Tiramisu

I was in the Italian Dolomites recently for a skiing holiday. Every day at four in the afternoon the hotel would lay out three or four different types of cakes, from creamy Austrian sponges to custardy Italian doughnuts. I tried to resist them all (emphasis on tried!) until the day they served a Tiramisu, and then I went for firsts, seconds and then thirds. Tiramisu is my weakness, soft, pillowy biscuits, deep intense coffee, cloudy mounds of cream..What is there not to like I ask you??
And that got me thinking, lets try making a Tiramisu macaron. I am sure it has been done before but I wanted to try out the flavours myself, so I broke down the Tiramisu into its basic flavours: coffee, mascarpone, a little Marsala and spongy biscuit.

I made a basic macaron and dusted the top with cocoa powder, just as you would dust a finished Tiramisu and popped it into the oven to bake.
I then made the filling by whipping some Marsala with half a tub of mascarpone. To get that intense hit of espresso, I made a thick coffee syrup and folded it into the mascarpone. The result was a deep, voluptuously creamy filling. As I wanted the filling to be a little bit more stable, I mixed in some Italian buttercream before piping it onto the macaron shells.

I ate a couple on the spot, dredged up some self control and packaged some of the macarons as a present for a friend. Then guiltily opened up one of the boxes, snuck out a couple to have with tea. Bliss!

I have to add, my friend Daniela makes the most amazing Tiramisu in the world. Whenever she brings a tray over I want to snatch it up, lock myself in the bathroom. This macaron is dedicated to her.

Long time no write

It has been a long time since my first post. Work on Move Over, Cupcake had to slow down for the holidays but really picked up speed in the last week. I opened a bank account, which means MOC is ready to do real business, got quotes for insurance (whew!), met with a designer/illustrator called Tania who understood exactly what I wanted from the brand - a great meeting of minds that left me feeling excited and pumped up about the whole project. Cant wait for her first samples!
And also got two new clients! One for a christening next weekend so will be posting photos soon of the finished products.
I also experimented with two new flavours which will be making their way into the flavour list, Honey and Ginger and Tiramisu.
The idea for the Honey and Ginger came from Tania, who handed me a box of these sweet and spicy chews, and asked me to see if I could do something with them. The chews are a fiery, yet sweet and zingy combination of honey and ginger, absolutely amazing! The challenge was to tweak the flavours so they would suit a delicate macaron. I thought about using real ginger but that would have overwhelmed the macaron, so opted for the more subtle heat of candied ginger. I added honey to the buttercream and the result was pretty good!!

I added some sparkle to the piped batter. Surely such a zingy, sparkly macaron deserves a few stars!

I used buttercream for the filling, adding Manuka honey and thinly sliced candied ginger.

The end product looked quite pretty I have to say, and tasted quite good too. It wasn't as fiery as the actual chews but it did deliver a kick, like taking a bite out of the sun! Definitely going on the flavour list.

Hello World!

This is my very first post, on our brand new blog which will chart the baby steps taken by Move Over, Cupcake, from a germ of an idea to a fully grown business.
So what is Move Over, Cupcake you ask? It is a movement to end the reign of the cupcake :) and introduce the world to the wonders and joys of The Macaron, those small, delicate, beautifully coloured jewels of the biscuit world. A French Macaron is a perfect marriage of almonds, egg whites, sugar, which combine magically to make a cookie (though it feels almost sacrilegious to call it that) which is crisp and crunchy on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside, the two shells bound together with a creamy or jammy filling. Eating a macaron is an Event, a Celebration. Can you tell I am passionate about the Macaron???
Going back to the shop..  Move Over Cupcake will be a virtual bakery selling mainly Macarons, along with Tea cakes and biscuits. The shop will offer basic flavours like Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla, but (and this is what I am really excited about!!) it will also offer products that are unique, fun and experimental. Products that push the taste boundaries a bit - in a good way. I love experimenting with flavours, mixing flavour traditions from parts of the world; for example a Cumin and Caramel macaron that takes you straight to the Souks of Morocco.
Long live the Macaron!





Viva la macaron