vanilla rose meringues

100 g aged egg whites
200 g superfine sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 drops rose essence

beat egg whites until foamy, then add vanilla extract and rose essence. whip until soft peaks form, then gradually add sugar. Continue to whip until until mixture reaches a glossy, stiff meringue. pipe onto parchment covered baking sheets, and bake at 220 for 60-90 minutes, rotating pans 2 or 3 times during baking. leave in oven overnight to allow meringues to dry even further. you may also cook the meringues with the door of the oven slightly ajar to allow for steam to escape, and to aid in the drying of the meringues.

fill with a chocolate ganache, a raspberry white chocolate ganache, or whatever strikes your fancy.

back to the italian meringue:



the next time I do super red macarons, I'll make a cinnamon ganache;
this time I leaned on the simplest proportions ever::

ingredients

100 g whipping cream100 g valrhona guanaja 70%

1. chop chocolate in a double boiler.

2. bring milk to a boil, then pour over chocolate in three parts,
stirring after each addition to emulsify. let cool.

coconut pinkos!again, italian meringue, with a white chocolate coconut ganache:

8 oz white chocolate
3 oz coconut milk
4 oz sweetened coconut

melt chocolate in a double boiler and cool to 90 degrees. Add coconut milk and mix well. set aside until it sets, but do not refrigerate. when mixture has firmed up, place the bowl on top a double boiler until warmed throughout. beat mixture until smooth and creamy. mix in coconut.

I'm not sold on this recipe -- it's passable, but I think next time I'll try adapting mercotte's basic ganache montée recipe, or play around with a mixture of coconut milk and cream.

seeking a flat top, last night I went back to the french meringue
method, & experimented with making a chai macaron.



I was pleased with the cookie results, but wonder
what the best possible filling would be?

pictured here are chocolate ganache & caramel fleur de sel:
the chocolate was delicious, but overpowered the chai; t. liked
the caramel best, proclaiming it tasted just like a pumpkin
pie. miam! but pumpkin pie, ce n'est pas le chai.

I always want to shoot the sheet.

a lone, nude macaron from saturday's batch, awaiting filling:



sunday's batch: lopsided violets.



the worst offender, also my favorite: