Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Pre-party baking - macarons and red velvet


Macarons (honey and raspberry flavors) and red velvet cake with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream and fondant!

Honey macaron shells, pre-baking (the shells are actually plain vanilla)

Raspberry macaron batter (but really just vanilla with red food color)

Almost done baking!


So many shells! And a few cracks...

Raspberry curd for the macarons - I ended up mixing some buttercream in to thicken it.
Raspberry and vanilla buttercreams

All paired up, waiting to be filled. I'm bad at making them the same size, so I have to play a matching game.



Some finished macarons (see more in my previous post)
Cake frosting time!


Frosted, ready for fondant

The finished product - a little lumpy, but I'm happy with my first attempt!


Recipes: macaron shells from this book; swiss meringue buttercream; raspberry curd; red velvet cake; marshmallow fondant

7 comments:

  1. I have actually never had red velvet cake (I know ... how as a "good" Southern lady have I never tasted red velvet cake? It was never around when I was growing up and yea ... I suck) or macarons! I've seen them both at weddings, bakeries, etc but I'm lame and have never tried them out. ANYWAYS, both desserts look so delicious!

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  2. Ha, it's ok, I only had it once or twice when I lived in TN, and I hated it the first time. Macarons are more remarkable than the cake - more interesting/different than other more common desserts. If I figure out how to ship them, I'll send you some! But they are pretty perishable.

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  3. These macarons look really pro! Care to share the recipe? :p

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  4. Such a wonderfully prepared macarons. That would be a perfect sidedish for my housewarming next week.

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  5. Mmmmmm those macs and red velvet look delightful! Love the raspberry curd!

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  6. I'm obesses with Red Velvet Cake. I love baking and eating it! Those macarons look so good! How do you store leftovers?

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  7. My first photo on foodgawker! Thanks so much for all the visits, everyone!!

    Kelvin: I'm not sure if I should share the recipe since it's from a book (see link at the end of the post) and I haven't gotten permission... but beyond the basic recipe, there is a lot of practice involved, too! It took me a long time to get acceptable macarons and I still have ups and downs. I definitely recommend the book though!

    Sweet Tooth: I usually give them all away within a couple of days. I'll sometimes store them in the fridge, as it can get humid in my apartment and make them soggy, or else at room temp in an airtight container for a few days. Unfortunately, they are usually a bit chewy by day 2, and I haven't figured out a better solution yet - let me know if you have any tips!

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