Peanut Butter filled Chocolate Macarons

A perfect macaron is one with a firm shell and a gooey center. It is one where the instant you take a bite, you wouldn't be able to resist taking another. Your taste buds are suddenly awakened by the sweet bang of the macaron.

Patience is the ultimate key to a perfect macaron.

Chocolate Macarons

Ingredients

- 110g almond flour

- 200g minus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

- 100g egg whites (from about 3 eggs), aged at room temperature for 24 hours

- 50g granulated sugar

Line two baking dishes with baking paper.

Mix the almond flour, confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl to combine.

In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy. With the mixer still running, slowly add the sugar. Beat the mixture until it is shiny and stiff peaks form.

Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the almond mixture into the egg white mixture - you want to work quickly but try not to deflate the egg whites too much. Fold until no streaks remain; the batter will be thick and should fall from the rubber spatula in thick ribbons.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe 1-1 1/2 inch rounds onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space between them.

Set aside at room temperature for an hour. You want a soft shell to form.

Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Bake for 12 minutes - the tops should look dry and matte.

Transfer the baking sheet with macarons to a cool tabletop and let the macarons cool completely.

Once cool, pair the cookies by size.

Peanut Butter Buttercream
Ingredients

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

- 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

- pinch table salt

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1 tablespoon heavy cream

In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter at medium-high speed until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and salt to the bowl and beat at low speed just until the sugar is moistened. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat the mixture until fully combined. Finally, mix in the vanilla and heavy cream and beat to incorporate.

Pipe a small dollop of peanut butter buttercream onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair. Sandwich the two cookies together, gently pushing the peanut butter buttercream to the edges.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Sorbet

Studying in a private school, extra-curricular activities are an absolute must, even if it meant sacrificing a day of books.

As a part of our extra-curricular activities, we were required to come up with a new product, be it technology, food, clothes, practically anything under the sun. So my group, Sher Enterprise, and I decided to choose food and come up with a fat-free nutritious ice cream substitute, called Fruitsicles.

So what is it that is so special about Fruisicles? Isn't it just another dumb ice cream product that makes you so addicted to it, you'd have to run 15 minutes on the treadmill just to burn off that one sinful scoop? If that was your perception on it, then I beg to differ.

Fruitsicles is no ordinary ice cream. It is a fat-free, mouth-watering substitute to ice cream (as stated above), and the best thing about it? You won't feel guilty even after 10 bites.

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar (you can use sucrose)
- 2 cups water
- 8 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup corn syrup (or honey for a more natural feel)


Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and allow the mixture to simmer, without stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.
Set aside to cool completely. I placed it in the freezer for 15 minutes to speed up the process.

Puree the strawberries and lime juice in a blender.

Press the strawberry puree through a strainer to remove the seeds.

When the sugar syrup has cooled completely add it to the strawberry puree.
Add the honey and stir well.


Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Sorbet is particularly soft after churning but firms up after freezing.

Enjoy!

Granola Bars

My father and brother both have this bad habit of going to work on a half-empty stomach every morning, and hoping that the tiny meal they had that morning would last them throughout the entire day.

As the only person who cooks in this family, I feel that it is my duty to take that habit away.

But how, I ask myself, am I going to do that if the only time I ever see them is before they leave for work? I had to think of grab-and-go meal, something they could easily take out whenever they felt a hunger coming on.

My solution? Easy-peasy Granola Bars.

These nutritious, calorie-free bars are child's play.

So here's my recipe.

Ingredients :

- 200g oats

- 100g wheat-germ

- 50g hazelnut

- 75g sunflower seeds

- 175g almonds

- 125g brown sugar

- 250g honey

- 1/3 cup butter

- 125g dried fruits

- 2 tbsp cinnamon powder

- 1 tbsp vanilla essence

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).

To crush the hazelnuts and almonds, pulse them in a food processor for about 30 seconds.

Then, mix the oats, wheat-germ, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts and almonds in a baking dish. Toast them in the oven for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes so they don't burn.

Meanwhile, line a baking dish for your granola with baking paper.

Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.

By now, your grains and nuts should be toasted, so mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains, the liquid 'glue', and the dried fruit.

Make sure you mix everything REALLY well because you want everything to stick together with the 'glue'. Now dump everything into your baking dish lined with baking paper.

Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Place another baking paper sheet on top of your mixture and press very hard all over. You want everything to be very compact so that your bars won't fall apart when you cut them.

Let the granola bars cool. I placed them right in front of a fan to speed up the process.

Slowly place the cooled granola onto a large cutting board and cut them into desired shapes.

Enjoy!