Insiprational Pins - A Vintage Pastel Easter

Today in my series of posts, "Inspirational Pins", I bring you the first of many Easter Inspirational boards. I am still deciding which theme and colour palette to go with this Easter!

• Wallpaper by Studio Ditte
• Shabby Candy by Such Pretty Things
• Tamar Mogendorff
• Lucyina Moodie

Have a sweet day!

Sweet Spring

This week on Flickr Faves Sunday, I am dreaming of Spring, and getting ready for Easter. Loving all the sweet pastels in these gorgeous pics. Check back soon for some more of the most inspirational photographers on Flickr.

Some beautiful shots from my Flickr favourites (From left to right):

• The pretty tablesetting in Untitled by Makinai
  
• The beautiful birdcage in Little Bird//03 by kkhelga
  
• The adorable cute bird in Wiggle Your Tail, Sweet Easter Bunny by Ciel Photography
• The sweet composition in HAPPY EASTER MY LOVE by ziaponca

Have a sweet day!

Everyday is a Holiday Giveaway

I'm so pleased to announce a giveaway of two gorgeous prints from Everyday is a Holiday, one being the above featured "Cupcakes" print plus another of your choice. Also, the giveaway is open to readers worldwide!

Everyday is a Holiday are Jenny Heid and Aaron Nieradka, a duo of artists from the New Jersey Shore. Their designs have graced the pages of magazines such as Country Living, Country Home, Woman's Day Decorating Ideas, Design New Jersey, Romantic Homes, Somerset Life, The New York Times Magazine... and they were featured on NBC's Today Show with Matt Lauer.

Daily, they add to their growing collection of very personal artwork which draws upon their love for vintage collectibles, old fashioned bakeries, holiday decorations, vintage wallpapers, fabrics, and ephemera. I am in love with their pretty "Vintage Inspired Pink Stand Mixer" print and the sweet "Cupcakes" print which would look great in my new kitchen.

To find out more about this fabulously cute couple check out their adorable blog, Everyday is a Holiday.






To enter this giveaway, please visit Everyday is a Holiday and then leave a comment below this post letting me know which print you would choose. The giveaway ends on Saturday, March 12th 2010 at 10pm (GMT) and I will randomly select and announce a winner on Sunday, March the 13th.

To increase your chances of winning this fabulous prize, you can gain one additional entry for doing each of the following:

• tweeting about this giveaway
• blogging about it
• following/subscribing to the Torie Jayne blog

For the first two, please leave a comment below with the link to your tweet or blog post.

This giveaway is open to readers worldwide.

Good luck and have a sweet day!

Baking Macarons

1. Tala icing bag set
2. Sari mixing bowl
3. Sari measuring spoon set
4. de Buyer® silicone baking mat with rings
   
5. Dualit hand mixer in glacier blue
6. Sari measuring cups

This week in my series of posts, "Friday Finds", I bring you a selection of pretty baking equipment with which to make macarons.

Have a sweet day!

Macarons, macarons!

This week on "Wonderful World of Etsy" I bring you a selection of gorgeous Macaron Art.

1. Les petites douceurs 8.5 x 11
2. Laduree box... 5 x 5 fine art photography print
3. Macaron study no. 1... 5 x 5 fine art photography print
4. Strawberry and Vanilla Macaron - 8 x 8 - Fine Art Photography

Have a sweet day!

Pierre Hermé Macarons

Whilst on a recent work trip to Paris I managed to sneak in a quick trip to Pierre Hermé, the French King of pastry who takes you on a journey into the world of tastes, sensations and pleasures. Every season he brings out new ideas and delights in cakes, desserts, chocolate, petit fours, macaroons and ice cream.

I chose a selection, which included the following:

• Chuao, a pure origin Chuao dark chocolate, on one side and blackcurrant on the other with a blackcurrant berry ganache filling - my favourite!
• Huile D'Olive and Mandarine, which is an olive oil green on one side and mandarin orange on the other, with a creamy mandarine ganache filling.
• Mogador, a chocolate speckled yellow passion fruit macaron with a milk chocolate ganache filling.
• Infiniment Chocolate, which is a brown chocolate speckled Venezuela Porcelana chocolate macaron - a chocolate lovers dream!
• Creme Brulée, a peach coloured vanilla and caramel macaron.
• Métissé, which is bright orange on one side, dark orange on the other and filled with a bright yellow ganache tasting of carrot, orange and cinnamon.

I just love the unusual flavours, and will have to be more adventurous with mine.

Have a sweet day!

Passion Fruit Macarons

I love macarons. Not only do they taste great but they look so pretty, too. Being gluten-intolerant it is also a delight to be able to go into a patisserie and be able to buy something!

When it comes to making them, I get a little nervous as they can be so tricky. Having recently been given an aqua Kitchen Aid for Christmas/Birthday by my adorable parents, I really wanted to give macarons another go.

There are many great sites giving advice on how to make them so they turn out great and one of the tips that is often recommended is heating the sugar first. So, this time around I melted the sugar and used my Kitchen Aid to whisk the mix. Definitely the best so far!

Having recently been sent some Hotel Chocolat white chocolate drops to use in my recipes. I went for an indulgent fresh Passion Fruit zingy white chocolate ganache for the centres. I love how quick and easy it is to use the chocolate drops and the taste! ah!

Vanilla Macarons (makes 12)

Ingredients
125g icing sugar (powdered sugar)
125g ground almonds
90g egg whites separated the night before (important!)
110g Caster sugar (superfine sugar)
2 tbsp water
Food colouring, if required
Edible purple dust


Cooking instructions

1. Mix almonds and icing sugar in a food processor until you have a smooth fine powder.
2. In a small bowl mix 40g egg whites, ground almonds and icing sugar into a paste.
3. Put water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat gently to melt the sugar, turn up the heat and boil until the mixture has a thick syrupy consistency.
4. Whisk the remaning egg whites until they form medium peaks.
5. Slowly add hot sugar syrup and food colouring to the egg whites, all the while whisking, until you have a stiff shiny meringue mixture.(If you are going to add color to the macaron shells, this is the time to do so.)
6. Slowly add the meringue mixture to the almond paste with a wooden spoon until you have a shiny mass.
7. Using a parchment bag with about a 1cm opening at the tip, squeeze the macarons mixture onto parchment paper lined baking trays.
8. Tap the underside of the baking sheet to remove air bubbles.
9. Sprinkle edible food dust on top.
10. Let them dry for 30 mins so they form a shiny hard crust.
11. Cook them for about 10-12 minutes in the oven at 160 deg C, turning them around after 5 mins. Also, leave the oven door slightly ajar and make sure to keep an eye on them.
12. Carefully remove them from the oven and transfer parchment paper onto a cooling rack.
13. When cool, slide them off the parchment paper using a metal spatula.

White chocolate & Passion Fruit ganache

Ingredients
125g double cream (heavy cream)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
35g passion fruit, blended
100g Hotel Chocolat white chocolate drops


Cooking instructions

1. Bring cream to the boil in a small saucepan.
2. Remove from heat immediately and stir in chocolate until melted.
3. Stir in passion fruit and vanilla essence until glossy.
4. Refrigerate for about 45 mins.
5. Spoon a teaspoon of ganache onto half of the macarons and place the other halves on top to form the ganache sandwich.
6. Let the macarons chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours before eating.

Macarons will keep for 2 days refrigerated in an airtight container.

A few tips

• Always sift and double sift your ground almonds and icing sugar so there are no lumps.
• Use egg whites that have been left out at least over night, otherwise you can be left with flat macarons.
• If piping the macarons leaves a peak on top, be sure to smooth the top over with a wet finger.
• Use a double layer of baking parchment to prevent burning.

Have a sweet day!