More macaron action

In my jetlagged state this morning, at precisely 3AM, I uploaded the following photos on Facebook. I'm really digging the bright colors.

What do you think?





More on Facebook>

Now it's off to pilates!

Look what arrived in the mail!

Weeeeeeee!

Check out the full Macarune article here>

Or pick up a copy of your own at any of the following places in KL:

• KL City Centre – myNews.com KLCC & Pavilion, Krispy Kreme - Berjaya Times Square, Palate Palette, La Bodega
• Mid Valley Megamall – myNews.com, Ruffey I.D, Krispy Kreme
• Sentral – Centro
• 1 Utama – myNews.com (new wing) & Ruffey I.D
• Sunway Pyramid – myNews.com, Ruffey I.D, Bar Celona & The One Academy
• Subang – The Zon LCCT & KLIA
• Bangsar & Sri Hartamas - myNews.com – Bangsar Shopping Centre & Sri Hartamas Shopping Centre, Chawan, La Bodega, Alexis
• Damansara – Wondermilk, TTDI Plaza
• Starbucks
• A Cut Above
• Lecka Lecka outlets
  
• Most bars, dining outlets and other coffee spots

Macarune on I.M. magazine

When I made the decision to move to Singapore I knew I'd be one step closer to KL where I grew up. I had expected to see more of my family, meet up with old friends and start a brand new journey living in Asia. I was certain I'd be with the bf and that I'd get a job working in advertising.

What I never expected was for Macarune to thrive so fast. Imagine, just last year I was still figuring out how to make my recipe work in the humidity!

So when Gwen, old friend from KL and editor of I.M. magazine, approached me for a feature, I was more than ecstatic! Macarune and I have gone through 2 Kitchenaid mixers, 2 North Beach apartments and a comfy house. We're pretty happy with how everything has turned out so far and hope Singapore thinks so too.

A BIG thank you to Gwen for putting this article together, family, friends and Macarune supporters from SF through SG. Looking forward to more exciting journeys and new flavors together!

Click on picture to read more

Click on picture to read more

September's gift to me

...was another chance to throw a MVPS :)

Somehow all the flavors ended up starting with the letter C. I didn't even plan it! C for cranberry. C for coffee. C for cracking good fun! As usual, here's a list with notes on each macaron flavor:

• Caramel fleur de sel: Swirls of homemade buttery caramel rounds this flavor up nicely. And a dash of Spanish sea salt gives it the perfect kick. Sweet and salty. What's not to like?
• Coconut passion fruit: A new tropical flavor on our menu. While toasted coconut adds texture to the shells, the airy passion fruit buttercream melts in your mouth in contrast. I love playing with textures!
  
• Café avec Bailey’s: Another beverage-inspired flavor. Think a shot of Bailey's in your morning coffee. That's what this is. Just sweeter
  
• Cookies + cream: Need I say more? :)
  
• Cranberry white chocolate: Quite a crowd pleaser, just like the popular American cookie. The tart cranberry hidden within each piece offsets the milky sweet Valrhona white chocolate buttercream. This is a limited flavor that's dependent on my fast depleting supply of freeze-dried cranberries from the States
  

While I hadn't planned the alphabet C-theme, I did make sure to have a good mix of sweet, savory, tart and something unusual to this batch; something I'll be doing for most MVPS moving forward. I'm calling it the flavor wheel, round and complete.

Thanks for coming everyone! I really appreciate how you most of you gave feedback almost instantly. Always love hearing from you :)







C for Chris? ♥

Macarune fun

Guess the flavors of these macarons:

Had a moment to myself today

so I made a macaron sandwich with Haato milk tea gelato.





Happy Sunday everyone!

A Macarune weekend

Mmmmm... How I love the smell of butter, sugar and vanilla in the kitchen. If I could live in a gingerbread house I would :)

Treats of the day:

Remember these? Well, these are the same, just branded :)

And because I have some time to spare before dinner, here's a little collage on "How-(I-like)-to-eat-a-macaron":


Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

A teaser to much more

More photos on FB>

More on Macarune

Macarune had it's 2nd Variety Pack event in 2010. This time with cookies + macarons! Lately, I've been addicted to the + sign. It's just so much chicer isn't it?

The Cookie + Cuppa party was cozy, because most guests ended up picking up their orders and leaving for dinner. Though a few managed to stay, and that was fun.

As with most parties, I was running in and out of the kitchen a lot, so it was really hard to entertain. Sorry folks! I promise it'll be less harried next time :)

Here's the flavor card with the inspiration behind each cookie and key ingredients:

• Chocolate: Double chocolate sablés with a hint of fleur de sel. The quick fix when I'm craving chocolate. Key ingredients: Valrhona 55%, Valrhona cocoa and Mediterranean fleur de sel
• Coconut: A crispy Summer BBQ Favorite. In San Francisco, we used to serve these with ice cream and raspberries. Sometimes I would bake them slightly wider and thicker for ice cream sandwiches, which we then freeze and snack on all through summer. Key ingredients: Unsweetened coconut flakes from California (not sure of the actual origin)
• Earl Grey: My rendition of the "grown-up shortbread," flavored with TWG Earl Grey. While this tea may not be the strongest of Earl Greys, it does have pretty blue cornflowers. If you're lucky, you might just spot one amidst the crushed tea leaves. A touch of orange brings out the best in bergamot. Key ingredients: TWG Tea Company Earl Grey tea, freshly grated orange zest
• Fruit & Nut: A play on my childhood favorite candy bar: Cadbury's Fruit & Nut. Chewy drop cookies with generous chunks of toasted walnuts and pecans, followed by the occasional raisin. The brownie-like interior is what makes this the bf's favorite. Key ingredients: Valrhona 64%/70%, Australian pecans, apricots, Californian walnuts and raisins
• Matcha: Think green tea shaved ice with condense milk :) This shortbread flavor is highly dependent on the kind of matcha powder used. This time around, I used one that's slightly lighter than the norm to accommodate tea cookie novices who may prefer less "green" with each bite. White chocolate rounds up the flavor, especially when strong matcha powder is used. Key ingredients: Japanese matcha powder and Valrhona white chocolate
• White Russian: Tribute to the Big Lebowski. A classic cocktail of coffee liquor and vodka. This one's not for the kids ;) Key ingredients: hazelnuts, Kahlua, Absolut Vodka, Valrhona cocoa and Illy espresso powder
• Hibiscus: My all-time favorite macaron. What used to be exotic (not so much anymore now that I live in Asia!) hibiscus flower soaked in Persian rose tea. Because this flavor is often overlooked and undervalued, I thought I'd include it in the sample pack for your tasting. Key ingredients: Dried Roselle and Persian rose tea
• Vanilla bean raspberry: A new Macarune flavor, combining the familiar richness of vanilla bean and the tartness of freeze dried raspberries. Key ingredients: Tahitian vanilla bean and Californian freeze dried raspberries

I've also posted this list with more pictures on FB>

Getting the packaging together alone, took half a day. Well worth it though!


A single order


Half of 4 orders

More on FB>

Fun with Macarune

Snapshots of recent batches:

Vanilla bean macaron innard. While it's clearly a personal preference, I don't believe there's another buttercream that brings out the richness of vanilla as well as the paté a bomb variety. It's just so yummy!

Tahitian vanilla bean and raspberry macarons

Tahitian vanilla bean and raspberry macaron innard. For this flavor, I use a lighter meringue-based buttercream to bring out more of the raspberry flavor


Clockwise from left: pistachio rose, hibiscus, vanilla bean raspberry x2, vanilla bean


Raspberry, honey lavender, pistachio rose and hazelnut brown butter macarons for Hena's wedding*


Pretty as a picture*


*Wedding images taken from Hena's FB profile. Congratulations Hena + Mara!


Pistachio rose + passion fruit chocolate macarons

Good things

I'm pulling a Martha and listing the things I like this month :)

• David Koh of The Importance of Salt did an awesome writeup on Macarune recently. I really enjoy following his blog because he has a way with writing about food that makes it so engaging. This time round, I especially like how he picked up on Macarune macarons never tasting artificial. And because I pride myself in picking the freshest (and bestest!) ingredients for the stuff I bake, it's really nice to have someone tell the difference. Thanks David for the super article!

Image taken from The Importance of Salt

• Yixiao of Some Like it Haute did a feature on Macarune too! Thanks Yixiao for your relentless support! Yixiao's a food blogger as well; always bubbly and sweet :) I recommend checking out her blog for places to go, pretty pictures and weekend highlights. Can't wait for our next date night together girl!
• On a less exciting note, but exciting for dorks like me nevertheless, I passed the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ) test yesterday! Yours truly is officially GA certified. Woohoo!
• And finally, I'm whipping up a small Macarune surprise this month, so stay tuned...

Macarune's recent event

...was SUPER fun!




I just loooooved baking batches of classic macarons (pistachio rose anyone?) and experimenting with new flavors. This time around, the latter include:

1. Hazelnut brown butter: toasty hazelnut macarons with browned butter buttercream and a sprinkling of hazelnut pralines. Decorated with feuilletine
   
2. Fruity tea: tea infused macarons with dried raspberry topping
   
3. & a surprise flavor: vanilla bean macarons with citrus buttercream and "surprise" fruit gelée center. Decorated with a dash of sprinkles

There was just enough time left to whip up some mini cupcakes for guests

Thanks to all the Macarune fans who made it! And for the bf for helping out with the baking :)

More photos on FB>

Macarons in the making

Baking is hard labor. Baking macarons can be a workout. Don't let anyone lead you into believing otherwise.

I'm soooo ready for a break. Movie night anyone?

All cookie'd out

...or not?

I just came back from a cookie sampling with the bf's fam at the Cookie Museum. After 10 or so thumbnail-sized bites, everything began to taste the same. Powdery and dry. Though that didn't stop us from fussing over the $38 tubs of cookies - Nasi Lemak, Berry Lite, Rose Madeleine, Ong Lai, Baba-something-or-rather - it's easy to get all cookie'd out in one night!

Even so, nothing's gonna stop me from posting these lavender tuiles I attempted over the weekend.

Paper thin lavender tuiles

with a light floral scent