#CoSoBakes, I am torn.
Tuesday I'm dropping by the office for a last meeting with my podcast editor.
Part of me wants to try making macarons for the first time (dulce de leche), but I don't have almond flour, so I'd be using coconut flour for my first go. Too challenging? High risk of failure?
Alternately, I could make a very nice three-layer banana and dulce de leche cake, no issues save needing to slip out for a couple ingredients.
Play it safe for the thank-you bake? Or try something new?
@ceorl The other benefit of a cake is that I can literally pipe "GRACIAS" in dulce de leche on top. Can't do that with macarons!
@ceorl Ha! Would that all questions in life were so easy. :)
The unasked ones are the worst ;)
@MLClark Iβd stick with what you know. I tried macarons once and it was a disaster. Very, very hard to get them right.
@misslovelymess Oh, good to know! What particularly went wrong with yours? Air pockets? Did they collapse? Trouble with shape when piping?
@MLClark They collapsed, and I had trouble piping them. I followed the recipe to the letter, but something went very wrong. Something to do with the merengue, Iβm sure.
@misslovelymess
You have to dance the merengue *just right* to impress the cookery gods π
@misslovelymess Oh, that makes sense! I'm definitely worried about piping with coconut flour, since it's 1:3 for almond - a tricky ratio to get the moisture just right.
I've seen the weirdest recipes for macarons, too, so that doesn't surprise me! One suggested leaving the whipped egg mixture out for 24 to 48 hours before combining and piping, and I... just can't bring myself to leave raw egg out in the open that long. Who are these mad macaron mavens?! π
@MLClark
Me I say go with the tried and true.
Save yourself some anxiety.
@corlin Very sensible! Time to slip out for a couple ingredients then. π
@MLClark I like to make a big batch of dulce de Leche and serve it straight up from the jar with a side of thin ginger cookies. Always a big hit.
@Amyfb I live in Colombia, where dulce de leche is *everywhere* - no need to whip up a batch. But that sounds lovely! :) The trick here is to find novel presentations of it, for folks swimming in the flavour wherever they go. (It's as common here as, say, caramel in North America.)
It's my editor's favourite flavour, but he's also a bit of a foodie like me, so he enjoys more elaborate bakes. I know he'll be chuffed no matter what, though.
@MLClark
I would be inclined to not experiment when it is for someone I like. ;)