Black Forest Macarons for Sugar High Friday!

I haven't made macarons for a while, but after tasting these I'm wondering why I left it so long! These Black Forest macarons are like a mini desert, just a couple of bites, but packed full of flavours. The macaron shells are chocolate and the filling is freshly whipped cream with black cherry jam - plus a little cherry liqueur for good measure. You could be fooled into thinking you are eating the real thing - Black Forest gateaux - oh yeah!!


Preserve some of that summer goodness, I'm so happy I have another couple of jars in the fridge!

The cherry jam is from a David Lebovitz recipe, or I should say 'no-recipe' because it's just a case of weighing your cooked cherries and adding ¾ of the amount in sugar with some lemon zest and juice, no pectin needed. Of course it's too late now to get fresh, juicy local cherries, but bookmark the recipe for next year and you can make this delicious jam.

Black Forest Macarons
Not a proper recipe as such, just a guide - use your own judgement for amounts.

Your favourite chocolate macarons - I used this recipe
Some whipped double cream
A couple of spoons of cherry jam
A splash of cherry liqueur

Stir the jam into the whipped cream and flavour with the liqueur if using.
Spoon onto one half of a macaron and top with another half.




This is my submission for the September edition of Sugar High Friday, being hosted by Aparna at My Diverse Kitchen. This month the theme is Bite Size Desserts and I hope these little mini Black Forest macarons are perfect.

Sugar High Friday was created by Jennifer at The Domestic Goddess. You can see all the previous themes here.


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This content belongs to Nicisme at Cherrapeno. All writing and photography copyright N Fowers © 2007-2010 unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.
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Frozen Raspberry Kent Mess

Here's a recipe I put together during the summer when our raspberries were ripe and plentiful, and I wanted a different kind of ice cream. It's similar to an Eton mess but frozen, and the strawberries are swapped for raspberries. I also added some chopped white chocolate - because everything tastes better with chocolate right?



Frozen Raspberry Kent Mess
I've called it a 'Kent' mess and - you never know - it might become as famous as the 'Eton' one! My mixture was frozen in silicone moulds, but you can pour it into a plastic freezer-proof container and scoop servings out with a spoon or ice cream scoop.

Meringues - I made half the amount of meringues from this recipe
300ml double cream
1-2 tablespoons icing sugar - you can add more to taste
200g fresh raspberries
1-2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur - optional
50g white chocolate, finely chopped

Break the meringues into bite-sized pieces. Whip the cream with the icing sugar until it just holds its shape. Mash the raspberries lightly with the liqueur. Fold everything together in a large bowl with the chocolate and spoon into small moulds, I used silicone muffin ones. Freeze for at least 4 hours. They will keep in the freezer for up to a month if well wrapped.
To serve, remove them from the moulds and place onto dessert dishes and leave for about 10 minutes before eating.

To make a raspberry sauce:
Blend 150g raspberries with enough icing sugar to sweeten the sauce, 2-3 tablespoons or so. Pour the sauce through a sieve or strainer to remove the pips, use a spoon to push the sauce through.





This is going to a new monthly event called We Should Cocoa – a chocolate challenge, hosted by either Choclette or Chocolate Teapot. The idea is to make something with chocolate and include the special ingredient - which happens to be raspberries - and this month is hosted by Chele from the Chocolate Teapot.




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This content belongs to Nicisme at Cherrapeno. All writing and photography copyright N Fowers © 2007-2010 unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.
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