I had visions of watching a happy, bubbly baby entertaining themselves on a play mat in the living room while baking up a storm in the kitchen.  Obviously I had not been exposed to many infants in my life. How wrong I was (LOL)!

Time for baking or blogging, or really anything but 100% care for baby Nina, has been limited.  Do not get me wrong.  It is not a complaint.  Just an observation.

But in saying that, with a few urgent outstanding ‘housekeeping’ tasks growing on my to-do list, I decided to stay awake after bub’s first night feed and get them off my plate, so to speak.  With that now done, and with her next waking imminent, I decided quickly finish the last post of Pink month (now last month’s key theme – whoops, better late than never, right?).

I wanted to end this month with macarons.  For obvious reasons.  I confess I did not bake these macarons fresh.  The bright pink shells were from an extra batch I made just before Nina was born.  However, I did make the filling.  Well, if you can call it filling.

To explain …

It was Mr Mélanger’s birthday two weeks ago.  Each year it is now tradition that I bake him a Black Forest Cake.  Earlier in the year, I had agreed to make the 10 layer Black Forest Cake that featured on Masterchef.  (See first paragraph again for my perhaps ignorance with the time available to do this.)

The task was only accomplished by Mr Mélanger exclusively taking care of baby Nina one weekend morning while I beavered away in the kitchen for what seemed to be hours.

After the final assembly of this cake (which I must recommend!), there was a smattering of components left over.  Some kirsch soaked cherries and a heaping of ultra rich chocolate praline mousse.  My mind quickly ticked over for how I may be able to incorporate these flavours into a macaron.

So the next day I piped a little mousse around a macaron shell and popped a cherry in between, snapped a few photographs, et voilà, here we are!

The result?  The nuttiness of the rich chocolate praline mouse paired wonderfully with the almond based macaron shell.  The overall flavour rounded out by the juicy cherries.  An accidental combination, but a delicious outcome.

A cheat’s petit four?  Yes.  Delicious?  Yes!

{ Cherry macarons }

Pink macaron shells (recipe below)
Chocolate hazelnut praline mousse (recipe below)
Cherry compote (recipe below)

{ Standard macaron recipe }
Italian meringue method

* Ingredients *
100g egg whites
3g egg white powder
125g almond meal
125g icing sugar
Food colour (optional)
For the syrup:
150g sugar and 50ml water

* Directions *
Process the almond meal and icing sugar together.  In a mixer, add half the egg whites with the egg white powder.  Whip to soft peaks.  Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring the water and sugar for the syrup to 117C (or 242F) on a candy thermometer.  Once ready, slowly add the boiling syrup to the egg whites and continue to whip on medium speed until they thick and shiny and are completely cooled (about 10 minutes).  At the final changes of whipping the meringue, add the food colouring (if using).  Mix the remaining egg whites to the sifted almond mixture and fold into the meringue in four parts.

Pipe macarons on lined baking sheets. Double up your baking sheets if you do not have professional grade quality.  Let your macarons sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. Bake at 140C or 280F for 15-18 minutes (depending on size).  Fill with ganache or filling of your choice.  Refrigerate to set.

Depending on your size, the standard macaron recipe should make between 20-25 finished macarons – around 40-50 unfilled shells.

New to making macarons? French macarons :: my ‘how to’ will get you started.

{ Chocolate hazelnut praline mousse } recipe by Gary Mehigan, MasterChef

* Ingredients *
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup hazelnuts, toasted lightly and skinned
300g chopped dark chocolate
3 egg yolks
300ml thickened cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

* Directions *
Line a baking sheet. In a dry heavy-based saucepan, cook sugar over medium heat, stirring, until melted. Once melted, cook without stirring, swirling pan, until lightly golden. Add hazelnuts, stirring until well coated. Immediately pour mixture onto the baking sheet and cool completely, in blast chiller for 5 minutes. Break praline into pieces. Place into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk the egg yolks in a small heatproof bowl. Heat 250ml of the cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir through half of the hot cream into the egg yolks. Return the mixture to the saucepan over low heat and stir until thickened. Strain into a clean bowl. Stir the melted chocolate into the hot custard. Add the vanilla and allow to cool. Whisk the remaining cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into the chocolate mixture with the praline, until just combined. Set aside.

{ Cherry compote } recipe by Gary Mehigan, MasterChef

* Ingredients *
1/3 cup caster sugar
600g pitted fresh cherries, halved
1 tbs kirsch

* Directions *
Add the sugar to a non-stick saucepan and place over medium heat. Once the sugar begins to dissolve add the cherries and cook until they start to release their juices. Add the brandy and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and thickened. Strain, reserving liquor.