COMFORT FOOD PROJECT

katcakes:

White Chocolate and Toasted Coconut Macarons

Oh how I have missed you, my dear macaron. I miss your light crispy shell, your sweetness and your endless flavour options.

This week, I had the opportunity to make a batch of macarons, and believe it or not, I have a list of flavours (mental list, I forget to write them down) of macarons I want to try and create. Some generic like Pistachio, some from cookbooks like Adriano Zumbo’s Rice Pudding. Sometimes I’ll toss up my own flavours from what other people have suggested (my friend the other day asked if I could make watermelon flavour). I chose to make white chocolate and toasted coconut for this macaron since I am making this batch as a gift. 

I’m actually quite happy at how this batch turned out. I knew coconut would look really nice as a decoration for the macaron, so this macaron is mainly a white chocolate flavour with a coating of toasted coconut. If you’re looking for a macaron with a simple flavour but a nicely decorated exterior, I suggest this flavour! The macaron is basically a white shell and a white chocolate ganache, rolled in a heap of toasted coconut. Easy!

White Chocolate and Toasted Coconut Macarons

Ingredients

• 1x quantity plain macaron shells
• 350g white chocolate
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 cup dessicated coconut, toasted

Method

1. Before baking your macaron shells, sprinkle a little bit of coconut over the top (be sure not to put too much or else your macarons won’t rise!).
   
   
2. Place the cream in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it begins to boil.
   
   
3. Place the white chocolate in a small stainless steel bowl, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Leave for one minute to infuse, then mix to combine and melt the chocolate. Put aside until ganache is at room temperature, then place in the fridge to thicken a cool. Remove once ganache is of spreadable consistency.
   
   
4. To assemble, place coconut into a small bowl. Pipe ganache onto half of the macaron shells, then sandwich together with remaining shells. Roll filled macarons in toasted coconut so that the coconut sticks to the sides of the macarons. Repeat with remaining macarons.

ENJOY! :D

Submission: 

My Nana’s Daffodil Cake (My Mom’s absolute favorite and her birthday cake every year).  
This is the original recipe card with original Nana handwriting.  You can see the card has been used and used.

Submission: 

Family Ravioli Recipe
Preparation Time: 3 Hours
Ingredients
FILLING:
2 lbs ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated cheese
salt and pepper
2 eggs

DOUGH:
4 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
3 eggs beaten
3/4 cup warm water
Make the ricotta filling first. (Two lbs of ricotta cheese is
approximate depending on how much you fill the raviolis. You may end
up needing more filling later.) Mix all the ingredient for the
filling. Use a big spoon with holes in it or slots and really whip it
up so you get air in it.

Set up the cookie sheets for the raviolis. Put sheets of wax paper in
the trays and generously sprinkle cornmeal on the wax paper. Tips:
Freezing the cookie sheets first helps to freeze the raviolis quickly
which is important. Make sure you have room in your freezer for a few
trays (or make ravs in the winter).

Make the dough. (Have flour all over the counter.) Knead it and then
let it relax for 10-15 minutes. For the best results the dough should
be a shiny silky finish.
Cut dough in about five slices. Run each slice through the machine
starting at a thickness of #1. Keep running the dough through the
machine, eventually reducing the thickness to #4 for the best results.
The raviolis can also be a thickness of three but four is best. Make
sure by your final pass through that the strip is about 5” wide.

Tips: Run the strip through and fold it over and run it through again.
This is actually kneading the dough more as it goes through the
machine. Don’t let the dough hang over the machine. Hold it up as it
runs through. If you let it rest on the machine it stretches the dough
too thin.

Once the strip is at a thickness #4 lay it out on plenty of flour and
put  heaping teaspoonfuls of filling on the strip about two fingers
apart on one side of the length of the strip.

Swipe with a brush wet with water around the fillings and then fold
the strip over lengthwise to cover the filling. Coax the air bubbles
out of each ravioli with your hand. See picture. Cut ravioli with the
fluted tool. Use a fork to seal the edges. See picture.

Put the ravioli on the trays in a single layer and put in freezer for
at least 15 minutes until frozen hard. Then, put together in freezer
bags until ready for use.

Tips: Whole wheat flour and semolina flour both work well for this
recipe.  Semolina can be used by itself, but whole wheat flour needs
to be mixed with regular wheat or semolina flour.

To cook raviolis add them frozen to boiling water – not too rapid a
boil. When raviolis come to the top of the water let them cook for
another 60 seconds then gently remove. A wide slotted spoon works good
for this.

This recipe is from my grandmother and was never written down! I guess her whole point was that if you’re a good cook, you should be able to retrieve the recipe from memory :) She passed it on to my mom, and then to me! Her picture is in the last pic with the cake…hehe!

So you basically mix one stick of unsalted butter, with 1 cup of sugar (any sugar) until creamy. Them you beat in 4 eggs, one at a time. Add 1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla at the end and mix again. Pour in 1 cup of milk or low fat yogurt and let sit for 10 min. In the meantime, set oven to 350 F. Also, in a separate bowl mix 2 cups of unbleached flour with 1 teaspoon of baking powder (not soda, it’s not good for you). Then add the flour mixture to the wet batter. DO NOT MIX. Add the flour a bit at a time and fold over with a spatula! Over-mixing will make the cake not to rise so be careful. At this step you can add chocolate chip, raisins, nuts, etc. Pour the batter in a lightly greased cake pan and bake in the middle rack for 50 minutes. Do not open the over during this time because the cake won’t rise! Cool the cake and eat :)

Submission:

This was a recipe passed down by my Mom when I was first married.  It is a great dessert recipe…enjoy!

Submission:
Oyster Stuffing

SUBMISSION:

Rhubarb Pie

Each time recipes are  passed along, they evolve.

I am assured by my Aunt Ethel and Aunt Marge that my grandmother never scolded her rhubarb. But by the time I got the recipe it was there!

 I always  affectionately “scold” my rhubarb in Mom’s memory before I make a pie.

Submission:

Peanut Butter Cookies

In 1933 my Grandmother, Ethel Orr, sent her favorite cookie recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies to her sister, Florence Southworth, who lived on a farm about 15 miles away.  The penny postcard is my treasured possession and all the women in the family bake Peanut Butter Cookies carefully ridged with a wet fork.  My Grandmother always wrote in green ink, an expression of her style and individuality.  Today we set the oven to 375-400 degrees when we make the cookies, but they always tasted better when Grandmother made them.

Submission:

Coca-Cola Salad: 
My grandmother wrote it and my mom has always made it. 
Now I make sure to make it during the holidays.

Blueberry Muffin Recipe: from Recipe Curio

2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1 c. milk
6 Tbsp. melted shortening
1 c. blueberries
1 Tbsp. sugar

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt & 1/4 c. sugar.

Combine egg, milk and shortening and add all at once to flour mixture. Stir until dry ingredients are moist but still lumpy. Fold in blueberries.

Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full.

Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. sugar.

Bake in hot oven (400°F) about 25 minutes.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.