Brown Sugar.: Macarons, Marshmallows and Meringues

I leave for Berlin very soon for an indefinite period of time. This prompted a review of the contents of the freezer(s) and pantry. Due largely to a lemon tart (which calls for a whopping 8 yolks) phase a while back I had a considerable amount of frozen egg whites . As well, the pantry was peppered with jars of hardened pure icing sugar (all it took was a quick pulse in the food processor to return it to powder), caster sugar and a large container of cooking chocolate. I saw an opportunity. There were a number of recipes i wanted to try out before I embarked on my journey, where I feel baking opportunities will be minimal, using just such ingredients. As well, I want to see as much of my friends as possible before relocating to a foreign city where I know no-one and cannot speak the language (Ah!)

The result was an afternoon tea on a warm and sunny Easter monday with a table ladened with my first attempt at macarons and marshmallows as well as friands, mini-pavlovas, almonds tarts, rolled buttercream balls and a few savoury bites. I had a lot of help from David Lebovitz's post on left over egg whites, as well as the brilliant Bourke St Bakery cookbook. I highly recommend having a go at the marshmallows, it was like making clouds. And macarons are not at all hard! I tried two techniques: David's and these pistachio ones from Tartelette. Both tasted good but the Tartelette recipe created a smoother, more professional looking result.

I managed to use up 2.5 blocks of butter from the fridge as well as puff pastry circles from months ago, frangipane/creme patisserie mix, buttercream and lebanese bread from the freezer. It was so satisfying. A lot was gobbled up and most of my friends left with a paper bag of samples for later. I urge you to think twice before throwing things out. So much freezes successfully and can hang out for months before you find the energy/inspiration to use it.