Sainsbury's chocolate macaroon kit

I can't quite believe that I've made it back on here so soon after my last post! Although a little off topic (not cupcakes).

In my quest for gluten free baking ideas, I have been and checked out the GF sections in almost all supermarkets. But that isn't always the best place to look. In fact, I found this macaroon (I challenge the title, a firm believer that they are macarons) kit in the regular baking aisle of Sainsbury's. Being made from meringue, they are what I call "naturally" gluten free (i.e. the original recipe never required wheat).

The £2 kit

I'm not really a fan of baking from kits, but I thought this would be an easy way to dip into something that I consider to be hideously difficult (maybe I'm wrong. Becca from The Great British Bake Off 2014 seemed to make it look so easy!).

Was there much effort required? Absolutely not. I whisked up two egg whites, and then added in the chocolate 'baking mix'. The baking mix was lumpy, and heavy, and I wasn't sure at this point if what I was doing looked right, but I carried on regardless. Oh, and check out the massive egg that I used!

MASSIVE egg. I wonder if this left the mixture too runny.

Next, I poured the mixture into the paper piping bag provided, and piped 24 circles onto some baking paper, put them in a cold oven, turned it to 50 degrees, and baked for 20 mins before turning the oven up to 150 and baking for another 15 mins.

To me, everything looked a bit too flat. But it looks like the cheeky folk at Sainsbury's used a mould for their photo op... maybe that's the key to good structure?

As the meringue-y bits were cooling, I whisked up some butter with a bit of milk and added another chocolatey mixture to create the filling. This probably took about 3 mins. I was able to sandwich my macaroons not long after that... et voila! 

Here we have some very flat, but tasty macaroons from a kit!

I think I now have the courage to invest a bit more skill in project gluten-free. Maybe in time I'll be able to make the macaroons from scratch. And maybe I should ask my landlord for an oven that doesn't just heat up to whatever temperature it wants to...

Challenges for 2014.

I started this blog with the best of intentions, and for a plethora of reasons it has been somewhat neglected (over a year since my last post!).

I have set myself a few goals for 2014 and one of them is to bake every month. But I am now torn between baking with wheat flour (good for my waistline, but no way I can taste.) and baking cupcakes that are gluten free. Perhaps I will alternate.

Gluten free baking has become quite a challenge for me, as nothing ever tastes right. I'd be tempted to say "that's just the way gluten free is", but I know that it isn't. Heavenlies Cakes sell GF cakes on Sheffield Farmers Market every month, and they are always so perfect. 

In January I baked some banana muffins with Doves Farm GF self raising, and I think I overbaked them. They were dry as a bone in less than 24 hours. But I will not let that put me off. Onwards and upwards!

January's Banana muffins... they looked good at least!