Pandan Coconut Macarons

Made a test batch of macarons today with local flavors, ie pandan & white chocolate coconut ganache. I added about 1 tsp of pandan paste but didn't add any coloring. I think should have added more coloring for a more vibrant color. And because it was just a test batch with small amount of batter, i piped out much smaller than what i usually do, i didn't watch the oven time and my first tray of macarons were slightly burnt on top...second tray was much better.

I added about 2-3 tbps of dessicated coconut to the basic white chocolate ganache...perhaps i should have used coconut milk to replace half of the heavy cream used to give that subtle hint of coconut flavor instead?

These macarons taste kind of like  those colored coconut candy that i use to eat when i was a little girl ..hahahaha..

I need to practice more on my piping skills though..

Coffee Macarons

Second batch of macarons that i made today. Coffee macarons with white-chocolate-coffee ganache. To give the macarons coffee flavor, i added 3 tsp of instant coffee powder & 1 tsp of coffee paste. White chocolate ganache with 2 tsp of instant coffee powder to give the white chocolate coffee flavor and ended up with not just coffee taste but also a tinge of toffee taste.

I find that once you get the 'hang' of making macarons, it is not too difficult actually..just know the right consistency of the macaron batter, everything will turn out well. The only thing is i am still bad with the piping..so some of my macarons are big and some are small.. hahahahaha...but the funny thing is despite all the uneven piping i still can 'match' the shells..lol!

Basic white chocolate ganache and basic macaron batter can be found at Tartelette's blog.

PS: These coffee macarons are instant hit with everyone..everyone likes the coffee macarons better than the orange ones, including me. Normally i like orange-flavored anything but some how when i ate them both side by side, the coffee ones stands out better. I guess i didn't put enough orange flavor to the orange macarons..next time i'll trying adding a bit of orange essence and see if that improves it.

Orange Macarons

I have been making ice-cream hence lots of egg-white sitting in my fridge..so i figured, why not make more french macarons (so i can practise too..hahaha..). I decided to make orange macarons with chocolate ganache with orange flavor & coffee macarons with coffee cream.

For orange flavor in the macarons, i added orange paste to give the macarons shell a tinge of orange flavor. For chocolate ganache (i used David Lebovitz's chocolate ganache) but to add that orange flavor, i added orange zest to the chocolate ganache and a bit of rum. I wanted to use orange liquor..but was too lazy to take it down from the high shelf so i added a bit of rum instead.