Sucré

Ingredients:
75 g almond meal
1 teaspoon of grounded coffee beans or instant espresso powder
115 g powdered sugar
2 large egg whites
50 g fine granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cocoa powder

For the filling:

115 g mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon of Marsala or Sherry wine
25 g fine granulated sugar
2 tablespoon grated milk or dark chocolate

Directions:
Add almond flour, grounded coffee beans or instant espresso powder and powdered sugar to food processor and pulse a for 15 minutes until everything is well combined. Sift into a clean bowl. 
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add fine granulated sugar until stiff peaks form. 
Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with egg whites. Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites, until the batter is thick and lava-like. Do not overmix. The batter should slowly fall off your spatula when you pick it up.
Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (1 cm/0,4 in wide).
Pipe about 32 small circles onto the prepared baking sheets. Once all the circles are piped out, slam the baking sheet against a flat stable surface to force any large air bubbles to the surface.
Then sift cocoa powder on the circles.
Let the piped macarons dry on the countertop for 30 minutes.



Preheat oven to 160 °C/ 320 F.
Bake on the middle rack for 10-15 minutes. 
Let cool completely on baking sheet before removing them. 

To prepare the filling, using an electric hand mixer, beat together mascarpone cheese, marsala wine and fine granulated sugar until smooth and creamy.
Match macarons up into pairs of similar sizes. Pipe the filling onto the flat side of half of the macarons, sprinkle with grated chocolate and then top them with the other half. 
Refrigerate in an airtight container overnight to let the flavor develop.

Bon appétit.

A while ago I went hiking in the Karavanke - a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia and Austria. The photo below represent a central part of the Karavanke- the mountain massif Košuta -with one of its peaks: Veliki vrh (2088 m).  

Veliki vrh (2088 m),  planina Kofce, Karavanke

Tiramisu makroni

Sestavine:

75 g mandljeve moke
1 ČŽ drobno strte kave v zrnu
115 g sladkorja v prahu
2 velika jajčna beljaka
50 g drobno mletega sladkorja
1 ČŽ kakava v prahu

Polnilo:

115 g maskarponeja
1 JŽ marsale ali sladkega šerija
25 g drobno mletega sladkorja
2 JŽ nastrgane mlečne ali temne čokolade

Priprava:

Mandljevo moko, kavna zrna in sladkor v prahu stresite v mešalnik in mešajte 15 sekund. Presejte mešanico v skledo. Pripravite pekača in ju obložite s papirjem za peko.
V veliki skledi stepite beljaka v rahel sneg. Postopoma vtepajte drobno mleti sladkor, da dobite čvrsto, svetlečo beljakovo peno.
Mandljevo mešanico z lopatico vmešajte v beljakovo peno, tretjino za tretjino. Ko so vse sestavine temeljito vmešane, še naprej mešajte zmes, dokler ne dobite svetleče mase goste strukture.
Zmes vlijte v dresirno vrečko z gladkim nastavkom širine 1 cm.
Na pripravljena pekača nabrizgajte 32 majhnih krogov. S pekačem potolcite po delovni površini, da odstranite zračne mehurčke. Skozi sito posujte s kakavom v prahu. Pustite stati na sobni temperaturi 30 minut.

Ogrejte pečico na 160 °C.
V ogreti pečici pecite 10-15 minut. Po pečenju naj se penice ohladijo, nato pa jih pazljivo odlepite s papirja za peko.

Polnilo:
Zmešajte maskarpone, marsalo in drobno mleti sladkor do gladkega. Polovico pečenih penic namažite z maskarponejevo kremo, jih posujte z nastrgano čokolado in pokrijte s preostalimi penicami.

Shranite jih v hladilniku v zaprti posodi.

Macarons and Nutella?? Best combination ever!

Les Macarons, Je les adore!!!.Vraiment!
I tried them for the first time in France, in Grenoble.. My friend told me about them, how deliciously good they are, she kept telling me I have to try them...I believed her..so..being in France and all ofcourse I couldn´t go home without tasting them... alors..we went into the first pâtisserie and finally I was holding my first macaron in my hand..and OUI délicieux!! Je l´aime! Je l´adore!!
Finally I decided to make my own macarons...Oui they were deliciously good...well not so perfect on the outside..but they taste good!!  Hopefully with practice they´ll look better-  :)

Chocolate Macarons with Nutella Mousse

RECIPE:

http://vanillebiscuit.blogspot.com/

Makes 20 very small macarons

Chocolate macarons:

o    110 grams almond meal (you can make your own using blanched slivered almonds)

o    200 grams minus 2 Tbs powdered sugar

o    2 Tbsp cocoa powder

o    100 grams egg whites (3-3 1/2 large eggs), aged in the fridge for 3-5 days (I only left them overnight; not sure how necessary this step is)

o    50 gm granulated sugar

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mats.

If you’re using almonds: place in food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

If you’re using almond meal: run through a sifter. Place in food processor.

Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder to food processor and pulse a few times until everything is incorporated. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites for a few minutes until they are foamy. Place mixer on low and slowly add the granulated sugar to the foamy egg whites. Continue beating until egg whites have stiff peaks.

Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites and fold them in with a spatula. Fit a large round tip (I used one that is 1 1/2 inches)onto a piping bag and place a clip above it so batter won’t flow out while you fill the bag. Place the bag on a tall glass to hold it up and fill it with the batter. Twist the top shut and remove the clip. 

http://vanillebiscuit.blogspot.com/

Pipe small circles (I made them 1/2-1 inch) onto the prepared baking sheets.

http://vanillebiscuit.blogspot.com/

Let batter rest for around 45 minutes, until it feels dry (and not sticky) to the touch. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 300°F.

http://vanillebiscuit.blogspot.com/

Bake for 12 minutes. Check to see if macarons are done by grabbing the top of one macaron and trying to shake it. They are done when the top barely slides against the skirt. If they are not done, extend baking time by two minutes intervals, checking after each extension. Remove from oven and let cool completely before adding filling.

Nutella mousse:

o    ½ cup of heavy cream

o    2 oz bittersweet chocolate

o    3 Tbsp Nutella

In a small saucepan, heat heavy cream over low-medium heat. Meanwhile, place chocolate and Nutella in a medium heat-proof bowl. When heavy cream reaches a simmer, remove from heat and pour over chocolate and Nutella. Let sit for 20 seconds, then whisk until ganache is smooth.

Place ganache in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes, until it has thickened but is still pourable. Beat ganache until it lightens in color and becomes more fluffy like a mousse.

Pair up macarons of the same size. Pipe or spoon a little Nutella mousse onto one cookie. Place the other cookie on top and press down gently.

Store macarons in the refrigerator. Let sit out for 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Source:http://www.52kitchenadventures.com
Photos: Kaja J

Makroni z nutello

http://vanillebiscuit.blogspot.com/

 Za okoli 20  makronov.

SESTAVINE:
110 g mandljeve moke (mletih mandeljev)
200 g  sladkorja v prahu (odvzamemo 2 žlici)
2 žlici kakava v prahu
100 g beljakov (cca. 3- 3 1/2 jajc), priporočajo, da uporabimo vsaj 24-48h starane beljake
50 g sladkorja

Nutellina krema:
125 ml sladke smetane
60 g temne čokolade/jedilne čokolade

3 žlice nutelle

PRIPRAVA:
Pečemo na peki papirju ali silikonski podlagi.
Če imamo cele mandelje, jih najprej fino zmeljemo.
Če imamo mandljevo moko, jo presejemo, da odstranimo trde delce.

http://vanillebiscuit.blogspot.com/

Z električnim mešalnikom zmešamo mandljevo moko, sladkor v prahu ter kakav v prahu. 

V drugi skledi stepemo jajčne beljake, da postanejo penasti. Električni mešalnik prestavimo na majhno hitrost in postopoma  dodajamo sladkor, dokler iz beljakov ne dobimo čvrst sneg.
Suhe sestavine počasi vmešamo v sneg (z žlico).  

http://vanillebiscuit.blogspot.com/

Nato napolnimo vrečko, s pomočjo katere nabrizgamo kupčke na peki papirju. 
Nabrizgane kupčke pustimo stati na zraku vsaj 45 minut. Na otip morajo biti suhi in ne smejo spremeniti oblike.
Pečico predhodno ogrejemo na 150°C in pečemo cca. 12 minut.

http://vanillebiscuit.blogspot.com/

Pečene makrone odstranimo s peki papirja, ko se popolnoma ohladijo (papir nežno potegnemo z makrona). Ohlajene namažemo s kremo.

http://vanillebiscuit.blogspot.com/

Nutellina krema:
125 ml sladke smetane
60 g temne čokolade/jedilne čokolade
3 žlice nutelle

Na majhni ponvi na srednjem ognju segrejemo smetano. 
Medtem damo čokolado in nutello v skledo, odporno na toploto. Ko smetana zavre, jo odstavimo z ognja ter jo prelijemo čez čokolado in nutelo. Pustimo stati 20 minut, nato dobro zmešamo, da dobimo gladko maso. Zmes postavimo v hladilnik za 30-45 minut, da se strdi. Zmes postane svetlejša in penasta. 

Podobne makrone namažemo ter jih stisnemo skupaj. 
Pripravljene makrone hranimo v hladilniku, pred serviranjem jih pustimo stati na sobni temperaturi za okoli 30 minut. 

http://vanillebiscuit.blogspot.com/

http://vanillebiscuit.blogspot.com/

Foto: Kaja J

Source:http://www.52kitchenadventures.com