Chocolate Macarons and making a little macaron tower

 
These chocolate macarons were part of the dessert table for my daughters birthday party and have to say I am a bit hooked. I thought these ones were the best I had tried yet, and I have made quite a few.

Although I did have a bit of a macaron disaster and dropped a whole tray on the floor getting them out of the oven. There's no saving a dropped macaron so I did the only thing possible when faced with this kind of situation.

Please don't judge me. Yup I ate them still warm. Macarons are such a funny thing, the ones that fell rounded side up were kinda ok, but the ones that fell 'feet' first stuck to the floor. I was home by myself and that ended up being my dinner - come on I said not to judge me.

Anyway that disaster had nothing to do with the recipe which is wonderful. Once again it's based on a Pierre Herme recipe.

Also have included a couple of pics of how I made the macaron tower. I didn't invent this they've been doing it in Paris for years and Adriano Zumbo recently showcased this dessert on Australian Masterchef.

Brisbane Hilton Materclass 2010 - Adriano Zumbo and a whole lot more

Just a break from my normal postings. I haven't really been baking for a week due to a sinus infection but I did attend the Brisbane Hilton Masterclass, here are a couple of pics.

Brisbane Hilton Masterclass, pre kids I used to attend these every year, so it's been a few years since I attended one but it lived up to my fond memories and didn't disappoint. I had a great time despite being on a blend of antibiotics and other prescription medication for a super sinus infection. Yup that meant no wine tastings for me, so I'll only be sharing the food portion of the day's experiences with you.

Session 1 - Queensland Catch - Nick Holloway, Russell Armstrong and Nick Ryan

Australian seafood and award winning chefs,  9 o'clock in the morning seemed too early to be enjoying these delicious dishes, but no one at our table was complaining, or leaving behind a morsel.

My favorite was the Crayfish and Avocado dish

Chilled Salad of Freshwater Crayfish, Avocado Shiso Cress and Fresh Wasabi, Toasted Sesame and Soy

Seared Hervey Bay Scallops on Skordalia and Gazpacho Gel

Butter Poached Prawn and Spiced Lentil Toasty with yogurt, Cucumber and Curry Leaf

Diamond Scaled Mullet, Creamed Lemon Polenta and Pancetta on a Niciose Styled Salad of Green Beans, Tomato and Olives

Session 2 - Passionate Patissier Adriano Zumbo

Adriano Zumbo - ok you know I was going to be at this session. However we were all a bit surprised when the recipe stated Adriano was making schnitzel and wagyu. But don't fret it was soon revealed that there was no meat in sight and these were indeed sweet dishes.

Adriano was refreshingly down to earth. His satirical take on desserts was visually amazing, inspired  by afternoons watching his father play lawn bowls. The textures and tastes worked together perfectly which was of course not surprising from the current Australian patisserie king.

Moderator Alastair McLeod pried out a number of stories regarding Adriano's rise to fame.

It was interesting to note that Adriano believes that the consumer no longer want's 'just sweet' which was reflected in his demonstration. How can you argue with someone who in 3 years has built a reputation which results in his store closing at lunchtime due to the inability to keep up with demand. But I'm not completely convinced, although these dishes were quite amazing given a choice for a morning snack I would definitely choose a more simple and traditional sweet dish. I assume that Adriano and other pastry chef's palates may become jaded with the daily assault of macarons and other 'sweet' pieces that the rest of us crave.

Despite his appearances on Masterchef Adriano is not a performer he is a pastry chef. This was the session I was most looking forward to and I still feel lucky that I was able to attend.

Dessert 'Schnitzel'

'Wagyu Steak'

and of course what Zumbo experience would be complete without some macarons.

Fairy Wand Cookies

These Fairy Wand Cookies I designed and made for my daughter's 6th birthday were inspired by the Funky Fairy cake I recently made at the Debbie Brown workshop. I thought that a smaller and simplified version would look amazing on some wand cookies.

The cookies were loved by all, and because all the little girls had already had enough to eat at the high tea, I wrapped them in plastic cello bags with a ribbon to take home. They looked sooo cute.

For display at the dessert table I  popped them into these mini tin planter like things I got from The Reject Shop (local thift store) for $3, stuck a couple of weights in the bottom (the type you tie balloons to for center pieces), some floral foam and some shredded wood. Viola stylish cookie pop stands.

Special cookie sticks which are food safe and ok for baking in ovens are available through specialty baking stores and cake decorating shops.

Not just cookies, fairy wand cookies are for playing make believe games with as well.

Instructions after jump.