Mint Julep Macaron

The Kentucky Derby is fast approaching. Before you pick out your fabulous hat and brush up on the words to "My Old Kentucky Home," you may want to consider making Mint Julep Macarons. They are sure to become a new Derby tradition and they are the first jewel in my Triple Crown Macarons. Yes there are more to come!

So let’s start our run for the roses by reviewing the recipe for a traditional Mint Julep.

To make one you will need:

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon water

8 fresh mint leaves and sprigs for garnish

1 cup crushed ice

2 ⅔ ounces bourbon

In a mint julep cup stir together sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Add mint and gently muddle. Fill cup with ice and top with bourbon. Stir until outside of the cup is frosty. Add in mint sprigs as garnish.

Sounds good? It makes an even better macaron.

I make all of my macarons following Hisako Ogita’s book “I ♥ Macarons.” For the filling I do use a Swiss Meringue Buttercream… I don’t know where it came from but it is so amazing. The variations for the flavors are very simple and easy to incorporate.

To make the macaron batter follow Ogita’s book and incorporate 1 tablespoon dried mint leaves into the dry ingredients. I split my batter into two. I did this so I could leave one half bare and make one half colored.

For the Bourbon infused Swiss Buttercream Meringue you will need:

3 large egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

2 sticks of butter, softened

1 tablespoon Bourbon

Now let’s make it:

Combine egg white and sugar in a heatproof mixer bowl and set over a simmering saucepan. Whisk until the sugar is dissolves. The mixture will be about 160°F. Remove from heat and with an electric mixer beat for 5-7 minuets until stiff peaks form. Slowly add in softened butter, about a tablespoon at a time. When the Buttercream becomes smooth add in the vanilla and bourbon.

When putting your macarons together place a fresh leaf of mint in the Buttercream for the finishing touch.

Helpful Links:

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/
http://www.chroniclebooks.com/index/main,book-info/store,books/products_id,8167/title,I-Love-Macarons/

Zopf (Swiss Braided Bread)

I wish I knew more about this bread first hand... sad to say I had to look up info about it online. All I knew about it, when I first made it, was that it was a Swiss bread and like all things Swiss it was simple with wonderful craftsmanship. Zopf is a braided white bread and the first bread I ever made. Let me tell you, this is the type of bread to give a new baker the confidence to make any bread.

This Zopf pictured in the posting is my Easter Zopf. I colored it like an Easter egg and covered it with poppy seeds (to make it look Polish next to the Easter Lamb cake.)

Let me set the scene for this Easter. Family holidays = StReSs! Three generations of women (grandmother, mother, aunts, cousins) all running around cooking and setting the table and running to the store because someone forgot she made pretzel bread on Saturday and used up the flour. The yeast sat waiting a little longer than expected but still mixed wonderfully with the flour. I had time to kill and had the movie GiGi on.

"The night they invented champagne
It's plain as it can be
They thought of you and me
The night they invented champagne
They absolutely knew
That all we'd want to do
Is fly to the sky on champagne"

Oh what a wonderful idea… this isn't call LUSH-ous baking for nothing and isn't Cook's champagne made for those who are cooking for a family meal. So here is how to make Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzoopppppfffffff the bread so easy to make you could make it drunk. (Please have a designated sober baker there to do the oven work, that would be a bad way to get burned.)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp active dried yeast

1 tsp clover honey

1 cup lukewarm whole milk

4 tbsp melted butter

3 ¾ cups bread flour

1 egg

1 egg yolk to brush on bread

Now Make It:

Combine honey, milk, butter and yeast and set aside for 15 minuets, it will get a little frothy.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Make a well and add the egg and yeast mixture. ( for the spring look, I added in food coloring to the yeast mixture just before I added it into the flour and egg. OH yeah and to get the three colors in one loaf I made enough dough for three loaves. )

Combine well and when you have a rough dough transfer it to a floured surface and knead until smooth (get some tension out… Just picture the dough as one of the guys standing in the kitchen eating the carrots you just pealed for the casserole, ass ... OK, maybe not because you don't want to over work the dough).

Place dough in a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it double. (You will know it is ready when it doesn't rise up after you put a thumb print in it. It takes about two hours, this is when you can get your drink on.)

Grease a baking sheet. Punch the dough down and divide into 3-4 equal parts. Roll each into a long thin rope. Bring one end of the ropes together and braid. Be creative. I used a fish tail braid, which required four ropes. When you get to the end tuck the ends under the braid.

Once again cover the bread loosely and let set aside for another 30 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Brush bread with egg yolk, add poppy seeds if you would like and bake for 30-40 minutes. It will have a beautiful golden color.

Pretzel Bread

The smell of brats is in the air.
The Brewers just had the home opener.
It is Spring and Baseball season.
OK... I am not going to lie, I don't follow baseball but baseball season is one time of the year that drunkeness is the all American way of being... Kinda like St Paddy's day.
So here is something for all you baseball fans.
Pretzel Bread!
You will need:

1 package dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
egg yokes to brush on dough
Coarse Salt ( didn't have any so I used fleur de sal, it worked out wonderfully)
To Make: (it is simple)

Put yeast, melted butter, sugar and warm water in a bowl and wisk until the yeast is dissolved.

Set aside.

In a large bowl wisk salt and flour together.

Add yeast mix to the flour mix.
Knead dough until smooth.

Place dough in clean bowl, cover, place in a warm spot and leave it alone until it doubles.

Preheat oven to 400° and grease what ever you want to bake your bread on or in. You can make pretzels if you want or mini loaves, or I put them in a cupcake pan so they would look like little baseball.
Form your dough and then brush with egg and top with coarse salt.

Bake bread for 30 mins... well it all depends on what you are making. The pretzels will be less, the loaves will be more.

Enjoy with some Wisconsin Cheese and a Miller.

About Time Milwaukee

I am so happy that Milwaukee is finally getting into the beauty of French Macarons. Check out the Journal Sentinel's article on macarons.

http://www.jsonline.com/features/food/88866647.html

I am all for supporting the bakers in Milwaukee that sells macarons. Milwaukee's Third Ward had Harlequin and they left =( so please please please support our local bakeries.

If you plan to make your own, I suggest that you use I Heart Macarons by Hisako Ogita. (Chronicle Books)