Baked Strawberry Cheesecake

This is officially my favourite baked cheesecake. Think of luscious roasted strawberries with juices to die for, topped on a strawberry-flavoured cheesecake. It has ricotta in it, which makes it so light and fluffy compared to the only cream cheese ones. I actually first saw this on Raspberri Cupcakes, and I instantly wanted to make this particular one since I was craving for cheesecake recently. 

Strawberries are in abundance and are so cheap these days, which makes it perfect to use them for a cheesecake. I have never roasted fruits before, so I was a little skeptical of the idea of baking strawberries. But they came out so juicy and succulent, perfect for pairing with the cheesecake. Thanks to Steph (Raspberri Cupcakes), I will be roasting fruit more often now! You might have already seen it, but I tried to hide the ugly cracks on top of the cheesecake with the strawberries. This always happens to me whenever I bake a cheesecake.

 

I decided to use a recipe from Donna Hay for the biscuit base because I had run out of them and was too lazy to bake a batch. It came out fine, but probably next time I would use biscuits and process them up in a food processor for the base. It was just tasted a little bit more buttery to me...other than that, it was perfect, and next time I will definitely remember to buy more ricotta from the store for this cheesecake.

Baked Strawberry Cheesecake
Makes one 8 inch cheesecake

Adapted from Raspberri Cupcakes and Donna Hay.

Cheesecake filling
330 grams ricotta
500 grams cream cheese, softened
1 cup of strawberry jam
1 and 1/2 tablespoon of cornflour (cornstarch)
1 and 1/2 tablespoon of water
4 eggs

Base
1/3 cup of almond meal
3/4 cup of plain flour
1/4 cup of sugar
90 grams of butter, chopped

Strawberries
500 grams of fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C (350 F). Make the base by combining almond meal, flour, sugar and butter in a food processor until a dough forms. Press the mixture with the back of a spoon on the base of a lined/greased 8 inch round springform pan. Bake for 15 minutes until light golden and set aside.

2. Make the filling by placing the cream cheese, ricotta, eggs and strawberry jam in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until just combined. Combine the cornflour and water together in a small bowl and add to the cream cheese mixture. Process until smooth. Pour the filling over the biscuit base of the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour until golden and a little wobbly in the center. Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for another hour. Transfer to a wired rack to completely cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (390 F). To make the strawberries, hull and halve the berries and place them in a roasting pan. Add the brown sugar and toss to combine. Pour over the vinegar and toss again. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the berries soften and the juices are present. Allow to cool completely, then arrange on top of the cooled cheesecake before serving.

 

Neapolitan Layer Cake

 

So I was invited to a party last week. I was so excited about it that I planned what to make 3 days in advance. It only seemed fitting that a neapolitan cake would wow the guests and act as a thank you gift to the party host for inviting us. Distinctive layers of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry that is most familiar to me in my childhood (actually in ice cream form and yes, I was spoilt for the amount of ice cream I was allowed to have). Strangely enough, I remember only eating the chocolate part and leaving out the rest for my mum. But now, I love neapolitan ice cream in its whole form and eat every part of it (my favourite is still chocolate!).

I was only able to take photos of the cake before transferring it to the cake carrier so that's why the frosting-covered baking paper is still stuck to the cake (I use it to easily lift the cake onto the container). So I would like to apologise for the mess I had to capture, which honestly is quite embarrasing to me...but the main component in the pictures is the cake, right?

So would you like to see what's hidden in this cake? Here it is, the three neapolitan layers! I was surprised to see it look so similar to its ice cream form, and it seems that my hard work has paid off. I had some problems with the strawberry swiss meringue buttercream, but it came out all right at the end. I think it was due to the amount of strawberry puree and butter it had in it. The cake was also a little dense, but it was a real crowd pleaser and by the end of the day, there was none left...not even crumbs. I was so happy to see people enjoying the cake and commenting on how good it looked. Looks like I'll have to make this cake again soon, applying some changes to the recipe.

Since I followed the recipe from Annie's Eats and only made minor changes to the cake (I didn't add strawberry gelatin to the strawberry layer), I will direct you to her site which has all the detailed instructions and information you need to make this. Check it out HERE.

White Chocolate Cupcakes

Cupcakes are my thing at the moment. With my hectic study schedule and the upcoming exams looming in, all I could ever have time to bake was cupcakes and cookies. Plus my pretty paper eskimo baking cups recently arrived in the mail, patiently waiting in the cupboard for someone to use them. I am getting a little bored with baking only cupcakes this time (even though they all taste yummy), but soon enough I should be able to bake other things like cakes and macarons. I will, I promise.

These cupcakes are heavenly and are one of the best. The white chocolate heightens the flavours of the cupcake and adds a beautifully textured crumb. The cream cheese frosting complements the white chocolate perfectly and gives it a creamy tang to balance out the sweetness. Oh, and heart confettis add a little fun to the cupcakes. You can use whatever icing or topping you think is best to match the cupcake like white chocolate ganache. Traditional cream cheese icing is not normally served with white chocolate though, more often it is for banana, red velvet or carrot cakes. But since my mum requested this icing, I did it for her.

 

White chocolate cupcakes adapted from Ooh, Look.

Makes 12

Ingredients:

100 grams of butter, room temperature

2 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 and 1/3 cups of plain flour, sifted

3/4 cup of sugar

100 grams of white chocolate, melted

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (320 F). Line a cupcake baking tin with 12 cupcake paper liners.

2. Beat butter and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, until incorporated.

3. Add the sifted flour and baking powder into the butter mixture and mix until combined.

4. Mix in the milk and melted chocolate and continue to beat until smooth.

5. Fill the cupcake liners with batter until about 1/2 full and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the tin immediately and cool completely on a wire rack.

Cream cheese frosting

Ingredients:

250 grams of cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes

50 grams of butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of icing sugar, sifted

Method:

1. Beat cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

2. Gradually add the icing sugar to the cream cheese until well combined.

3. Beat the frosting again until it is fluffy and creamy and is ready to pipe.

Assemble the cupcakes by piping the cream cheese frosting on top. Sprinkle with your desired toppings and serve.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream

Hello! I've been absent for the past few weeks (again) but during that time, I was searching for a new mixer since my old one became useless for baking. I was thinking of getting a KitchenAid mixer, since so many bakers own one, but its expensive price put me off. So when I couldn't decide between the Sunbeam Planetary Mixmaster and the Breville Scraper Mixer Pro, I chose Breville because of the great reviews it had and the features which stood out to me. And can I tell you that was the best decision I have ever made! I am so happy and proud to be the owner of such an amazing mixer. It does all the work for me and makes baking a breeze. Now I have a second helper in the kitchen. So to celebrate the purchase of my new mixer, I made some vanilla cupcakes with caramel swiss meringue buttercream.

The picture above is of course, none other than my shiny new mixer! I am so in love with it and the sound of the motor is so quiet that I can concentrate on doing other things. It also has a count up or down timer which is handy to prevent overmixing and to indicate how long it has been mixing. It whips icing wonderfully, creams butter and sugar until light and fluffy in seconds, and mixes cake batter thoroughly. Oh and did I mention that it came with an ice cream bowl? Yep, it makes ice cream in just 10-20 minutes. I'm getting a little carried away here with my mixer, so let's talk cupcakes!

I had found The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake bookmarked in my browser which I intended to try before but didn't have the chance to, so it was a great opportunity to try the recipe with my new mixer. It requires quite a few more ingredients than your average vanilla cupcake, but when mixed together, it produces vanilla-y, light and fluffy cupcakes that matches really well with the caramel buttercream. Talking about swiss meringue buttercream, adding caramel sauce to it transforms it from ordinary to something special with a rich caramel flavour that melts in your mouth. The unbelievably silky smooth, not too sweet texture makes swiss meringue buttercream among the best frostings to use for cakes and cupcakes.

The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake adapted from the Cupcake Project.

Makes 16 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 and 3/4 cups of cake flour (plain/all-purpose flour is fine)

1 cup of sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

57 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup of sour cream

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup of milk

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F). Prepare the cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners.

2. In a medium bowl or bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt until well combined.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, sour cream and vanilla extract until combined and smooth.

4. Add the butter and mix on a medium-low speed for about three minutes. This will turn into a fine crumb texture.

5. Slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, beating on a medium speed until just incorporated.

6. Slowly add the milk to the batter and mix on a low speed until just combined.

7. Fill the cupcake liners until just over half full. Bake in the oven for 14 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. If they are not done, check them again in 2 minutes. They should be white in colour but not golden brown. Remove them from the pan immediately and allow to cool completely before decorating.

Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream adapted from Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar

1/4 cup of heavy cream

1/4 cup of water

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

180 grams of unsalted butter, chopped into pieces and softened at room temperature

Method:

1. Place 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar and the water in a medium saucepan and boil at a medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan ocasionally until it turns into a dark amber caramel. Wash the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent the sugar crystals from forming. Remove from the heat, and whisk the cream into the caramel until smooth. Set aside to cool.

2. Place the egg whites and remaining sugar into a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk the egg whites until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to touch. If you have a candy thermometer, it should reach 160 degrees when inserted into the mixture.

3. Remove from the heat, and transfer the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk on a medium speed for about 5 minutes. Increase the speed to medium high and whisk until glossy, stiff peaks form for about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, and add the pieces of butter one at a time, waiting for them to incorporate before adding the next piece. Whisk in the vanilla until combined. If the mixture is soupy, put it in the fridge for 15 minutes and whisk again. It will likely to come to the curdled stage, but keep whisking until it turns into a smooth buttercream. 

4. Switch to the paddle attachment. Mixing on a low speed, add the caramel slowly and beat until smooth, for about 3-5 minutes. Best used immediately.

Decorate the cooled cupcakes with the buttercream, using a 1M star tip. Top with sprinkles if desired.

Ruffled Vanilla Celebration Cake

Since I wrote my last post on how to make macarons, I turned 16...yes, I aged a year! My birthday was this past weekend and even though I stayed home with my friends and family, I wanted to make a cake that has all the things I have ever wanted in one, including ruffles. I have always admired all the ruffle cakes I saw in the past, like this, this and this! Aren't they all pretty and perfect? Mine isn't too pretty like those ones, but I am happy enough with my first attempt. The strawberry swiss meringue buttercream was the real highlight of the cake because it was so delicious that it tasted like fresh strawberry ice cream. It was really light in texture and not too sweet or buttery (I decreased the amount of butter to only 200 grams and it worked!). It was the perfect choice for making ruffles on this cake. The traditional buttercreams use too much icing sugar to stiffen it up, which gives it an unpleasant gritty, overly sweet and buttery taste. That's why I rarely use it anymore.

At first, I couldn't decide what cake to bake since it was only going to be for me and my little family. I had some strawberries leftover so it became the perfect opportunity to try piping ruffles with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream. My main inspiration for this cake came from Diamonds for Dessert's ruffle blogiversary cake. Her post convinced me that ruffles aren't that hard or time consuming to create and perfect. But really, I had some difficulties with it since it was my first attempt. I piped the ruffles the first time and it ended up looking messy and uneven, so I scraped it off and started again. The second time round it came out okay but was still not as perfect as I wanted it to be. I figured out that it already looked good enough and I was tired of the thought of doing it again. 

I used the same white cake recipe from the White Vanilla Cake with Macarons because it turned out fluffy, moist and vanilla-y which would pair really well with the strawberry swiss meringue buttercream. But this time the cake turned out a little dry, so maybe next time I should try another recipe. Nonetheless, the strawberry jam in between the layers helped moisten it a little and added a beautiful flavour to the cake. The cake really did taste wonderful and I was very happy to have finally made a ruffle cake. The ruffles took up so much frosting though, so you would need to make a lot more for a larger cake. Just in case you were wondering, this mini cake is 5 and 3/4 inches in size which is perfect for a celebration to serve a small (I mean tiny) crowd of people.

White Vanilla Cake from Joy of Baking.

Makes 4 thin layer, 5 and 3/4 inch cake (if you want a larger cake, you should increase the recipe by 1.5 or 2 times)

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

1 and 3/4 cups of cake/plain flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

113 grams of unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of milk

1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 177 degrees C (350 degrees F). Line with baking paper the bottom and grease one 31.1 x 20.6 cm rectangular sheet pan. If you're doing a larger cake, prepare two or three 8 inch cake pans.

2. Separate the egg whites and egg yolks into different bowls and set aside.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

4. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until soft for about 1-2 minutes and add 3/4 cups of sugar to the butter, beating until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix again.

5. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture in three additions, starting and ending with the flour.

6. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Slowly add 1/4 cup of sugar to the egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form.

7. Gently fold a little of the meringue into the cake batter to lighten it first with a rubber spatula, and then fold in the remaining egg whites into the mixture until combined. Try not to over-mix or the batter will deflate.

8. Put the batter into the prepared pan/pans and smooth the surface with a small offset spatula. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

9. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it onto a wire rack to cool completely before assembling.

Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Adapted from Diamonds for Dessert. (You would have to increase the recipe by about 1.5 or 2 times for a larger cake since the ruffles use lot of frosting)

Ingredients:

4 egg whites at room temperature

1 and 1/4 cups of sugar

200 grams of unsalted butter, at room temperature (the original recipe stated 339 grams of butter which is totally unnecessary since I tried adding a little less than 2 sticks of butter, which still worked perfectly!)

1 and 1/2 cups of fresh strawberries, pureed

Method:

1. Simmer some water in a small saucepan on the stove. Mix the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl and put it over the pot so that it fits well. Whisk the mixture until it is hot and the sugar has fully dissolved (dip your fingers into the egg whites and rub them together, if it feels gritty, keep whisking).

2. Remove the bowl from the heat and pour into a bowl of an electric mixer. Alternatively, you could just leave it in the bowl if you are using a hand-held electric mixer. Beat on a medium high speed until stiff peaks form and the bowl has cooled down to room temperature for about 10 minutes.

3. Cut up the butter into small pieces and add them to the mixture a few pieces at a time, waiting for the butter pieces to incorporate before adding any more. Continue beating for a few minutes, and add the strawberry puree a little at a time to allow it to slowly incorporate. If the mixture turns out soupy after a couple of minutes of beating, put it in the fridge for 15 minutes. After beating again it might curdle, but just keep your hopes high and continue to beat the mixture until it turns into a silky smooth buttercream. Add a few drops of pink food colouring if desired. Best used immediately.

Assembly:

1. If making a small cake, create a template for the cakes on a sheet of paper. Use a compass to draw a circle of 5 and 3/4 inches in diameter and cut the stencil out. Then use a knife to cut out 2 circles from the rectangular cake and cut both circles horizontally in half. If making a larger cake, skip this step.

2. Put a cake layer on a cake board or a baking paper circle. Spread a small amount of strawberry jam on the cake and smooth it out with an ofset spatula.

3. Now dollop a scoop of frosting using an ice cream scoop or a large spoon and smooth the frosting out evenly.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 with the other layers until you have a nice staked tower of cake. Apply a thin layer of frosting on the outside of the whole cake to act as a crumb coat. It doesn't have to be too neat, the ruffles will cover it up later. This also keeps the crumbs from mixing into the frosting. Refridgerate the cake for 30 minutes or until firm.

5. Place a petal tip (I used no.104) in a piping bag. Fill the piping bag with the remaining buttercream.

6. Hold the piping bag vertically along the side of the cake with the fat part of the tip facing towards the cake and the thin part facing towards you. Apply pressure and squeeze the bag while piping in a back and forth motion until you reach the top, while making sure that the ruffles stick to the cake. Repeat until the whole cake is covered. If you would like to see how it is being done, check out this helpful video by Sweet and Saucy. She made it look so easy!

7. To finish, pipe ruffles on the top as a border (I would have liked to fully cover the top of the cake, but I had no more frosting left. Instead, I scattered the top with some multi-coloured heart confetti. Sprinkles makes everything look better!

Strawberries and Cream Macarons

The title of this post says it all. These macarons are filled with a custard-cream that encases a hidden dollop of the best quality strawberry jam. You might have seen these from my last post on how to make macarons. You might have not. Either way, these delicate treats are certainly delicious when filled with a creamy, vanilla-y thick cream. Just what I need to serve an elegant afternoon tea with the girls. Oh, and some organic tea or hot chocolate to go with it too.

 

Instead of using strawberry jam, you could use fresh pureed strawberries with a little sugar added to it to give it a fresh strawberry scent that is perfect when paired with the cream in the macarons. I must admit that I am a little disappointed with the colour of my macarons since they were over-baked. It makes them look brown and ugly, hiding the real beauty of the macarons. But putting them in pretty cupcake liners adds a touch of cuteness and probably also hides my mistake, right? Next time when I make another batch of macarons, I will be in the kitchen watching closely at the oven door the whole time. That should solve my problem of over-baking macaron shells.

For the macaron recipe and a tutorial on how to make them, click here.

Vanilla Custard Cream Filling
Adapted from the book, Macarons: Chic and Delicious French Treats

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks (saved from the last batch of macarons)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of cornflour/cornstarch
1 cup of milk
1 vanilla pod/bean or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of thickened cream

Method:
1. Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a heatproof bowl until combined.

2. Heat the milk with the vanilla in a small saucepan until it just starts to boil.

3. Pour the hot milk over the egg yolk mixture and stir until incorporated.

4. Put the mixture back into the pan and simmer gently over a low heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens and will coat the back of a spoon. Heat it slowly and gently and remove it from the heat immediately after it is ready. Be careful not to boil it too much otherwise it will curdle.

5. Strain the mixture into a clean bowl and add the butter, stirring until it has melted and incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to cool before refridgerating.

6. Whip the cream until it holds soft peaks and fold it into the custard. Chill before filling the macarons.

When done, the custard/cream should look thick and creamy like the one in the picture above. The colour of the filling depends on the type of sugar you use. My filling is kind of a brown colour because I used brown sugar so if you use white sugar, it should look like whipped cream.

After filling the macarons with the cream and strawberry jam, you should refridgerate them for 30 minutes before serving. Don't store the filled macarons in the fridge otherwise they will go soggy from the custard. Store them separately and fill them before serving.

How To: Make French Macarons

So I have been away for a while... to be more specific, that was 2 weeks. I know. Apparently my school work keeps on pilling up and I simply didn't have the time to bake. But now I am back (unfortunately for a short while) with a little how-to on making French macarons! I won't go into all of the details on how to make a perfect batch of macarons but I will show you how to make them step by step. Since these delicate treats can be pretty tricky to make, I suggest you go to this website by Food Nouveau which I refer to when my macarons are cracked, have not developed feet or are just not looking like macarons should.

Let's get started on some macaron-making!

You'll need the following ingredients:

From the cookbook, Macarons: Chic and Delicious French Treats
Makes about 20 filled macarons

200 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) icing/confectioners'/powdered sugar
100 grams (2/3 cup) ground almonds
3 large egg whites (put the egg whites in a microwave for 10 seconds to speed up the aging process)
a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons of sugar

Start by sifting the icing sugar and ground almonds together.

And mix them together well. Alternatively, you could do this in a food processor.

Then whisk the egg whites together with the salt using an electric mixer in a clean mixing bowl.

Keep whisking until it just holds a stiff peak. Try not to overwhisk or this can affect the outcome of the macarons.

Slowly add the sugar to the egg whites, a teaspoonful at a time until incorporated and becomes thick, white and glossy. Try turning the bowl upside down on top of your head to see if it stays in the bowl. If it doesn't and is still runny, continue whisking until it forms stiff peaks.

Then add any food colouring paste to the meringue mixture. I added a combination of two colours, Americolor super red and Americolor deep pink to create a kind of girly look. Mix thorougly to ensure that the colour is evenly blended.

Using a rubber spatula, fold the icing sugar and ground almonds mixture into the egg whites a little at a time until combined.

Now your mixture should look smooth and drop from the spatula like molten mass.

  

Fill the piping bag with the macaron mixture using a 1 cm wide tip (I just used a plain coupler). Pipe evenly sized rounds on 2 baking trays lined with baking/parchment paper about 5 cm/2 inches across. Also make sure to leave some space in between the macarons otherwise they will stick together after piping. If you want to be sure that every macaron shell is the same size, you could use a round cookie cutter as a guide by drawing circles on the baking paper and flipping it over to pipe on the other side. I piped the macarons myself without a guide but instead tried counting 2-3 seconds for each one. It didn't always work but at least all the macaron shells looked similar in size....

Tap the bottom of the baking trays once on a work surface to remove any large air bubbles. Do this sharply but don't be too harsh. You don't want the macarons to end up losing their shape. Smooth any peaks on the tops of the macarons with a wet finger. Let the macarons set and form a dry shell for at least 15 minutes and up to an hour, until they are not sticky or wet when tested with your finger.

When they are ready, bake the trays in a preheated oven of 170 degrees C (325 degrees F) for about 10 minutes. The tops of the macaron shells should be crisp and the bottoms dry. They should also peel off the baking paper easily but if they stick, put them in the oven again for another 5 minutes. Leave them to cool completely before filling and serving.

Here are my baked macarons and yes, there are some problems with it. Firstly, I overbaked them a little which gave them a tanned colour so make sure the oven is not too hot and don't let them bake in the oven for too long. Secondly, the tops of some macaron shells were cracked. Probably because they have not set long enough to form a dry shell unlike the other ones. Thirdly, there were some shells that stuck together because I piped the shells too close to each other. As I have said before, leave some space in between the shells when piping as they do expand a bit. Try not to make the mistakes I did!

They didn't come out as perfect macarons but they did form feet/crown and were delicious when filled with a home-made vanilla custard. Practice is the key to success! They may be a little tricky to perfect, but when made these treats are certainly rewarding. They are also so versatile and can be matched or combined with different flavours, fillings and colours to suit your theme or preference. Scattering the macarons with sprinkles, other edible decorations or liquid food colouring can add a touch of sparkle to your macarons and turn them into special little treats.

I'll be back soon with another post featuring these macarons I made from this tutorial!
Click here to see the post featuring these macarons from this tutorial.