I was making a list of things I want to do before I turn 18, and one was to learn how to cook macaroons. I found this recipe online at this website and they look to die for. I will make them one day and let you know how it goes!

 

Ingredients

1. 50g ground almonds
2. 140g icing sugar
3. 2 large egg whites
4. 1 tbsp caster sugar
5. Pink food colouring paste
6. 3 tbsp good-quality strawberry jam

Method

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan170°C/gas 5. Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2. 2. Sieve the ground almonds and icing sugar together into a large bowl. Put the egg whites into a separate bowl, and using an electric hand whisk, beat to soft peaks. Add the caster sugar, and whisk until glossy. Fold into the almond and icing sugar mixture, along with a very small amount of the pink food colouring. Mix until just combined and evenly pink – the mixture will reduce as the air bubbles in the meringue burst.
3. 3. Put the mixture into a disposable piping bag, snip off 1cm from the end. Pipe small blobs (about 1 heaped teaspoon each) onto the baking paper, spaced apart, so you have about 50 in total. Set aside for 10 minutes to dry – this is important as it gives the macaroons the correct texture. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn the whole sheet of paper over – the macaroons will be stuck so won’t fall off. Bake for another 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.
4. 4. Peel off the baking paper from the macaroons, then sandwich 2 together with a tiny blob of strawberry jam in the centre. Repeat to give you 25 in total.

Nutritional info

Per macaroon (based on total of 25): 42kcals, 1.1g fat (0.1g saturated), 0.7g protein, 7.9g carbs, 7.8g sugar, trace salt

Chef's tip

Cook the macaroons on the middle and top shelves of the oven, and swap the trays around once the macaroons have been flipped over. Store the macaroons in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 

Paris in the 1950's

The visual inspiration page this week will be full of the glamorous fashion decades, the 1950's, in one of my Favorite cities, Paris! I hope you like it! Have a great Friday!

(All pictures found on we heart it and tumblr)

Avenue Pierre Lotti

Bonjour mon ami!

Before I get to the real post, I want to mention that this post is for my friend Danielle. Danielle is very cute, but she doesn't like people calling her that, so since I know she is reading this I will have to make you all pretend that she isn't cute at all, ok? So, to clear things up, Danielle is not cute and I never said she was.

Danielle loves france, wants to be a tour guide for the Eiffel Tower when she is older, and she has a boyfriend called Pierre. I've never met him, but I am told that he is magnificent.

(image from alexiousss.tumblr.com) He owns a macaroon and ice-cream shop in the heart of Paris, and he makes Danielle macaroons everyday. Wonderful, hey? Almost like a fairytale. It seems too perfect to be realistic, but that is what I'm told...

Now to the real post: 
I was looking on google maps this morning, and I wondered what the Eiffel Tower would look like in satellite view. I looked it up, and it looked beautiful! I was gasing at it, and looking at the streets surounding it, when I saw something that brought a huge smile to my face... the street directly across from the Eiffel Tower is called, 'Avenue Pierre Loti'! I just had to tell you all. Pierre, the eiffel tower, and my utterly lovely friend Danielle where meant to be together.
That's all for now. Au reviour!

 

(Image from maps.google.com)