Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Challenging myself



The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S.
She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

I had very mixed feelings about this challenge.
I was curious to see what the fuss was all about with macarons, I wanted to see if they were really so hard to make and so delicious to taste.
But I couldn't fight reality, which is that my interest was all rational and I'm not quite attracted to these kind of sweets, so I ended up baking just the last day of the challenge month.

I'm so unfamiliar with them that I don't even know how close to the real deal mine turned out.



Given all this, of course I kept to the basics.
I went with 2/5 of the given recipe and made pinkies with white and dark chocolate ganache.




Next time I have the occasion to taste a professional one I will make sure to do that, to have an idea.

In the meantime, check for some more enthusiastic Daring Bakers in the DK Blogroll
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14 comments:

  1. LauraOctober 27, 2009 at 2:06 PM

    I had the pleasure of tasting the real macarons, They are soft, slightly chewy in the middle. I find them a little too sweet, but the filling in the middle is what makes them special. Did you like the ones you made? I hope so.

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  2. KitchenlanderOctober 27, 2009 at 2:27 PM

    Soft and slightly chewy, yes, which is what I'm not fond of, I'm more of a tart/cookie person.
    The ones I made were too sweet for me. But the 6yo was gobbling them down like crazy, I had to hide them to have daddy and the 4yo taste some.

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  3. JoOctober 27, 2009 at 3:24 PM

    I find macarons a bit too sweet as well but they are sure cute looking cookies though. Hope you get to try the real ones soon and great job in attempting this challenge.

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  4. nataliaOctober 27, 2009 at 5:15 PM

    Ciao ! La cosa buffa è che non piacciono neanche a me ma è il riuscirci che conta !.... Li vorrei riprovare con un altra ricetta e con dei ripieni degni di questo nome !!

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  5. kristenlyOctober 27, 2009 at 11:16 PM

    very cute! love the pink. well done.

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  6. kristenlyOctober 27, 2009 at 11:19 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. Jill @ Jillicious DiscoveriesOctober 28, 2009 at 2:32 AM

    Anna, I'm totally with you on this challenge--I do like the challenge of making macarons, but there are other desserts I'd rather eat. I love the pink and the different fillings you choose! I found this recipe didn't work very well for me.

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  8. CindystarOctober 28, 2009 at 7:25 AM

    ... forse l'aria italiana non è tanto per questi dolcetti francesini??? ...
    Elra ha lanciato l'idea di provare a rifarli con una meringa italiana ... me l'ha detto Natalia, vuoi che ci riproviamo tutte insieme?

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  9. AnonymousNovember 3, 2009 at 1:36 PM

    How is it even possible people don't like macarons? Per me sono il sogno proibito piu' peccaminoso di tutti! Ahhhhhhhh, a momenti svengo solo a pensarci!
    A me non piacciono le cose dolcissime (tipo, non mi piacciono i cupcakes), ma per i macarons vado pazza.

    Quelli super-originali della Duree (pasticceria parigina) sonola fine del condo e costano tipo 4 euro l'uno! Ma anche quelli piu' economici sono buonissimi.

    Per come la so io, il filling si deve come quasi amalgamare e confondere con le due parti solide, c'e' come un continuum fra solido-croccante e morbidino. Ahhhhhhh!
    La fine del mondo!

    Cat

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  10. UnknownNovember 3, 2009 at 4:02 PM

    Anna,
    Come sempre, complimenti per il blog! Fai delle foto fantastiche, ed e' un piacere leggere ogni ricetta che posti!

    A dire la verita', prima di venire qui in Giappone non sapevo cosa fossero questi macarons. Qui ne vanno matti, ma proprio matti, tant'e' che tra pasticcerie sembra quasi che facciano a gara per vedere chi riesce a creare i macarons piu' stravaganti! E naturalmente, questi dolcini non mancano assolutamente mai nelle pasticcerie d'altissima classe dove, generalmente, vengono messi in esposizione con la stessa cura con cui si sistema un collier di diamanti.

    Io li ho assaggiati per la prima volta in una pasticceria nel quartiere di Azabu, a Tokyo, e devo dire che mi sono piaciuti all'istante, tant'e' che ogni tanto ne compro qualcuno (solo qualcuno perche' costano uno sproposito). Quei primi che avevo assaggiato erano di gusti assortiti, ma ricordo che ce n'era uno al cioccolato, uno al fiore d'ibisco, e un altro al caramello e vaniglia (mi pare).

    I tuoi macarons, comunque, sono uno splendore! Brava, Anna!!

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  11. enzaNovember 28, 2009 at 7:28 AM

    anna io avevo ideato cose deliranti per il db sui macaron.
    delle frittatine sconsolate mi hanno fatto desistere dai miei sogni di gloria.

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  12. MusadinessunoDecember 20, 2009 at 9:23 PM

    Annina, where are you? :)

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  13. Jill @ Jillicious DiscoveriesDecember 28, 2009 at 5:54 AM

    Anna, I hope all is well with you and your famiy. I'm excited to see your gingerbread house! :)

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  14. JulesSeptember 25, 2011 at 10:17 PM

    How lovely! Very pretty Macarons x

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