New Things! New Things!

Hello all! I apologize for my posts tapering down again, but there's been lots going on! A) I've had a lot of orders lately, which is AWESOME! Thank you to everyone who has been ordering from my Etsy Shop, and I hope you've enjoyed your treats! B) My day job has been quite overwhelming and frenetic of late. And finally C) I've been working on some NEW things for a very special order, which I will hopefully be writing more about soon. Intrigue!

I just wanted to talk about a couple of the new things that I've made lately, and about some things that will hopefully be available soon in my shop. SO! Obviously the name of the bakery insinuates that there might be some small tarts for sale... I have definitely failed on that front so far. But, do not worry, my little muffin heads! I have been working on some tartlet-ey things lately and have (I feel) perfected a recipe for Turtle Tarts! Behold!

Not only are they SOOOOO GOOOOOD, they are so pretty! I have to say, I am particularly proud of this photo too. I am not the best photographer, as I'm sure you all have noticed, but I think this picture is really pretty and tasty looking. BIG SMILE! Hopefully I will add these, as well as some other tartlet type items to my shop in the near future. Huzzah!

I also have been working with some Autumn produce for this special order, and came up with some really beautiful plum galettes and fig & honey galettes. Check out this picture of the fig & honey!

I would like to put some more galettes up in my Etsy Shop, but I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out appropriate packing/shipping methods for those. So for now, they will only be for local special orders. 

Anyhoo, those are a small tidbit of the things I've been working on in the Tartlet kitchen! I hope to share more with you soon!

Fall Flavor Macarons! (With a recipe for Italian Meringue)

I LOVE Autumn. It is my favorite season, with Winter being a close second. There's just something about cold weather that makes me feel so snuggly and happy. I love everything about it, the colors, the fashion, the food, the hot drinks. And Halloween! Nothing gets me in the mood for fall like the movie Hocus Pocus! So this weekend I got into the fall spirit and put together a couple of new macaron flavors to celebrate the season!

Pumpkin Spice and Apple Spice! I know everyone goes ga-ga over pumpkin when September rolls around (thank you for the Pumpkin Spice latte, Starbucks), but I don't want to forget the amazing apple! I love apples, apple cider, and APPLE BUTTER! Delicious! These flavors of macarons are now available for purchase in my Etsy Shop!

When coming up for the fillings for my various macarons, I often use Italian Meringue (sometimes called Italian Buttercream, but there is no butter in this recipe). For both of these new flavors, I mixed in Italian meringue to give it texture and sweetness.

I find that this recipe is fairly simple, and makes a cream/meringue that you will not be able to stop sampling. I think I went through at least five spoons in the process of making my last batch because I couldn't stop taking taster bites.

Ingredients
8 oz sugar
2 oz water
4 oz egg whites

Directions
Heat the sugar and water mixture, make sure you brush the pan with water to make sure there are no dry sugar crystals. When the syrup reaches 220, start beating your egg whites. Once the syrup reaches 240, your egg whites should be at stiff peak stage. CAREFULLY pour the syrup into the egg whites, as they are still beating. I can not stress enough how careful you need to be with this syrup. It is lava! Pour all of the syrup in and keep beating until the mixing bowl reaches room temperature. I'd guess this takes about eight minutes, but I'm terrible at time estimation (I know, terrible affliction for a baker, but that's why I use my trusty phone timer when things are in the oven), so just mix until the bowl is room temp and you're good.

The finished product is going to be thick and glossy and delicious and amazing and addicting. And and and. You can use it to frost a cake, make meringue cookies, top a pie, or make macaron fillings!

Image from Classy Catering Creations because I fail at remembering to take pictures

If your meringue starts to separate after a couple of days, just throw it back into the mixing bowl and mix it until it becomes fluffy again. All good!

Happy Autumn, everyone!