「桜と抹茶のマカロン」Cherry Blossom Macarons with Green Tea Buttercream

finally completed 1st attempt @ macarons!

baked 3 different sets 3 different ways & ONE set has feet! WOOHOO!!! the AirBake tray batch had a little bit of feet, but that made my day!!!

i end'd up aging my egg whites for 5 days, so i consider'd toss'n them out, BUT i couldn't! i love eggs! can't waste them. so...

@ 9:30 pm, i setup shop in the basement on top of the washer, so as to not wake my Pops.

here's the final product after all that macaronnage'n/macaronner'n. hehe.

ready to bake. into the small oven u go.

sakura flavor with maccha on top.

plain sakura flavor'd with sakura extract

sakura sakura - sakura flavor with sakura sugar - sugar with dried sakura flower petals & leaves

my feet-less macarons

these have feet!!! thank u AirBake!!!

boobie pads? LOL!

can u spot a very dirty pup? Yup tofupuppy likes to snooze in the kitchen doorway with all the smelly dirty shoes. silly puppy!

more pictures in the morning!!!

[update] more pictures!!!

very simple yet delicious 抹茶 buttercream

VOILA!

set up shop out in the yard with tons of props, then it start'd rain'n. yes, showers are expect'd: April Showers bring May Flowers.

bought this lovely bunny set in Hiroshima during 2009

PRETTY!!!

bought this lovely bunny set (bunny not shown) from Tokai @ Porter Exchange.

here's my favorite shot while browsing thru my camera

my pretty Hello Kitty tea cup from either Hiroshima or Kyoto

which one do u prefer: sakura macarons with sakura flowers & leaves sprinkled on top or sakura macarons with maccha sprinkled on top?

Sakura Macarons

(original recipes from I Love Macarons by Hisako Ogita)

2/3 cup ground almonds

1 1/2 cup powder'd sugar

3 large egg whites, @ room temperature (i aged mine's 4-5 days...hehe)

5 T granulated sugar

1 t sakura extract (original recipe uses vanilla extract)

1. in a food processor, grind almond flour & powder'd sugar together, then sift twice (took me an hour to sift once, so i just sift'd once, guess my strainer was too fine)

2. in a bowl, beat egg whites on high until foamy, gradually add granulated sugar, beat until stiff & glossy, add sakura extract, beat until mix'd in

3. add half of the almond sugar mixture, stir, add the rest, mix in circular motion

4. when u no longer see the flour, press & spreah out the batter against the side of the bowl, scoop batter from the bottom and turn upside down. repeat 15 times

5. pour batter into pastry bag with a wide-ish tip (depends on size u want ur macarons)

6. pipe out same size circles on baking sheet

7. when done piping, rap/hit the bottom of the baking sheet a few times

8. dry the batter for 30 minutes or more, up to when the surface is no longer sticky to the touch

9. bake with 2 trays stacked (i used 1, but airbake tray helped the feet form (kinda)) in preheated oven @ 375 F for 15-18 minutes

Maccha Buttercream

7 T unsalted butter, room temperature

3 T water

3 T granulated sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla extract

1 T maccha (green tea powder)

1. microwave the water & sugar for 3 minutes

2. beat the egg until foamy, pour in hot syrup in a thin stream while mixing the egg, mix until white & heavy, quadrupled in size

3. add butter to the egg mixture in 3 batches while beating the mix, add green tea powder, beat buttercream until fluffy & creamy (egg & butter will separate while beating, just keep going)

ENJOY!