Success at last!

Hi there fellow bloggers! I have not written a post for a while, apologies. Things here have been a bit hectic. I have been booked to do a big fayre in May and every waking moment has been spent planning the menu, thinking about how best to lay out my stall and stressing about all of the above! I am the lone baker in my little business so there is only so much I can produce from my kitchen. I plan to start in April and bake every day, freezing what I can in advance then finishing it all off at the last minute. My sister will be helping on the day but until then its just me.

A few weeks ago I heard from a childhood friend that she had sadly been diagnosed with kidney cancer. She is younger than me, fit and healthy and had no worrying symptoms. A chance remark to her doctor about having had several urine infections that year prompted a precautionary ultrasound examination and biopsy and in the New Year she had the kidney removed. Thankfully she is recovering well and tests have shown that the cancer did not spread so hopefully she will be able to live a normal life but it makes you think, doesn’t it? I wanted to do something more than just a personal donation on my friends JustGiving page so I have pledged a portion of the proceeds from the fayre to Kidney Cancer UK who were apparently a lifeline after her diagnosis. This has added even more pressure to succeed but I am happy to be contributing to such a good cause.

I’ve been baking regularly this year, at times I have so much cake that I am forcing it onto friends and neighbours as my family cannot eat it all. I’ve talked before about my regret at not being able to master macarons. Well, my youngest son gifted me a voucher for Christmas which enabled me to attend a Macaron Masterclass run by a local company. I was so excited that I jumped around the room a bit! The classes are very popular but I managed to get a place on a course after a cancellation so at the end of January I went along for my first ever baking class. There were ten “students” altogether, all of mixed ages and abilities, including two French ladies who admitted to eating many macarons but being unable to make them, much like myself.

The class started with a demonstration and as I watched these tricky little meringue biscuits being made I could see immediately where I had been going wrong. There is so much more to macaron making than merely following a recipe. The technique is equally important in achieving good results. After the demonstration it was our turn to recreate the recipe from memory, with the two teachers on hand to help if needed. I made lilac coloured shells and once they were all in the oven we took a short break for refreshments, tea and of course, freshly baked macarons which were divine, before heading back to the kitchen to talk fillings. Everybody’s shells had come out really well, I was so pleased as my previous attempts had never looked as good as these beauties! It really is about knowing a failsafe recipe and a few secret techniques. I chose to fill my shells with blackcurrant flavoured buttercream in a matching lilac colour. Then all too soon it was time to pack up our wares and head home. The following day I made coffee and chocolate flavoured macarons and they were even better than the ones I made in class. Since then I have made several more batches, experimenting with different flavours and colours and they have all worked perfectly. I am so grateful to my son for buying me that voucher and enabling me to finally crack macarons!

Thanks for reading. xx