Holiday Macarons

The first time I tried macarons was at the Macaron Café in Midtown, Manhattan. I had seen many photos of them prior to that and always wondered if they were as tasty as they were pretty. And were they ever. Those macarons melted in my mouth and made my eyes close with pleasure. Even today, whenever I am in the area, I indulge and buy a box of six.

Since preparing healthier alternatives to old favourites is what I love, I decided it was time to conquer the macarons. And what better time to do it than the winter holidays? They are sweet, colourful, and overall cheerful - a wonderful treat and a nice gift.

For the flavours, I went with seasonal fruits like persimmon and pomegranate and two powders I had on hand - matcha and blueberry. Each created a beautiful colour, no artificial dye required.

We decorated our tree yesterday. It's a beauty and fills the home with the smell of pine. Paloma was thrilled when she came home from day care and found the tree all lit up in our living room. She couldn't stop singing this song, which is a traditional Russian jingle about the New Year's tree.

The macarons were a success, everyone in the family enjoyed them with a hot cup of tea or two. The persimmon kind were voted the popular favourite.

This blog will soon turn ONE, sometime in January. We'd like to thank all of Golubka's dear readers for the overwhelming support and wonderful feedback each one of you has given, either by commenting or simply stopping by and reading. Every one of your visits and comments is greatly appreciated. Thank you so very much!!!

Happy holidays! Stay happy and healthy!

Persimmon Macarons

1/2 cup fresh persimmon puree
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup raw agave syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

In a blender, blend 2-3 ripe persimmons to the consistency of a smooth puree. Take 1/2 cup of it, reserving the rest for later use in macaron cream. In a food processor, combine the puree with the rest of the ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Spread evenly on Teflex-lined dehydrator trays. Using a cookie cutter or shot glass, cut circular shapes out of the "dough". Reform the dough that remains from the circles and cut out again. If the dough is too moist and sticky to cut, place the tray in the freezer for 10 minutes or dehydrate for 30 minutes prior to cutting. Dehydrate at 115F for around 8 hours or more, until dry on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.

Pomegranate Macarons

1/2 cup fresh pomegranate puree
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup raw agave syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

To make pomegranate puree, combine 1 cup of dried black mission figs (soaked for 2-3 hours) with 2 cups of fresh pomegranate juice in a high-speed blender to reach a smooth consistency. Take 1/2 cup, reserving the rest for later use in pomegranate cream. In a food processor, combine the puree with the rest of the ingredients until mixed thoroughly. Spread evenly on Teflex-lined dehydrator trays. Using a cookie cutter or shot glass, cut circular shapes out of the "dough". Reform the dough that remains from the circles and cut out again. If the dough is too moist and sticky to cut, place the tray in the freezer for 10 minutes or dehydrate for 30 minutes prior to cutting. Dehydrate at 115F for around 8 hours or more, until dry on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.

Matcha Macarons
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tablespoon matcha powder
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup raw agave syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until mixed thoroughly. Spread evenly on Teflex-lined dehydrator trays. Using a small cup or shot glass, cut circular shapes out of the "dough". Reform the dough that remains from the circles and cut out again. The dough may be a little crumbly for the task, but it will stick together nicely after dehydration. Dehydrate at 115F for around 8 hours or less, until dry on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.

Blueberry Macarons
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
5 teaspoon blueberry powder OR 1/2 cup fresh blueberry puree
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup raw agave syrup
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until mixed thoroughly. Spread evenly on Teflex-lined dehydrator trays. Using a small cup or shot glass, cut circular shapes out of the "dough". Reform the dough that remains from the circles and cut out again. If using the blueberry powder, the dough may be a little crumbly for the task, but it will stick together nicely after dehydration. Dehydrate at 115F for around 8 hours or less, until dry on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.

Macaron Cream
We used Artisana coconut butter for the base of the cream. Place the butter jar into warm water to soften the butter up. In separate bowls, mix the butter with the reserved persimmon, and pomegranate purees, matcha, and blueberry powder to achieve desired colors. Add raw agave syrup or other preferred sweetener to taste.

Building Block Cakes on Sasha's Birthday

First, apologies for being away for a little while. Between finals and some unexpected health problems, we've had a bit of a hard time keeping up with the blog.

Now, let me take you back to a warm October day in Tampa. Sasha's first birthday.

Sasha is my friend N.'s son. N. is a great interior designer and has a deep love for modern design. She wanted to have something healthy and unique as Sasha's birthday cake. A dessert that echoed the architecture of Glazer Children's Museum (where we celebrated) with its basic shapes and flat colours.

We decided on individual cakes shaped as the sort of wooden building blocks we had as kids. There was no messy icing, so the children could just grab the cakes and eat them without any utensils and minimal staining.

For the presentation, N. had the idea of a black board and chalk. In Russian schools, it is a custom for the teachers to put down the day's date on the board at the beginning of each class. We wrote October 9th, 2010.

For the base of the cakes, I used this recipe for chocolate truffles. For wrapping - this one from our Colour Wheel Wraps. I use them quite a lot - the wraps come out sturdy, pretty, and tasty.

Sasha and Paloma spend two days a week together. They are an ideal pair, as they both live to eat and are very fond of second helpings.

Sasha is Paloma's only younger friend, and although she's not always gentle with him, she has been learning about being older and acting accordingly.

The celebration was lots of fun. N. did a beautiful job organizing the venue. The birthday boy enjoyed the dessert and seemed prepared to eat most of the blocks.

Chocolate Truffle recipe here

Colour Wrapper recipe here (minus salt and pepper)

I made the different shapes by putting the chocolate mass into molds. The spheres were created by simply rolling between palms. I cut the exact sizes and shapes of the cakes out of the colour wraps and put them onto the blocks. The colour sheets stuck well without any glueing agent.