It's that time again...macaroons!

My mum requested macaroons so I turned to Marian Keyes again and picked the Tiramisu ones as I had most of the stuff.

It was all going so well, except when I added the almonds it was really dense and I was a little concerned so I added the coffee and it was fine.

I had the circles all drawn out on the baking paper and then when all the mixture was mixed up I didn't pipe or use a spoon I used my hands to roll the mixture into a ball and put on the circles.

When I put them in the oven after the time they had expanded dramatically again, I have a feeling it is my oven that is nuclear and usually burns everything, it cooked them but they were massive.

Also the filling was meant to be mascarpone cheese and coffee. However, they didn't have any in the shop, so I bought some double cream and when I got home I whisked it up and added some sugar and the coffee and made coffee cream.

Rather than tiramisu they were coffee but everyone loved them, even if they aren't quite Paris standard...still! But at least they weren't burnt.

But Marian Keyes is still my macaroon queen.

Red Velvet cupcakes with a difference



I suppose I have always been a little frightened of making red velvet cupcakes, some of the recipes seem very involved and complicated.


Also I have had issues with cream cheese frosting.

However, yet again Marian Keyes is my saviour! Although you have to put in the vanilla essence, white wine vinegar, cocoa powder etc in a particular order and mix in between can seem a little daunting, I thought as it had no icing I would give them a go.

Also no frosting, you make the cream cheese filling bit with the cream cheese and sugar and once you have made the chocolate part you layer them and mix them to get the marble effect.

I was a little unsure but they turned out really nice and were worth the number of bowls to get the different bits.

My cupcakes always turn out massive though but I think everyone appreciates them

Red velvet cupcakes done! Now what's next....

Things aren't always what they seem....

Now to some, due to the size, these may look like Whoopie pies, like cupcakes but like a mini dense sponge.

But alas these are not Whoopie pies but massive macaroons.

My mum asked me to make some macaroons and I felt after the last disaster I needed to try them again. With my faith in Marian Keyes I knew as a non-baker her recipe would be perfect for me to get back onto the baking horse, so to speak.

You add melted chocolate to the egg whites, which deflates the mixture but Marian says not to fear, this is what is meant to happen.

These are less hassle as you don't pipe them out but use a spoon.

Now this is where the problem of size started. This mixture was meant to make 12 pairs, 24 singles, due to my big dollops I made 14 singles, so 8 pairs...ah well!

I then got on to the filling which was delicious. 

Due to the massive size of the macaroons I did some on their own and some as a sandwich as they could be a bit too much.

These were delicious and the size aside I think I have nailed the macaroon mixture, thank you Marian Keyes you have restored my faith in macaroons.

Marian's mixture uses more ground almonds than other recipes which I think is better.
If you are unsure about macaroons try Marian's not hussle or fiddly.

Chocolatey and delicious!

Saved by the Cake - Blondie cupcakes

For my birthday I was given  Marian Keyes' new book 'Saved by the Cake' - a cake cook book.

I am a big fan of Marian Keyes' other books including her fiction and journalism articles so it was a no brainer when I saw she had a cook book I asked for it for my birthday.

There are a load of great recipes, and as Marian is not a cook they are laid out in easy terms that even a novice won't be put off.

Flicking through I was tempted to do quite a few the cheesecakes look amazing but instead I decided on Blondie cupcakes.

Blondies are like brownies, but use white chocolate instead of milk. In this instance as well Marian has decided to make cupcakes. Best of all they have no icing as at the moment icing sugar seems to be my nemesis.

Over the weekend at a bit of a loose end I decided to give them a go.

You melt butter and the white chocolate together, I did it in 30 second blasts in the microwave, the smell of butter is not nice though I really didn't like.

You only use the electric whisk to mix the eggs and sugar, you fold the flour and everything else together with a spatula which is a little different from other recipes. It did make it lighter though, you then add the nuts and the rest of the chocolate, put it in the cases and put in the oven.

They are delicious lovely creamy chocolate and the hazelnuts, the recipe said you should use macadamia nuts or hazelnuts.

They were easy to make and really nice.

Give them a go.