Dulce de Leche Macarons

And if you think I am done with Dulce de Leche, well you are wrong. I want to use it for everything at the moment. I made some rolled up French toasts recently and filled them with Dulce de Leche- it was divine!  One of the things I enjoy making most is macarons. They are also one of the hardest things I found to perfect, it took me months before I found ‘my’ recipe- that is a recipe that works for me and I am sticking to it! Macarons not only taste great but also look pretty and exciting as they can be made to be of any colour and any flavour, funky or sophisticated.

I will start with a few tips that I think might help in perfecting these little macarons,

1. I found after a lot of trials that my oven is not the best kind for macaron making. Since it is a fan oven, it seems to rip apart my macarons on the back row of the tray. To lessen the impact( though I cannot fully prevent it), I bake my macarons on the lowest rack of the oven. I put an empty tray directly on the shelf above the bottom rack as well.
2. I ALWAYS use parchment paper. I have tried using baking mat, baking sheet , greaseproof paper etc,  they did not work. Either the macarons did not form feet or stuck to the baking sheet. So parchment paper it is!
3. I put the egg whites in the fridge overnight though you might find varying opinions on this on the numerous macaron recipes and blogs. I have used fresh egg white which works as well but I find the overnight stored ones work just a tad bit better. Also I use a stainless steel bowl to beat the egg whites.

For the macaron shells

35 g almond flour
58 g icing/powdered sugar
36 g egg white (about 1 egg white)
18 g caster sugar
a pinch of salt
gel food colour

1. Pre-heat oven at 150 ˚C.
2. In a food processor, whizz the icing sugar and almond flour for about 2 minutes. Then sift it and let the last bit of granules remain, do not push them through the sieve and discard them.
3. In a stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg whites on a medium speed till it forms soft peaks. Then start adding the caster sugar and beat till stiff. Add salt and colour in the last couple of minutes. Do not over beat the egg white.
4. Now add the almond and sugar mixture in 3 parts and fold it in the egg white. This step is quite tricky and for me it took a few attempts to get the right consistency. What you are looking for is a stage when all the flour and sugar mixture is mixed and the consistency is such that the batter falls as smooth ribbons. For me it takes about 35-40 strokes.
5. Pipe small rounds on parchment lined baking sheet keeping adequate space between each macarons. I sprinkled some instant coffee granules on top of the shells.
6. Once piped, hold the tray and ram it on the counter 3 times. This will dislodge the air bubbles in the macarons.
7. Now let the macarons sit for about 15 minutes.
8. If your oven does not regulate temperature very well like mine, bake them at the bottom of the oven and put an empty baking sheet on the shelf directly above it. Bake for 10 minutes turning the tray around mid way.
9. Cool the macarons completely on wire rack.
10. Fill the macarons with Dulce de Leche. Store in an airtight box in the fridge over night so that the macarons mature. (Of course pop a few in your mouth before you do that.)

Enjoy!

 

Dulce de Leche Brownies

Well if you have already made Dulce de Leche, then you have got to make Dulce de Leche brownies! These brownies are fudgy, chocolatey and the Dulce de leche toffee like pieces in between make them incredibly tempting, it is difficult to stop just after one brownie.

(Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz)
Ingredients:

115g unsalted butter cut into pieces
170 g semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
25 g cocoa powder
3 large eggs
180 g granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
140 g plain flour
1 cup of Dulce de Leche (but if you are like me and love Dulce de Leche, you might want to use more than a cup!)
You can throw in about half a cup of roasted. chopped walnuts as well.

1. Pre heat oven to 175 ˚C fan oven.
2. Line a 20cm square or about a medium rectangular baking tin with foil and grease the foil all the way from bottom up to the sides with some butter.
3. Melt the cubed butter in a sauce pan and add the chocolate pieces, stir on low heat till all the chocolate melts. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and whisk them in.
5. Add sugar, vanilla extract and flour and mix it in. Do not over mix, just enough to get a smooth batter.
6. Pour in half the batter into the prepared foil lined tin. Add dollops of a third of the Dulce de Leche and use a knife or a skewer to swirl it around. Now pour in the rest of the brownie batter and then top it with dollops of the rest of the Dulce de Leche and swirl again.

1. Bake in the pre heated oven for 35-40 minutes. Do not over bake or the brownie will come out dry.You can check it with a skewer, it should come out with a few crumbs stuck to it.
2. Cool and cut into squares.These brownies keep for 2-3 days.

Thanks for stopping by and please leave comments below.

Dulce de Leche

This has to be by far the easiest recipe ever!! Dulce de leche is basically really thickened toffee like caramelized sweetened milk. If you like caramel, you will absolutely love this! The first time I had Dulce de Leche , it was in the form of an ice cream flavor, the Haagen Dazs Dulce de Leche, and it is one of my favorites. The consistency can be variable depending on how dense or runny you want. Since it stores so well, I love to just have some at hand in my fridge for ice cream topping or to bake goodies with it.

400g of condensed sweetened milk and a few flakes of sea salt.
well that’s all you need really!

Pour the condensed milk into an oven proof shallow dish and stir in the sea salt, cover it tightly with foil. Put the dish into a roasting tin, pour boiling water in the tin such that the water reaches half way up the oven proof dish. Bake in a 200 ˚C pre-heated oven for 1 -1 ¼ hour. Keep topping up water in the roasting tin every 20-30 minutes.

Take it out of the oven and whisk it so that it becomes smooth. When cool, store it in a jar in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.

Direction to use: Open fridge-open Dulce de Leche jar- eat spoonfuls, smile out of the utter happiness you feel from its decadent taste ! If you really want to use it for something else then go on and pour it over your ice cream, on your cake, in your pies, on your toast!