Sweet.Petite.Treats Behind-The-Scenes: A Merry Baking Christmas!

In the past few weeks leading up to today I have been sooooo busy with baking, baking & more baking!

It all started with firstly a trip to Melbourne to attend a large family gathering in celebration of Mr Petite's grandmother's 87th birthday & whilst there was amongst the frenzy of Oprah's appearance at Federation Square which happened to be on the same day as my visit to a cupcake shop where the journey of it's owner from selling her cupcakes at the markets to now having her own shop front has been so inspiration to me that this visit was a must on my Melbourne To-Do list (but more on that in a later post)....

Christmas giftboxes of assorted macarons

...to the epic baking & deliveries of macarons which have led me to some interesting people & places with Kylie Kwong at Billy Kwong's Surry Hills being one of them (but more on that in a later post)...

Ordered by an employer as a Christmas sweet treat for all her staff at the office
(what a wonderful gift!)

...catching up with Brother Petite which I have not seen in at least 5 years returning from Hong Kong for a quick visit... 

 Christmas giftboxes ordered by a Team Leader
for her team members at work 

Later was informed the macarons were also shared with their clients
at their store on Christmas Eve

...& somewhere in between while waiting for macaron batter to dry & shells to bake I stumbled into the addictive world of Words With Friends.

Now a little time for me...

What kind of a Christmas would this be without my very own red & green macarons?

Red Strawberry Chocolate macarons & Green Peppermint Chocolate macarons

I wanted to once again construct a Christmas Tree macaron tower (you can read about my first attempt here) & this time with filled macarons but in the days leading up to Christmas I discovered my containers once full of these festive treats were slowly depleting as they became our gifts to family, friends & close neighbours.

Green macaron shells filled with  peppermint milk chocolate ganache &
Strawberry flavoured macaron shells filled with milk chocolate ganache

So with inadequate quantities to fill a tower, the rest were made into the bags of three macarons we have been giving as gifts to others & now will be given to those who we may come across & acquaint with on this festive day.

Red Strawberry Chocolate, Salted Caramel & Green Peppermint Chocolate macarons assembled in cellophane bags (loving the addition of the Salted Caramel
brown hue amongst the festive colours)

A festive ribbon was then used to tie the macaron giftbags

To finish off stickers or gift tags were added

And to whom you may ask will this macaron giftbag be given to?

To You!

From All of Us at Sweet.Petite.Treats
have a wonderful day.
Wishing you, your family & friends
a very Merry Sweet Christmas!!!

FIND & LIVE YOUR PASSION(FRUIT) OPRAH STYLE

In Oprah's own words:

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you... What I know is, is that if you do work that you love, and work that fulfills you, the rest will come. And, I truly believe, that the reason I’ve been able to be so financially successful is because my focus has never, ever for one minute been money.”

"Live your passion..." (Hmmm...how many of us are living our passion?). 

"Do what you love & the money will follow..." (how many of us are allowing our hearts to lead & heads to follow?).

"If you love what you do the money will come..." (how many of us are doing what we love & given money to do so?).

When I think of summer...I think of passionfruit

It was Oprah who first introduced me to the concept of finding & living one's passion.

As Australia go mad in search for tickets to the event of their lifetime where for one day Sydney's Opera House transforms into "Oprah House", I revisit my quest to find my passion & so far this is what I've found:

• There is not only ONE passion but many sub-categories of passion eg. work/career passion, spiritual passion & then there's passion passion (sensual & sexual passion)
• There are alot of questions one needs to answer about oneself before finding one's passion
• There are surveys which one can take & lists which one can complete to identify one's passion
• There are alot of experts out there that can help one to find one's passion but not without buying their books or DVDs
• Only 25% of people know what their true passion is
• "Passion" is related to "Attitude", quote: "Your attitude reflects your activities. If you analyze your regular activities you can find your interest & passion. If you want to change your passion & interest,change your ATTITUDE".

Another addition to my Summer macarons range:
Passionfruit Chocolate



So not dissimiliar to my quest more than 10 years ago, my search for my passion ends here (for now) when I find Him,

By Hang: 

"The world seems to be split into roughly three different types of people : those who have a passion for nothing (the ones who are content to lead an ordinary life),  those who have a passion for one thing (those who have found some calling in life and live and breathe that calling) & those who have a passion for everything (are not interested in things themselves, they’re interested in interest).

When a person who is passionate about one thing meets a person who is passionate about nothing, they feel extreme sadness that this person has not yet found their calling. To them, their life is so infused with purpose from their calling that they assume everyone else without a calling feels the same hollow emptiness inside them that they do. They are horrified with the prospect of living an utterly normal, undistinguished life.

When a person who is passionate about nothing meets a person who is passionate about one thing or everything, there is a sense of otherworldliness to it, that those people possess some kind of mutant gene which compels them to action. To these people, passion is an utterly mysterious process which they can only reverse engineer from the outside. To them, it’s like thinking of love as really, really, really liking someone.

When a person who is passionate about everything meets a person who is passionate about one thing, they just assume that this is a person who has settled. Every person who is passionate about everything ultimately faces the dilemma about how to focus their attentions. In order to be successful, they need to settle on something to be “their thing”; They need to become a software engineer or a journalist or a academic. Settling one one thing can, on the surface, looking like being passionate about one thing.

When a person who is passionate about everything meets a person who is passionate about nothing, the lack of curiosity is mistaken for unintelligence or a lack of opportunity. If only they were smarter or if only they had been exposed to a brilliant teacher in school like I had, they would be infused with the same sense of wonder with the world that I have. I think this is one of the more insidious miscommunications that exists because it imposes a subtle form of prejudice and judgement."

Passionfruit Chocolate macarons:
Passionfruit macaron shells filled with passionfruit milk chocolate ganache

So could this be the answer to why the other 75% have not found their passion?

The quest in finding one's passion, is it merely a reaction to another's quest who is so passionate about passion they passionately too want others to find & live their own passion?

 

The strong sweet aroma of passionfruit lingers in the air

As Sydney frantically prepares for the arrival of Oprah I have no doubt once again the quest to find & live one's passion will ignite in others & re-ignite in me.

But in the meantime...

I think I'll just Hang.


Tell me Dear Readers have you found and/or living your passion?

BANANA POWER!

Do you ever get so caught up & involved in whatever you're doing that you have no time or even forget to eat? (I do...measuring, blending, sifting, mixing, piping, baking, filling, washing...alot of washing). 

And it's not until your deprived stomach steps in to remind you that you've been neglecting yourself, THEN you stop to pause & agree it's time to re-fuel. 

So what do I do in times like these?...I reach for a banana.

 I call bananas my emergency, power-up food

In addition to it's smooth, creamy texture & sweet taste, it's packed with essential nutrients & vitamins providing an instant & sustained boost of energy in my emergency times of need. (Did you know bananas also contain natural mood enhancers so when you're feeling abit down in the dumps...have a banana!).

So how can I incorporate my functional, emergency food into my sweet treat summer range? 

How about...by adding milk chocolate with a dash of cinnamon. 

Banana Cinnamon Macaron

Banana Cinnamon macaron: banana & cinnamon flavoured macaron shells filled with milk chocolate ganache.

Combining the functional & the indulgent with a dash of the exotic

A sweet treat to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee or tea during a well earned break or after an evening meal with family & friends. 

Where's the third macaron?
(Mmm...a well deserved sweet treat!)

Tell me Dear Readers what's your emergency, power-up food?

MACARONS, CAKE & MONKEY MAGIC A CELEBRATION FOR...ME!

Amongst family & friends there seem to be a lot of birthdays in the month of November. And here is another November birthday celebration but this time is for me.


The Prologue: Macarons


So in celebration of my birthday I share with you one of my first summer range macaron flavours: Raspberry Chocolate.

Raspberry Chocolate Macaron:
 Raspberry macaron shells filled with raspberry white chocolate ganache

When I think of summer...I think of berries

An intense yet delicate raspberry flavour

The Story: Cake 


I love light & fluffy cakes so one of my favourite type of cake is the sponge cake. And as requested every year from Savoy cake shop Mr Petite orders me my favourite sponge cake for my birthday.

My mango sponge birthday cake from Mr Petite

Sometimes the simple things in life can be the most fulfilling & rewarding...

Mango sponge cake: a light, soft, moist & fluffy sponge cake
layered with fresh cream & slices of fresh sweet mango

...Happy Birthday to Me!


The Epilogue: Monkey Magic 


My birthday celebrations ended with a beautiful dinner at Monkey Magic in Surry Hills.

Japanese Restaurant & Bar

Like the Japanese cult television classic, Monkey Magic aims to also take their diners on a journey of Oriental flavours of modern Japanese cuisine with the subtle western influence of New York Flair.

What's inside this menu?

We start with half a dozen of oysters with Yuzu pozu granite & the Salt & Pepper Cuttlefish with bean sprouts, coriander & chilli salad.

Oysters with Yuzu ponzu granite

Followed by a plate of assorted sashimi.

I love sashimi...nothing beats fish in their simpliest & freshest form

For our mains we chose the Soy Braised Pork Belly with apple & ginger puree, salad of fennel, chinese cabbage, orange & chives and the Patagonian Tooth fish fillet.

The Patagonian Tooth fish fillet
(Mr Petite quite enjoyed this dish) 

But the highlight of the dinner was yet to come. Having little room for any more food I passed on the dessert but with Mr Petite's encouragement we ended the night perfectly with a wonderful sweet treat.

Loving this wall feature so symbolic of the Japanese television cult classic

I noticed the tables around us ordering what I had first thought was chocolate (though somehow knew the colour didn't seem quite right) but having witnessed the moans & nods of approval by other diners I guess one dessert to share wouldn't hurt.


We ordered the dessert & as our attentive wait-person returned to the table to fill our glasses she commented "That was lucky it was the last plate!". So what was this dessert that got diners moaning & nodding in approval?

Black Sesame Creme Caramel with red wine poached pear, 
coconut ice cream & pink peppercorn & a puff pastry twist

Red wine poached pear, coconut ice cream & pink peppercorn

Black Sesame Creme Caramel
(it was so smooth & creamy, the nutty black sesame flavour of the creme caramel drizzled with burnt toffee syrup just melted in the mouth)

 It was soooo good nothing was left on our plate!

And what about the day after, post birthday celebrations....

A day at the beach

After weeks of cold & wet spring weather (you can read about it here) the warm sun & blue skies made a surprising appearance.

Does it get any better than this?

Did I mention sometimes the simple things in life can
be the most fulfilling & rewarding?

Tell me Dear Readers who's birthday celebrations were you amongst in the month of November?

IT'S JUST NOT ALL ABOUT ME

The 1st tweet read:
"6 days to go, till Macaron mayhem sat 6th November Adriano Zumbo Balmain pigblood and chocolate, burger, toothpaste, fish and chip ?????" (Oh...is it that time of the year again).

The 2nd tweet read:
"Macaron day 7am tomorrow 65 flavours.." (imagery of him & his bakers working ferociously to meet tomorrow's deadline & demands).

I had read of Adriano Zumbo's Macaron Day offering the sale of 60 macaron flavours at his Balmain Patisserie in celebration of his November birthday last year. So was not surprised & somewhat excited about his repeat birthday celebration of Macaron Day 2010 (what a way to celebrate a birthday!). Not surprised as he further gather's momentum after media exposures from Masterchef & excited, birthday or not, in possibly witnessing the early years of an annual Sydney celebration of the french macaron!

So on Saturday morning after a sleep-in & a lazy brunch Mr Petite & I made our way over to Balmain. Sure enough we saw the queue from afar.

I was somewhat surprised to see the queue was not as long as I had anticipated

Mr Zumbo looking relaxed outside the Patisserie
with his little helper & camera crew

Meeting & greeting customers at the door

Visitors from Melbourne joining in to celebrate Macaron Day 2010

As Mr Zumbo made his way down the queue but stopped short of where Mr Petite & I were standing I heard him say "I think it's time to bring out more macarons". Thinking he was referring to providing more stock for the shop, I was pleasantly surprised as I looked up from my ordering pamphlet to see Mr Zumbo & his little helper returning with 2 trays of macarons asking me if I would like to have one! 

"Thank-you I would love a macaron" as complimentary 
macarons were then offered to the rest of the queue 

Macaron looking enormous in my petite hand
(actual macaron size measured 4cm in diameter)

Cookie Dough macaron
(after the first bite...so this is what raw cookie dough tastes like)

Back to the pamphlet.

We were handed ordering pamphlets listing the 65 flavours & were asked to mark the flavours we wished to purchase & to hand the list to the cashier when ready for payment.

What macaron flavour/s takes your fancy?

But what really got our attention was on the back.

"Purchase any pre-pack macaron box & be one of the first five people to find the Golden Macaron for your chance to win a day in the Zumbo Lab"

Mr Petite was immediately sold wanting me to be "Charlie" & find the "golden ticket".

Macarons seen from the window
as we made our way into the Patisserie

Look how uniform in shape & size the macarons are
 

Loving how the macarons fit perfectly in their trays

Within 10 minutes we were inside the shop.

I have heard his Patisserie is quite small & it is, with the width from the wall to the serving counter the shoulder length of three adults standing side by side

More macaron flavours inside

I was delighted in seeing the endless trays of macarons neatly displayed until I spotted these....

So pretty!

I walked further into the shop to discover
 more pretty creations

Beautiful colours

A work of art

But this is my favourite!

In addition to the pre-pack macaron box, Mr Petite also chose 3 chocolate flavoured macarons.

Time to pay...
(top arrow: Fish & Chips macarons & bottom arrow: Tabaccoroon macarons)
 

Macarons with coffee time!

Chocolate macarons
(from left to right: Mocha, Milo & Choc Zumbo)

Milo was my favourite of the 3 chocolate macarons

 So...did I win the "golden ticket"?

The Fruit pre-pack macaron box

Ta-Da!....No, I didn't

Macarons from the Fruit pre-pack box

More macarons from the pre-pack box

More macarons from the box

After 15 macarons...we were all mac-ed out!

I can't eat anymore

And did I speak to the man himself on his special day? 


Of course... I just couldn't walk away from the Patisserie without thanking the man for his 65 macarons & to wish him a very Happy Birthday!


Tell me Dear Readers how are you going to celebrate your next birthday?