Baby Jake's First Birthday

So sorry it's been a while since I've updated the blog. Life and work are both SO busy right now, which leaves little time for inspiration and creativity... Luckily, I've been asked to do some desserts here and there, which always makes for some good content :) Read on and scroll on to see one of the more recent events I got to help out with!

I was asked if I could make some fun desserts and a cake for this precious baby's first birthday. Jake recently turned one! It was a great privilege to be able to contribute to this celebration for this sweet family.

For this event, Jake's family had requested some strawberry and blueberry champagne tarts, a two tier funfetti and lemon cake, and the cutest "1" shaped rice krispies for the kids. It was a perfect choice for the season- so refreshing and summery! 

A huge thank you to Tiny Atlas Photography (link to the website here), who took these amazing photos. Esther and I have actually worked a few events together, and I am always amazed at how stunning the results are. When I got to the venue, the lighting was pretty difficult to work with, but somehow Esther and her team worked magic! I would highly recommend Tiny Atlas for any photography needs. 

Also a big thank you to Julie, James, and baby Jake for letting me be a part of the celebration. I hope you all loved it!

Strawberry Champagne Tart

Strawberries are in season! Summertime is just about here, bringing the sweetest strawberries! Speaking of sweet- happy mother's day! I have been blessed with the sweetest mothers :) One of the memories I have is with my stepmom making fruit pizza- it's basically a bigger version of a fruit tart.

I guess you can call the fruit pizza a bit of an inspiration for this post. Fruit tarts are one of my favorite desserts, and I couldn't help but use the beautiful, ripe strawberries. The champagne cream filling is a perfect compliment, offering a creaminess with slight kick.

Strawberry Champagne Tart
For the crust
1 stick Butter
1/8 cup Sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup Flour 
pinch Salt

1. In a bowl, cream softened butter with sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg yolk and incorporate well.
3. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and mix until combined.
4. Pour your dough out onto a plastic wrap and allow to rest in the fridge until firm.
5. Once firm, roll out until about 1/4 inch thick.
6. Line greased tart shell with the dough, trimming the edges. Repeat if you have multiple mini shells. Poke holes with a fork to vent.
7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake the shell until golden. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Champagne Cream
1 cup Milk
1 tbsp Butter
1/4 cup Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
2 tbsp Corn Starch
4 oz Champagne
.5 oz Gelatin Powder
3.5 oz Water
1 Cup Heavy Cream
3/4 cup Confectioner Sugar

Strawberries

1. Put 3/4 cup of milk into a pot with the butter.
2. Add half the sugar to the milk in the pot, and the other half into a bowl with the remaining milk.
3. Add yolks and corn starch to the bowl with the 1/4 cup of milk. Whisk to make into a slurry and combine well.
4. Heat the milk in the pot until it is scalding. Pour slowly into the bowl, while whisking. Pour the mixture back into the pot.
5. Whisk the mixture on low heat until it thickens. The mixture will boil, and the starchy flavor will cook out.
6. Immediately pour the mixture into a bowl.
7. Mix water and gelatin together. Melt in a microwave with champagne.
8. Add the gelatin mix to the pastry cream. Mix until combined.
9. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream and confectioner's sugar to soft peaks.
10. Fold the heavy cream into the pastry cream into incorporated.
11. Pipe the cream into the cooled tart shells, and top with strawberries.

This is a great, refreshing summer treat! The sweet strawberries work perfectly with the crispy crust. It's best served right away, garnished with a little mint. It's the perfect treat for any occasion :)

Strawberry Champagne Macarons

These macarons are luxurious, flavorful, and colorful. The bright pink is perfect for springtime! Sadly, I was preparing these on a rainy day... The humidity affected the rise, so the macarons didn't have a great foot. Try to prepare these on a dry day so that the shell does not crack, and the food will form nicely.

When making these macarons, be sure to make the ganache and jam at least 4 hours before you make the shell. I made mine the day before so that the flavors would have plenty of time to develop.

Strawberry Champagne Macarons (Makes about 20 Macarons)
Shells
100g Almond Flour
120 g Confectioner's Sugar
50 g Granulated Sugar
70 g Egg Whites (2 large whites)
1/2 tsp Red Gel Food Coloring

1. Pulse almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor until very finely ground. Be careful not to grind too long, because it will release all of the oils, ruining your final product.
2. Sift the powder with a medium-mesh sieve.
3. Place the particles that are too large to fit through the sieve back into the food processor, pulse, and sift again. Throw out the excess pieces.
4. In a grease-free bowl, place your egg whites and sugar. Allow to sit for a few minutes to begin to dissolve.
5. Use grease-free beaters on high speed to whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.
6. As the meringue reaches stiff peaks, add food coloring until you reach the desired color.
7 Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until the batter moves slowly, like lava. If you run your spatula through it, it should fall together after 5-7 seconds.
8. Put the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (3/8 inch). 
9. Pipe rounds that are about an inch apart onto a nonstick baking mat (silpat) that is placed onto a cookie sheet. 
10. Do this by holding the bag straight up about half an inch above the silpat, applying pressure to the bag until about 1 inch in diameter, stopping pressure, and then removing by moving hand in a very small circular motion to release the tip from the macaron shell. Make sure there is enough space to spread.
11. Rap your cookie sheet/sheet pan on the table a few times to make sure there are no bumps on the macaron shells.
12. Let rest until dry to the touch (about 30-45 minutes, longer on rainy days).
13. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. If you have a convection oven, use convection.
14. Bake macaron shells on the second shelf of the oven for 14-17 minutes, until they do not wiggle when nudged.
15. Remove from oven and allow shells to cool completely before removing from the silpat.

Champagne Ganache
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Champagne
8 oz White Chocolate

1. Place white chocolate into a bowl.
2. Heat the champagne and heavy cream until they boil.
3. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate. Gently stir until combined.
4. Cover the ganache with a piece of plastic wrap. Allow the wrap to touch the surface of the ganache so a film does not develop.
5. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
6. Then, whip the ganache on high speed until it thickens and holds peaks.

Strawberry Champagne Jam
8 oz Strawberries
1/4 cup Champagne
3 tbsp Sugar

1. Place the ingredients into a small pot.
2. Cook on low heat until the mixture becomes thick and pasty.
3. You want to be sure that almost all of the moisture is cooked out. When that happens, remove from heat and transfer to a container to cool. 

Assembly
1. Pair the shells by size. You should have about 20 pairs of shells.
2. On the surface of the bottom of the shell, place a small pinch of jam in the center. It should be enough for a small surprise. 
3. Put the ganache into a piping bag with the same tip that you used to pipe the macarons.
4. Pipe the ganache so that it is covering about 1/2 of the surface of the bottom of the shell.
5. Put the pairs together to create a "sandwich". 
6. Place in the fridge overnight to allow the flavors to develop.
7. Let the macarons come to room temperature before you serve them.

These macarons are the perfect gift for Mother's Day, Easter, or any springtime celebration. I hope everyone had a wonderful, restful Easter.