French Macaron

Oh em gee... probably my favorite dessert ever! And I finally built up the confidence to try making it. The process for macarons is tedious because you need to be really precise & careful at every stage or you'll mess them up. But, if you do follow the process correctly, you'll end up being so happy with the results! Here's my take, enjoy!

Time: 1 hour total for about 25-30 macarons 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup almond flour, finely ground  
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar  
• 3 medium egg whites (or 2 large)
• food coloring if desired  

Recipe:  

1.  Combine the powdered sugar & almond flour then sift them together into a bowl. Set the mixture aside.
2. Mix the egg whites in a mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds.
3. Increase the speed to high then add in the sugar, half at a time. If you are using food coloring, pour that in now. I used 3-4 drops of color for mine. 
4. Leave the mixer on high until you see stiff peaks start forming. Stop the mixer. 
5. The wet ingredients are ready when you can take some into a spatula & the batter falls off in the consistency of lava.  
6. Slowly, half at a time, mix in the dry ingredients. Fold them in slowly, careful not to over mix. After half the mixture is incorporated, add in the second half and do the same folding.  
7. Once the mixture is combined, you can scoop it into a piping bag.  
8. Pipe the batter into a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, using a macaron template (I got mine on Amazon with a silicon piping bag)  or just average about a quarter size for each round. You want to give them enough room to expand slightly as the batter settles. 
9. Once all of the rounds are piped out, lift the cookie sheet & drop it down hard, so it bangs on the countertop a few times, turning it on each bang. This will get rid of any excess air bubbles.   
10. Leave the macarons out for 15-30 minutes until a slight shell appears over them. To test this, gently press your finger on one of them and if no batter comes off onto your finger, they're ready to go!  
11. Bake on 300 for about 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are hard but not browned.  
12. Allow the macarons to cool for 20 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Then, let them cool completely on a cooling rack before filling them. 
13. For the filling, I made salted caramel, dark chocolate ganache, cream cheese icing, and a pistachio filling made by boiling butter, half & half, ground pistachios, and confectioners sugar.  

Salted Caramel Flan

Decadence at its finest. This recipe is so easy it will surely be a recurring dessert in your household after the first attempt! Salted caramel over creamy, cinnamony flan.. topped with fresh berries. This is a perfect summer treat! 

Time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients:  

• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 can condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract  
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon  
• 2 large eggs (or 3 regular sized eggs) 
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt  

Recipe: 

1. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar & sea salt on low heat until melted completely into a caramel.  
2. Immediately pour the mixture to the bottom of a 9" cake pan. It will cool very quickly so this step is critical or you will need to reheat the sugar again.  
3. Mix the eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla extract, & ground cinnamon together in a basin or pot. Mix until smooth. 
4. Pour this mixture over the caramel. 
5. Take a long Pyrex pan that will fit the cake pan inside it, add boiling water about 1/2 full. Put the Pyrex in the oven first, then place the cake pan inside of it. 
6. Bake on 350 for 60 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean. The flan will be jiggly.
7. Let cool, run a sharp knife along the edge, then take a plate or serving platter and place it on top of the cake pan. Flip it over so the flan falls out evenly on top of the dish.  
8. Add fresh berries if desired & enjoy! Refrigerate for storage.