Recap: the last weekend of March 2011

Friday evening I made my first attempt on making macarons.
For some reason, i have become obsessed with macarons lately. I think it was partly because i bought Poh's cookbook from Borders (with discount! yay!) There's a recipe on macarons inside!

image from ABC website

and partly also because recently i found a patisserie making delicious macarons in my neighbourhood! Like just 10min walk (5min drive) away! I was smitten by the deliciously sweet macarons!

Turkish Delights, Pistachio, Jelly Bean macarons made by Ruby's Patisserie.

Since then i've been thinking of giving it a go to make some myself. And also, I spotted a macaron stall at UpMarket last week and my friend in Adelaide mentioned about her friend making yummy macarons too!
So with all these exposure & attention on macarons, i gave in and read & prepare for my first attempt on macaron-making.
I refer to a few recipes, but mostly followed this macaron recipe by Tartelette. It's a beautiful food blog by the talented french food photographer & styling, also a pastry chef, Helen Dujardin. She has many variation of different kinds of cakes/macarons/desserts recipes.

For the shells:90 gr egg whites (about 3) <I carefully aged my egg whites for at least 48hours by leaving them in the fridge>
30 gr granulated sugar <which is caster sugar>
200 gr powdered sugar <which is icing suger in Aussie>
110 gr almonds

(read Tartelette's macaron recipe for the step by step directions)

I totally forgotten about the coffee powder as i was too concentrated on getting the mixture right. So my first batch of macarons were just ordinary shells with a hint of pink colour.
As for the filling, i made cream cheese frosting* (used for cupcakes) to replace the buttercream mentioned in the recipe. *Just because i made some red velvet mini-cupcakes before i attempted macarons. Strangely enough, lately i have been experimenting with baking cupcakes trying all sorts of recipes. I think it's because finally the oven is FIXED! yay.

So, as you can see, I am not very good at following recipes...very bad i know.
Also, i made a few mistakes along the way, but fortunately at least my macarons looked almost like perfect macarons, except they were a bit bigger in size, a bit odd-looking and with almost-non-existent chewiness in the center. But overall, i was quite happy with the end result! The first time experience was raw & sensational. When i smelled the beautiful aroma from the oven, i died a little inside..haha!

my first attempt on making macarons

yummy red velvet mini-cupcakes with animals & sprinkles!

Saturday lunch with church friends at O'Mama Kopitiam at Karawara. I had Nasi Lemak with beef rendang. you can read more about the yummy comprehensive café review by the Food Pornographer blog.
 

yummy Malaysian cuisine at O'Mama!

Sunday arvo i popped by Unwrapped market at Angelo St, South Perth.

goodies by Moose Stall.

Top: photos taken while browsing at Moose Stall...they were selling a variety range of goods from local designers from all over Australia. Top Right: colourful Cat Rabbit Felt Necklaces. They are cute, aren't they!

bottom from left to right: Keep Calm & Eat Cupcakes! yummy peanut butter with Reese peanut choc cupcake by Kustom Cupcakes! & lots of lovely accessories and cards at Made of Awesome stall. I bought a lovely brooch & a necklace from Made of Awesome by Little Miso.

lovely Hello There wooden brooch by Little Miso

things that caught my eyes at Unwrapped

There was fashion show happening on a hot... oh did i forget to mention that it was a very hot sunny 36degree!? day in Perth....yep, we are still having quite summery weather which can be dreadful at times for i dislike heat. i sweated like a pig at the market. haha.

And someone decided to airbrush the fluffy white fur of the dogs with funky neon pink & baby blue!! I heard a guy commented that it was cruel, while another person said it was awesome. I personally think the idea was fun...and also hoping that there's no side effect/harm to the dog's wellbeing. haha!

There was free suncreen for everyone!! Good thought!

Shiny Rabbit! haha... i actually saw many many many craft work/goods/accessories with rabbit/ rabbit related at the market. As i am an avid rabbit fan, this was quite overwhelming...but i knew i have to keep calm & not be too overexcited! haha!
I saw this stall with such witty name, i couldnt resist but to snap a shot and comment to the ladies how i like the name 'Shiny Rabbit'.

and look at the lacey black hand gloves...so chic, so vintage. Nice one!

wooden The End necklace by Little Miso

Hope you have had a lovely weekend too!! :-D