do no more than 40-50 circles in total).
6.  Spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe rounds about the size of a 50c piece onto the paper lined trays.  Leave to sit for about 15-30 minutes then bake for approximately 12 minutes or until firm to touch.
7.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.


Chocolate Ganache filling
1.  Heat cream and butter in a small pot over a low medium heat and stir in chocolate until melted.  Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl and allow to cool in the fridge.
2.  Once ganache has cooled, beat with an electric beater until lighter in colour and has a creamy looking texture.
3.  Spoon ganache mixture into a piping bag fitted with a suitable nozzle of your choice and pipe onto bottom half of macarons then sandwich with another macaron on top.




Good luck and I hope they work out for you!


Cara