Finally I did it!
After 3 futile attempts
3 recipes - all from reputed sources, throughly tested/experimented and proven success by the creators,
which all went into my garbage bin!
I finally did it on my 4th attempt yesterday using a very simple, no fuss and straight forward recipe
from another reputable pastry Chef turn blogger - Mr David Lebovitz
he is the writer of My Sweet Life in Paris
where the recipe I experimented with yesterday originally comes from
On my first 3 attempts I played around first with a French macaron technique similar to the one I made yesterday tetapi measurement bahan-bahan dan pantang larang yang berbeza
Ramai orang cakap buat macaron ni banyak pantang larang
You have to get the right temperature for your oven, kalau panas sangat macs pecah (cracks)
You have to stop beating your meringue at the right time if not menjejaskan your mac, tak keluar feet!
Your almond meal, icing sugar and egg whites have to be the correct amount kalau your batter tak boleh hold its shape - pecah keluar berair masa bakar
You have to let your macs dry betul-betul sama form shell baru bakar if you don't want your macs turn runny nanti
Jangan terlebih fold the almond mixture lah
Haiiishhhh 1001 pantang larang yang can drive you crazy
Punyalah frust bila 3 kali buat tukar method from French mac to Italian mac pun result tetap sama
Straight to the dustbin!
The things is that saya ada banyak egg whites leftover daripada buat kek lapis.
I stored them in the freezer and they are piling up
I don't know what to do with them
Nak buat macs dah 3 kali failed
I still have plenty and my maid dah bersuara minta izin nak buang sebab nak clearkan ruang freezer to store benda lain
Saya tak bagi buang, sayang
lagipun deep down saya masih simpan impian nak buat macaron sampai berjaya
I think finally my silent prayers have been answered
I stumble upon David Lebovitz recipe by chance while bloghopping
The lady who gave lebovitz recipe a try cakap it was so easy and it was her first attempt terus menjadi!
When she describe the batter as stiff sampai nak picit pun susah I have a feeling that this one is going to be a success
Sebab all my 3 batter dulu a bit runny - barangkali saya overbeat or underbeat the meringue - sebab semua banyak pantang larang don't do this don't do that kita pun jadi keliru
But this time around, the recipe tersangatlah ringkas
A no fuss recipe - nothing says like you don't do this or that
Just beat the meringue until stiff, like really stiff pun tak kisah
I fold the almond, cocoa powder and icing sugar mixture with spatula entah berapa kali pusing ikut suka hati janji dia well blended
Almond meal pun saya tak sift campak je masuk janji jangan berketul
The batter tak runny, saya dah separuh happy... I can see success at the end of it
I don't care lah kalau my macs bertanduk
Yes orang kata macs bertanduk tu because batter too stiff
Lantaklah... janji menjadi, I need it to happen this time
after 3 futile attempt saya perlu sangat untuk boost balik my morale
And voila!
While the macs were in the oven saya isi perut
And heyyy... dari ekor mata saya perasan kenapa macs saya macam naik tinggi sikit
Saya pi renung dekat-dekat whooaaaa ho!
My macs have feet! They have feet!
Ada yang feet muncul sebelah je sebab saya paip batter menyenget, batter tinggi sebelah hence the senget feetMenjerit-jeritlah saya panggil Yaya show them to her (she is a mac addict now)
Dia pun menjerit "Yeayy ada kaki!"
Erpp... dia pun pandai cakap ada kaki... agaknya terdengar saya describe tempohari kat maid
The feet rise perfectly
Lantaklah bertanduk pun bukan boleh cucuk orang pun :-)Terus Yaya buat dance apa? Alah yang kalau you hit something right you buat this dance yang lenggok tangan in circle sambil goyang your hips tu
Haaa that dance... she thought me how to do that dance in my kitchen!
Nasib incik hubby takde, kalau tak mampus mother & daughter kena sembur
Terus dia ajak saya buat filing ganache. Tapi tak yah buat pun sebab ada baki coffe flavoured ganache tinggal lembutkan aja
Shellnya were so hard and crunchy tapi ditengahnya hollow...hmmm not so good sign but I'm content at the moment ;-)Seronoklah cik Yaya pipe the filing... dia nak terus ngap tapi saya pujuk suruh simpan dulu
Days old macs taste lebih sedap sebab the flavour dah comes together
So, my verdict is - I now declare david lebovitz recipe is a fool proof recipe for dummies (like me!).
Owh please go to David Lebovitz page for recipe ye.
