A HALLOWEEN SWEET TREAT!

Wishing you a Happy Halloween.....

...And a scary wonderful day!

STRATHFIELD SPRING (NOT) FAIR 2010!

*Sigh*...so where should I start?

Yes, the weather forecast:

• Friday 22nd of October -  Warm & sunny with a late change in the evening & possible thunderstorms.
• Saturday 23rd of October - Showers temperature down to 20 degrees celcius.
• Sunday 24th of October (Spring Fair Day) - Cloudy with the occasional patches of rain.

The weather person was quite accurate with the weather report. What was predicted all occured...HOWEVER...a day later.

I had visioned a day of warm sunshine, a sea of excited locals, loud music, children with smiley faces excited by the carnival rides & Hi-5, a family day out, scrumptious food, but came to the realization as we were setting up early morning...it was not to be.

Setting up the stall with Amy
(see the puddles of rain on the wooden tables) 

I prefer the bitter before the sweet so will report the bad first.

Due to the miserable cold & wet weather:

• I couldn't vblog the fair. Wanted to capture the carnival atmosphere & the day's events for those who are unable to attend  (a special "Hello!" to local Aussies, my blog visitors from America & friends in Hong Kong)

So wet!

• I couldn't erect all my sweet treats displays. We minimized it to the Christmas tree macaron tower (you can read about it here) but the rain got to it too & "O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!" died in the process. The macaron shells fully soaked with rain, externally bleeding with thin streams of red & green blood (that visual would have been adequate to spook for a Halloween post!)

O Christmas Tree! may you rest in peace

• I couldn't have more signage for our stall & descriptions of my sweet treats
• many stall holders had packed to leave within the first hour of setting up as the rain grew heavier with only a handful of stall holders (including us) staying to the end
• restricted more local residents to attend the fair & taste my sweet creations (take comfort in knowing any sweet treats not sold all went to good homes after closing of the fair).



A box of White Rabbit's Carrot with a sugar carrot on top


Now that I have the bad out of my system, it's time to report the good!

• despite the cold & wet conditions I take comfort & give thanks to those who braved the weather to visit the stall
• close family & friends wanted to be customers to show support & wishing me an auspicious venture

Thank-you for coming!

Mr Petite attending to a customer

• parents making the effort to take their children to the fair for a quick outing wearing raincoats & umbrella in hand, & making the trip a little more memorable with a sweet treat from our stall (& also Amy's complimentary colourful toffee candy!)

So cute witnessing kids licking off the frosting on their cupcakes first & then continue to devour the rest of the cake, with some even dearly spoiled with a macaron or two!   





Parents doing their best on the day

 





Carnival Rides

Families watching a performance
(chairs were first laid out but quickly collected with the heavy rain) 


• invaluable feedback on my macarons. Our biggest hit on the day was Velvet Caramel: cocoa flavoured macaron shells filled with salted caramel winning hands down, followed by Strawberry & Cream: strawberry flavoured macaron shells filled with strawberry buttercream, & Orangette: orange macaron shells filled with orange milk chocolate ganache, with the rest on even par depending on the individual's like or dislike for coffee or chai tastes.

From left to right: Strawberry & Cream, Vanilla Chai,
Orangette & Hazelnut Coffee macarons

• invaluable feedback on my cupcakes. This category needs to be divided into two. For the adults it was Chocoholics: a chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate ganache frosting & a Lindt chocolate piece. (I changed the chocolate frosting from buttercream to ganache last minute wanting to make it more indulgent), followed closely by Red Velvet: a rich & moist chocolate buttermilk cupcake with vanilla cream cheese frosting topped with red desiccated coconut, & Caramel Latte: a moist & delicious light caramel mud cupcake with coffee buttercream frosting topped with coffee beans.

From left to right: Chocoholics & Red Velvet cupcakes

And for the children it was Banana Sundae: a light & fluffy banana cupcake with vanilla cream cheese frosting, banana chip, waffle piece, marshmallow & sprinkles, drizzled with chocolate or strawberry ice-cream topping, followed by White Rabbit's Carrot: a moist & fluffy carrot cupcake with the addition of walnuts, pineapple & coconut topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting, crushed walnuts & a sugar carrot.

Condensation on the cake stand glass due to the cold & wet conditions





Mr Petite & Amy keeping our spirits up on the day



• the Council doing all they could as it was a "rain, hail or shine" event & it seems with each year they have scheduled the date of the fair to be a bit later in order to ensure spring weather conditions (but there are somethings in life that one just cannot control with the weather being one of them) & their efforts in making the event even bigger & better with each year (wonder what they'll have up their sleeves for next year's fair....)
  
  So that's the wrap up of Spring (Not) Fair 2010.

Such is life....And today's another day!

4 DAYS TILL SPRINGFAIR 2010: 4 IS FOR THE 4 STEPS IN MAKING THESE SUGAR CARROT CUPCAKE TOPPERS!

Remember my "Masculine Cupcake"? (you can read about it here)  

For the Fair I wanted to transform the Masculine Cupcake into a sweet treat fit for a spring carnival.

So come with me & I'll walk you through the 4 steps in making these edible sugar carrot cupcake toppers!

They were really fun to make.

Step 1: COLOURING:

Cut off 2 separate quantities of white fondant & colour one with orange & the other with green gel food colouring by adding small quantities of colouring at a time ( I used Wilton's concentrated gel food colouring) & kneading the colouring into the fondant until no more white can be seen & the desired colour intensity is achieved.




I stored the coloured fondants separately in plastic zip-lock bags
to prevent drying during modeling & for easy storage of any excess.

Step 2: MODELING THE TAPROOT 

Tear portions reflecting the desired size of the topper you wish to make off the bulk of the coloured fondant & initially roll it into a ball, then using the side of your palms roll the fondant into a conical shape resembling the shape of the taproot (the edible part of the carrot). And allow to dry.

I wanted the size of the toppers to be proportional to the size of my cupcakes
so small pieces of coloured fondant was torn & rolled.

I wanted a fuller & shorter taproot.

This step is optional: you may choose to have a smooth or textured taproot surface.
I wanted my taproot to be abit more dimensional so with a toothpick I  pressed horizontal lines onto the modeled fondant. 

Are the toppers taking shape & beginning to look like little carrots?

Step 3: MODELING THE CARROT TOP

Like modeling the taproot, tear portions reflecting the desired size of the carrot top you wish to make off the bulk of the coloured fondant & initially roll it into a ball & on a flat surface roll the ball into a long cylindrical shape.

Then flatten cylindrical strip by lightly tapping on it's surface & peel off one end from the flat surface, rolling the coloured fondant onto itself until a textured shape of the carrot top is achieved. Cut off the rolled portion & with your fingers to further shape & neaten. Allow modeled fondant to slightly dry (ie dry enough to allow handling but not too dry or you'll run into problems when assembling). 

As the carrot top is much smaller in size & more intricate in shape more patience & time was required. 
. 

Step 4: ADHERING THE CARROT TOPS TO THE TAPROOT 

Dab a small brush into water & brush the top of the taproot with an adequate volume to act as a "glue" & adhere the carrot top to the top of the taproot. And once assembled allow sugar topper to completely dry.

My edible carrot cupcake toppers.

So what name have I given to this cupcake?

WHITE RABBIT'S CARROT - a moist & fluffy carrot cupcake containing walnuts, pineapple & desiccated coconut, topped with maple cream cheese frosting, an edible sugar carrot & a sprinkle of crushed walnuts...Mmmmmm

Behind-The-Scenes @ S.P.T: O CHRISTMAS TREE! O CHRISTMAS TREE!

With all the preparation & activities for Spring Fair are you wondering if I’m going mad, Christmas in October?!? (..LOL..)

In addition to the sales of macarons & cupcakes our stall will also feature various festive & celebrative displays.

Take a Behind-The-Scenes look from concept to reality...& a macaron baking tutorial along the way...of one of these displays: “O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!”.

A rough sketch of a Christmas table centre piece.

Styrofoam cone to which macaron shells are to be attached &
a base to which the tower is secured.



After measuring & calculating the number of macaron shells required
it's time to weigh & age the egg whites.

Weigh the quantities of almond meal & icing sugar.

Process the almond meal & icing sugar until a fine powder is achieved (to obtain macaron shells with a smooth finish & surface).

 

Sift the almond meal & icing sugar mix breaking up any clumps.

Add red powder food colouring to the dry ingredients.

 

As mentioned in a previous post I prefer the macarons au sucre cuit
(Italian Meringue) method when baking macarons,
thus enter my trusty friend "The Candy Thermometer".

Boil the sugar syrup & wait for the temperature to reach
118 degree celsius.

When the temperature of the syrup reaches 110 degree celsius,
start whisking half of the egg whites to firm peaks.

Once the syrup reaches 118 degree celsius, pour the syrup into the whisked egg whites in a steady stream (but not too slow as the syrup may harden ) &
start beating for several minutes as the bowl turns from hot to warm to touch & a stiff, white & glossy meringue is achieved.

Pour the other half of the egg whites & scoop the meringue into the dry ingredients, & in a circular motion mix the batter around & under the bowl until...

...the consistency of the batter is "like magma".
(Powder food colouring is highly concentrated see how vibrant the final macaron batter is).



Pipe the shells & allow the shells to dry for 30 to 45 minutes until a dry film is formed.

Cool macaron shells on a baking rack once out of the oven.

Repeat the steps for green macaron shells.

Pipe green macaron shells & allow to dry.



Cool green macaron shells on a baking rack.

Gently peel the shells from the baking paper.
Now time to attach the red & green shells onto the styrofoam cone.

I used tape initially to position the shells.

Then used toothpicks to attach the shells onto the cone.

Push the toothpick into the cone with an appropriate length left to allow secure attachment of the fragile shells.

Ta-Da!
A Christmas Tree Macaron Tower for a Christmas table centre piece!



An excellent focal point to set the mood of the party...

... , as a conversation starter or simply to inspire.

Continue to decorate the Christmas table with other festive ornaments & ideas.

Together we can create that sweet treat an occasion to remember!