Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Princess Macarons with Mini edible tiaras or how to eat a tiara 2


Ok these are my new favorite toppers.

Mini edible tiaras, seriously what's not to love, and with the right cutter you can whip up a stack of them and have them ready to pop onto pretty much anything to give it a bit of royal treatment.

Macarons.......check. Marshmallows........yup. Stacked cookies.....ah-huh.


They are really quite tiny, pretty much they just fit around my thumb. The cutter set I used (link here: Crowns Patchwork Cutters ) has a larger size tiara as well which is perfect for the top of a cake so you could make a whole princess (or prince/king) party.


Now I have made a video on how to make the tiara but as I was silly enough to start upgrading my other computer with the video on it and I think it will be another few days before I have access to it. In the meantime I have written out the instructions below.

How to make an edible tiara
You can use any cutter or hand cut the shape yourself, however I have included links to the cutter I used. If you scroll to the bottom of the post I have also included a recipe for small batch mexican paste which should make up a few dozen of these mini tiaras.

Ingredients

Mexican paste colored light orange or ivory (buy premix or see small batch recipe below)
tiara cutter (available here: Crowns Patchwork Cutters )
crisco or similar solid but soft white fat
2 X small white rolling pin - one for rolling the other (2cm or 3/4" for setting the tiaras onto to dry)
toothpick
edible gold dust*, rose spirits  and paint brush
or edible gold paint/spray

*make sure the dust or paint is edible, saying non toxic does not necessarily mean edible and many glitters and dusts sold in cake decorating stores are for decorative purposes only. The links below are edible.

US suppliers - Amazon



Available to Australia via Fishpond

Crowns Patchwork Cutters
Crowns Patchwork Cutters

Rub a little crisco onto the small tiara/crown cutter.

Using a small rolling pin roll out the mexican paste very thin (like really really thin) and press the tiara/crown cutter into the paste to cut out the shape. I like to do this on a piece of plastic wrap which is a little fiddly but I know the paste can not stick to the counter.

If necessary use the toothpick to gently remove the mexican paste shape from the cutter. Use the toothpick to remove any excess paste from the shape and the small heart at the front if desired (see the you tube tutorial for more detail).

Place onto a small rolling pin to shape the tiaras. The one I used is around 2cm or 3/4" wide or around the same size as a permanent marker tube. You can use anything that is clean and food safe you have sitting around for this.

Paint the tiaras with the edible gold paint, either by using a premixed paint or mixing edible gold luster dust with rose spirits. Don't worry they may not look very sparkly while wet.

Allow to dry. Once dry you may wish to give them an extra coat or brush a little extra gold luster dust onto the tiaras to add extra shine.

Store in an airtight container until required. You can make these weeks in advance.

Adhere to tops of macarons, marshmallows or cookies with a little royal icing.


Small batch Mexican Paste

75g pure icing sugar (2 5/8 powdered sugar)
1 tsp gum tragacanth or tylose powder

Knead together well. Store wrapped in plastic in an airtight container at room temperature. Knead again well before use. Can be colored as required.



Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the cookbook ' Sweets on a Stick': More than 150 kid friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go!. Published in the US the book is available at most online book stores.

Affiliate links may earn me money and contribute to supporting this blog.

Original Ideas, photography and recipes by Linda Vandermeer do not reuse without permission. 


Monday, April 20, 2015

Macarons and other things I love


I know y'all love my macaron recipe and for the first time ever it's available in print with the latest issue of Tickle the Imagination magazine.

Tickle the Imagination magazine celebrates all things handmade and  creative in Australia and you can purchase a hard copy or online download HERE.

And I know I have been a bit quiet lately, we've been having some family time. I'n contrast to the fleeting love of a macaron Mr Sweet and I recently celebrated our lasting love with our 22nd wedding anniversary and had some photo's taken by Naomi V Photography:


Happy 22nd Wedding Anniversary to us! Photo by Naomi V Photography


This is our Happily Ever After girls dresses by Mischka Aoki photo by Naomi V Photography

Thanks to Jordan from @Honey and Gold for writing our sign.
Xx


Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the cookbook ' Sweets on a Stick': More than 150 kid friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go!. Published in the US the book is available at most online book stores.

Affiliate links may earn me money and contribute to supporting this blog.

Photography copyrighted do not reuse without permission.