Macaron Cafe at the Fairmont Hotel

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Above: Cookie dough cheesecake (ordered by G). Creamy and rich cheesecake sandwiched between two chewy chocolate chip cookies, topped with whipped cream and chocolate.

Happy Father’s Day to all fathers out there! This year, I treated my dad (and the rest of our family) to lunch at our favorite Korea Garden, then went on to try out Macaron Cafe at the Fairmont Hotel. (Will have to save up for the time I can treat my whole family to a hotel buffet.)

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Above: Real meringues as centerpieces on the table. Am not really a big fan of meringues as they really taste like little dumplings of sugar…too sweet but make for pretty displays. 

Of course, what is Macaron Cafe without the macarons? My mom got a plate for us to share: Raspberry Chocolate, Chocolate Muscovado, Orange, Sesame, and Hazelnut. My favorites were the Raspberry Chocolate (which had sweet raspberry macaron shells sandwiching rich chocolate ganache) and the sesame (which had a nutty filling). The Chocolate Muscovado was a little disappointing because it was the only one which had crunchy instead of chewy macarons, plus its filling had hardened. We must’ve just gotten unlucky with that particular piece.

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All their desserts were very meticulously made and were all very rich and flavorful.

I had the Oriental Cake. This has layers of matcha green tea mousse, crunchy sesame, and chocolate cookie, topped with white chocolate. Loved the balance between the bitterness of the matcha green tea and the sweetness of the other layers. Perfect for matcha dessert lovers like me!

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My parents shared the Mango Cheesecake. The cheesecake was dense but not overwhelmingly rich, and had a faint taste of mango. It was topped with a bit of mango puree and chopped pistachios.

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My sister chose the Vanilla Doughnut, which had a creamy vanilla filling and was generously topped with powdered sugar. I tried a bit of this and liked the filling combined with the softness of the dough and sweetness of the sugar. Sinful but delicious, this has a chocolate version as well (topped with chocolate ganache and possibly filled with chocolate cream).

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My other sister had the Kiwi Danish. I didn’t get to try this but she said she could taste a lot of butter in this one, but there is certainly no other way to achieve extreme flakiness in a pastry without the butter! Needless to say, she said this was one of the more quality pastries she’s had.

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My brother had the Raspberry Chocolate slice, which I presume was similar to mine wherein it had different layers of cream and crunch, but with chocolate and raspberry flavors instead.

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I am slowly getting into the coffee habit (don’t know if it’s a good thing or bad), and ordered a Cafe Americano because I can’t really tolerate too much dairy. Served with a meringue, this coffee was really strong even if I crumbled the meringue, put in a whole packet of raw sugar, and mixed a little bit of cream in it. I think this had my blood racing for a while and definitely gave me the bitter kick I needed.

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Sonja’s Cupcakes It has been years since G and I had Sonja’s cupcakes, so we decided to have dessert there for old time’s sake. G had his usual Choco Cream Pie (it was the same usual chocolatey goodness beneath all the sweet cream for him), and I decided to try the S’mores Tart. I’ve done a couple of s’mores recipes myself and I thought Sonja’s version was very well executed! Tart base, then chocolate ganache, then marshmallow, then caramel, then chocolate ganache again, then graham, then a burnt marshmallow! Whew! All the layers of textures and sweetness made for a very satisfying treat!
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Sonja’s Cupcakes It has been years since G and I had Sonja’s cupcakes, so we decided to have dessert there for old time’s sake. G had his usual Choco Cream Pie (it was the same usual chocolatey goodness beneath all the sweet cream for him), and I decided to try the S’mores Tart. I’ve done a couple of s’mores recipes myself and I thought Sonja’s version was very well executed! Tart base, then chocolate ganache, then marshmallow, then caramel, then chocolate ganache again, then graham, then a burnt marshmallow! Whew! All the layers of textures and sweetness made for a very satisfying treat!
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Sonja’s Cupcakes

It has been years since G and I had Sonja’s cupcakes, so we decided to have dessert there for old time’s sake. G had his usual Choco Cream Pie (it was the same usual chocolatey goodness beneath all the sweet cream for him), and I decided to try the S’mores Tart. I’ve done a couple of s’mores recipes myself and I thought Sonja’s version was very well executed! Tart base, then chocolate ganache, then marshmallow, then caramel, then chocolate ganache again, then graham, then a burnt marshmallow! Whew! All the layers of textures and sweetness made for a very satisfying treat!

Homemade Coffee Jelly

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It definitely took me a while but now I can say that I like the “grown up” version of Jello. Who knew that coffee jelly would be so easy to make? I really wanted to make dessert this weekend but as it was so hot and humid, I thought coffee jelly would be relatively quick to make.

Plus, it uses only 4 ingredients: water, coffee, sugar, and gelatin. Well, 5 ingredients if you plan to serve it with ice cream like I did.

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Now, you don’t need to spend lots of money on coffee jelly that’s typically sold in Japanese restaurants!

Homemade Coffee Jelly

Source: AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

  • 1 packet (10 grams or .25 ounces) of unflavored gelatin
  • 2 tablespoons hot water
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 2 cups fresh brewed coffee (Or in my case, I dissolved 4 heaping teaspoons of instant coffee in 2 cups of hot water)
  • Vanilla ice cream

Procedure

1. Prepare individual glasses (or a square pan if you want to cut the coffee jelly into smaller cubes).

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2. Dissolve gelatin in hot water in a cup or small bowl. 

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3. Pour gelatin mixture, coffee, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.

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4. Pour coffee mixture into glasses for individual servings or a large pan for cubing. 

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5. Chill in the refrigerator until solidified, 6 to 7 hours. Serve with vanilla ice cream for the perfect bitter-sweet dessert and enjoy!

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Magnolia Flavor House

Ah…ice cream. Definitely one of my top comfort foods (As it is for many kids and kids-at-heart around the world). One of my favorite childhood memories is going to the old Magnolia Ice Cream House with my family, where we would each order a parfait or sundae (yes, each of us would have three scoops of ice cream and more)!

When I returned from the US more than a year ago, I was saddened to hear that the old Magnolia Ice Cream House was gone! The large compound was closed down and replaced by a new shopping mall, and a much smaller Magnolia Flavor House in a little corner.

For old time’s sake, my family and I decided to have dessert here. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I remembered that there were more pages of dessert choices before than there are today - the new menu has 2 pages of ice cream desserts. The first page has desserts that are good for sharing…

…while the second page has the cold stone concoctions which may be enough for one person.

My parents shared the Mango Royale, which is3 scoops of mango ice cream with slices of mango and cream, topped with caramel sauce, all on a thin bed of graham sponge cake.

G had the Coffee Crumble - 3 scoops of coffee ice cream with cream, coffee jelly and maltesers. 

For some reason, I was at a complete loss at what I wanted to order so I settled for the Parfait:1 scoop of strawberry and 2 scoops of ube (purple yam) ice cream with chocolate syrup, nuts, cream, and a chocolate wafer stick. I was only able to finish half of this cup - it definitely satisfied my ube ice cream craving.

We ordered 2 servings of Chunky Monkey (one for my growing brother and one shared between my 2 sisters)- 3 scoops of chocolate ice cream with slices of bananas, chocolate chips, cream and brownie slices. I tried a bit of this and it was okay - the brownies could have been more fudgey and chewy.


I wish there could have been more choices, like single scoops, more ice cream flavors (most of the desserts just had vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and ube) or customizable sundaes, but otherwise, this is a good start for the new Magnolia Flavor House assuming it’s now managed by a different group.

Wee Nam Kee + Watami

My family and I went full Asian today for lunch - Singaporean Hainanese Chicken Rice at Wee Nam Kee then Japanese desserts at Watami.

Interestingly, Wee Nam Kee calls yellow chicken as the “wagyu of chickens”, because this breed is mainly fed with corn, giving it its distinctive yellow color. Its skin is also thicker and more flavorful.

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I really love the combination of their thick sweet soy sauce and ginger which will be used as a dipping sauce for the chicken. As for the chili, I can live without it, but if you’re the person who really likes spicy food you should add chili as well.

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Here is the steamed yellow chicken on top of a bed of sliced cucumber and served with rice cooked in chicken stock. The savory taste of chicken with the coolness of the cucumber, sweet-saltiness of the soy-ginger paste is one of my favorite food combinations ever!

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My mom also ordered a side of fried cereal shrimp for us. I think we were supposed to eat the head and shell of the shrimp as it was fried to a crisp with the cereal, but I mostly only ate the insides. The cereal was a bit sweet, like honeyed corn flakes.

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For dessert, we walked to Watami which was nearby Wee Nam Kee for a good dose of green tea desserts.

My brother had the Maccha Tiramisu, which he liked.

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My mom had the Chocolate Parfait, which had chocolate and vanilla ice cream, chocolate wafer sticks and cream with cornflakes underneath.

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My sister had the Maccha Parfait which is similar to my mom’s parfait though it had maccha ice cream, adzuki bean, anmitsu (sweet rice flour) dumplings, cornflakes and cream, and a chocolate wafer stick.

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G had the Chocolate Fondant Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream - I had a bit of this and while it was very chocolate-y, I wish the cake were a little more moist.

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My dad and I each ordered a serving of Maccha Ice Cream & Anmitsu Dumpling, which was kind of like a Japanese version of our halo-halo - creamy maccha ice cream, flavorful red beans, cream, diced mangoes, jelly, and chewy anmitsu (sweet rice flour) dumplings. I liked this dessert a lot but the scoop of maccha ice cream could have been bigger. :)

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Ladurée (Paris, France) Aside from the store we visited in Versailles, we also sat down for dessert at the Ladurée along Champs-Élysées.  Because I wanted to see what the French version tasted like, I ordered the Ispahan (which I first tried at The Cake Club here in Manila). It had a thin crisp exterior, chewy rose-flavored interior, cream with rose petals raspberries and lychees. The best way I can describe the taste is that its slightly sweet and fragrant - like perfume, but in an edible way. Of course, G ordered something chocolate - I can’t recall what it was called but it definitely looked like a puff pastry stuffed with chocolate cream, dipped in chocolate and topped with whipped cream and caramel.
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Ladurée (Paris, France) Aside from the store we visited in Versailles, we also sat down for dessert at the Ladurée along Champs-Élysées.  Because I wanted to see what the French version tasted like, I ordered the Ispahan (which I first tried at The Cake Club here in Manila). It had a thin crisp exterior, chewy rose-flavored interior, cream with rose petals raspberries and lychees. The best way I can describe the taste is that its slightly sweet and fragrant - like perfume, but in an edible way. Of course, G ordered something chocolate - I can’t recall what it was called but it definitely looked like a puff pastry stuffed with chocolate cream, dipped in chocolate and topped with whipped cream and caramel.
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Ladurée (Paris, France)

Aside from the store we visited in Versailles, we also sat down for dessert at the Ladurée along Champs-Élysées. 

Because I wanted to see what the French version tasted like, I ordered the Ispahan (which I first tried at The Cake Club here in Manila). It had a thin crisp exterior, chewy rose-flavored interior, cream with rose petals raspberries and lychees. The best way I can describe the taste is that its slightly sweet and fragrant - like perfume, but in an edible way.

Of course, G ordered something chocolate - I can’t recall what it was called but it definitely looked like a puff pastry stuffed with chocolate cream, dipped in chocolate and topped with whipped cream and caramel.

European Experience: Afternoon Tea at Cafe Panis (Paris, France)

Sorry for being my childish self again here, but fellow Filipinos would understand why I find this photo so amusing. In fact, we were so amused that we ended up having afternoon tea here.

We were lucky to have nice sunny spring weather while we were out, so we had two glasses of Aqualemon, which had lemonade, squeezed lemon, mint syrup, and crushed ice. It was such a refreshing drink, with the ice and the lemon and the mint all mixed together! Couldn’t finish the whole glass though.

Of course we just had to try a real French crepe! We ordered the Crepe Complete, which had a thin, crisp crepe topped with powdered sugar and was served with chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and slivered almonds. 

This is what it looked like when I assembled the whole thing for me and G. Pretty impressive, don’t you think?

We also tried the Tiramisu au Nutella because it sounded like a unique combination. For something with Nutella, this dessert was surprisingly light, as it had soft ladyfingers, whipped cream topped with cocoa, and thin layers of Nutella syrup. 

European Experience: Magnum Madness

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I was really excited when I discovered unique Magnum flavors while traveling across Europe. Apparently, they have the limited edition 5Kisses flavors out - while I wasn’t able to try all five, I have to say that the 1st and 4th flavors are really good!

  • Magnum Sandwich: This was vanilla ice cream half-covered in a chocolate shell and half-covered in soft chocolate cookies. I thought this tasted similar to most “hybrid” ice cream sandwiches I’ve tried. 
  • Magnum Gâteau au Chocolat: Meaning “Chocolate Cake” in French, this had chocolate syrup and chocolate brownie bits in chocolate ice cream, covered in a chocolate shell! Perfect for a true chocoholic!
  • Magnum Strawberry and White: Sadly, I didn’t like this flavor at all! The strawberry ice cream was WAY too sweet, and it didn’t help that it was covered with an overly sweet white chocolate shell.
  • Magnum Crème Brûlée: This was my favorite flavor of the bunch! This had caramel and hard caramelized sugar pieces in custard flavored ice cream, covered in a chocolate shell. It definitely tasted like real crème brûlée!

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Chelsea Market and Cafe

Feeling really crummy right now because I’ve been working my butt off the past few days and had to turn down a couple of invites to eat out. (Even as I write this, G is out with friends for dinner as I had to email something out earlier).

But of course, I couldn’t say no to my mom who invited me and G for lunch last Sunday - so I took a quick break and we joined them at Chelsea in Podium.

It’s not that obvious here, but if you order coffee, they serve it with coco sugar and Chocnut! I don’t really drink coffee but I happily ate some of the Chocnut in the jar.

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For starters, we had Chesapeake Bay Style Lump Crabcakes, which were pretty good. I love crab cakes in general and liked how they had lots of crab meat inside and a nice crunchy coating outside.

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My parents shared this humongous Roasted Whole Garlic-Rosemary-Lemon Chicken - my dad wasn’t too happy with this because the chicken was dry inside. Too bad because it looked really flavorful.

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They also had these strange-looking Walnut Ricotta Stuff Squash Flowers filled with ricotta and covered with batter, then deep-fried. They taste as strange as they look - I don’t know if it’s because of the cheese of the squash blossoms but the taste was just off for me - kind of bitter plus something else.

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A faraway view of my sister’s Slow-Cooked Herbed Norwegian Salmon served on top of mashed potatoes. Looks like she made the right choice!

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I had the Oven-Roasted Seafood and Tomato Cream Pesto, which was delicious but was too much for me to finish! The sauce was flavorful and the shrimp, salmon, and squid were juicy. (I gave G the mussels as I don’t really eat them.) This plate could easily serve 2-3 people.

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G had the Homemade Corned U.S. Beef Brisket and he absolutely loved how the meat was fall-off-the-bone good! I think it brought him back to our happy times when we’d eat at deli’s like Kat’z in New York…this is not your typical canned Purefoods Corned Beef (though we love it just like any other Pinoy). That plus the combination of mustard, lettuce and potatoes rounded off the dish nicely.

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My sister had this monster of a sandwich called the Open Faced Chorizo & Meatball Submarine Sandwich. It’s kind of like a huge fat pizza but on a piece of ciabatta instead, plus a whole glob of meat and tomato sauce. But yup my sister liked this too.

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As if our huge plates weren’t enough, we went ahead and ordered dessert. My mom ordered the Peach Apple Crumble - I liked how the peaches added a little more sweetness to the cinnamon apple filling. Of course, it’s always better with a bit of vanilla ice cream, but for some reason, the ice cream they served was a little more on the icy side.

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Of course, G wanted something chocolate, so we got the Four Layer Toblerone Torte. G found it too sweet but I thought the sweetness was just right. Also, there were alternating layers of crunchy but light torte and creamy chocolate filling.

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Our Easter Sunday Lunch with my family and relatives! Highlights include the Paella Negra made by my mom, the Matcha Green Tea Easter Bunny Cake Roulades made by my sister, and the humongous tanigue (mackerel) from G’s dad. Paired with the pineapple salsa my mom made, the fish was really delicious underneath that fierce snarl. Happy Easter to all! P.S. My relatives (even my mom and sister) were happy with my lemon squares! So I guess it’s just a matter of taste…especially since G will only eat chocolate desserts.
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Our Easter Sunday Lunch with my family and relatives! Highlights include the Paella Negra made by my mom, the Matcha Green Tea Easter Bunny Cake Roulades made by my sister, and the humongous tanigue (mackerel) from G’s dad. Paired with the pineapple salsa my mom made, the fish was really delicious underneath that fierce snarl. Happy Easter to all! P.S. My relatives (even my mom and sister) were happy with my lemon squares! So I guess it’s just a matter of taste…especially since G will only eat chocolate desserts.
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Our Easter Sunday Lunch with my family and relatives! Highlights include the Paella Negra made by my mom, the Matcha Green Tea Easter Bunny Cake Roulades made by my sister, and the humongous tanigue (mackerel) from G’s dad. Paired with the pineapple salsa my mom made, the fish was really delicious underneath that fierce snarl. Happy Easter to all! P.S. My relatives (even my mom and sister) were happy with my lemon squares! So I guess it’s just a matter of taste…especially since G will only eat chocolate desserts.
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Our Easter Sunday Lunch with my family and relatives! Highlights include the Paella Negra made by my mom, the Matcha Green Tea Easter Bunny Cake Roulades made by my sister, and the humongous tanigue (mackerel) from G’s dad. Paired with the pineapple salsa my mom made, the fish was really delicious underneath that fierce snarl. Happy Easter to all! P.S. My relatives (even my mom and sister) were happy with my lemon squares! So I guess it’s just a matter of taste…especially since G will only eat chocolate desserts.
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Our Easter Sunday Lunch with my family and relatives! Highlights include the Paella Negra made by my mom, the Matcha Green Tea Easter Bunny Cake Roulades made by my sister, and the humongous tanigue (mackerel) from G’s dad. Paired with the pineapple salsa my mom made, the fish was really delicious underneath that fierce snarl. Happy Easter to all! P.S. My relatives (even my mom and sister) were happy with my lemon squares! So I guess it’s just a matter of taste…especially since G will only eat chocolate desserts.
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Our Easter Sunday Lunch with my family and relatives! Highlights include the Paella Negra made by my mom, the Matcha Green Tea Easter Bunny Cake Roulades made by my sister, and the humongous tanigue (mackerel) from G’s dad. Paired with the pineapple salsa my mom made, the fish was really delicious underneath that fierce snarl. Happy Easter to all! P.S. My relatives (even my mom and sister) were happy with my lemon squares! So I guess it’s just a matter of taste…especially since G will only eat chocolate desserts.
Zoom Info
Our Easter Sunday Lunch with my family and relatives! Highlights include the Paella Negra made by my mom, the Matcha Green Tea Easter Bunny Cake Roulades made by my sister, and the humongous tanigue (mackerel) from G’s dad. Paired with the pineapple salsa my mom made, the fish was really delicious underneath that fierce snarl. Happy Easter to all! P.S. My relatives (even my mom and sister) were happy with my lemon squares! So I guess it’s just a matter of taste…especially since G will only eat chocolate desserts.
Zoom Info

Our Easter Sunday Lunch with my family and relatives! Highlights include the Paella Negra made by my mom, the Matcha Green Tea Easter Bunny Cake Roulades made by my sister, and the humongous tanigue (mackerel) from G’s dad. Paired with the pineapple salsa my mom made, the fish was really delicious underneath that fierce snarl.

Happy Easter to all!

P.S. My relatives (even my mom and sister) were happy with my lemon squares! So I guess it’s just a matter of taste…especially since G will only eat chocolate desserts.

Lemon Squares

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I needed a break from making chocolate or Nutella-flavored goodies, so, much to chocoholic G’s dismay, I made a non-chocolate dessert this time: Lemon Squares. I thought a citrusy dessert would be perfect for the family’s Easter lunch tomorrow (with the hot, sweltering summer weather to boot)!

Unfortunately, these lemon squares came out too tart, so I would lessen the lemon juice to 1/2 cup instead of 2/3 cup, or possibly less. The recipe below has already been adjusted because according to other reviews, the lemon squares from the original recipe didn’t set and were too tart!

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients for the Crust

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sifting
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Ingredients for the Lemon Filling

  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 medium-sized lemons)
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Procedure

Tip: If you don’t have a juicer, you can cut the lemons in halves and use a spoon for juicing, over a strainer.

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9-inch pan with parchment or wax paper.

2. Make the crust: In a regular-sized bowl, carefully whisk flour with confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add butter; combine using a pastry cutter or butter knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into bottom and 3/4 inch up sides of prepared pan. Refrigerate 15 minutes.

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3. Bake until crust is lightly browned 20 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan. Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees.

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4. Meanwhile, make the lemon filling: In a bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer until thick. Beat in granulated sugar, lemon juice, flour, baking powder, and salt.

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5. Pour over warm crust. Bake until set, about 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature; refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

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6. Using paper overhang as an aid, carefully lift square from pan. Sift remaining tablespoon confectioners’ sugar over the top. Cut into 16 squares (or more, i.e. as many as 36, if you want to make bite-sized squares)!

After dinner at Nanbantei, my friends and I headed over to Chelsea in Serendra for dessert and more catching up! I know Chelsea has been here for the longest time but this was the first time I’ve tried eating here. They had a lot of delicious sounding desserts like Tangy Lemon Meringue Pavlova, Peach Apple Crumble, and Our “Famous” Choc-nut Valrhona Cake, but because I was sharing with G, we ordered the Big Nutella Dome Cake. It may not look big in the picture, but it is really huge in real life! The thick middle layer is Nutella mousse sandwiched between two thin layers of chocolate cake, topped with whipped cream and covered with a thin layer of silky chocolate ganache and shaved white chocolate. I think I got hungry just describing this dessert - it really is as indulgent as it sounds! Because it was extremely hot that day (Hello Manila summer!), I also ordered their Frozen Lemon Iced Tea. It was refreshing at first, but eventually became too sweet for me.
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After dinner at Nanbantei, my friends and I headed over to Chelsea in Serendra for dessert and more catching up! I know Chelsea has been here for the longest time but this was the first time I’ve tried eating here. They had a lot of delicious sounding desserts like Tangy Lemon Meringue Pavlova, Peach Apple Crumble, and Our “Famous” Choc-nut Valrhona Cake, but because I was sharing with G, we ordered the Big Nutella Dome Cake. It may not look big in the picture, but it is really huge in real life! The thick middle layer is Nutella mousse sandwiched between two thin layers of chocolate cake, topped with whipped cream and covered with a thin layer of silky chocolate ganache and shaved white chocolate. I think I got hungry just describing this dessert - it really is as indulgent as it sounds! Because it was extremely hot that day (Hello Manila summer!), I also ordered their Frozen Lemon Iced Tea. It was refreshing at first, but eventually became too sweet for me.
Zoom Info

After dinner at Nanbantei, my friends and I headed over to Chelsea in Serendra for dessert and more catching up!

I know Chelsea has been here for the longest time but this was the first time I’ve tried eating here. They had a lot of delicious sounding desserts like Tangy Lemon Meringue Pavlova, Peach Apple Crumble, and Our “Famous” Choc-nut Valrhona Cake, but because I was sharing with G, we ordered the Big Nutella Dome Cake. It may not look big in the picture, but it is really huge in real life! The thick middle layer is Nutella mousse sandwiched between two thin layers of chocolate cake, topped with whipped cream and covered with a thin layer of silky chocolate ganache and shaved white chocolate. I think I got hungry just describing this dessert - it really is as indulgent as it sounds!

Because it was extremely hot that day (Hello Manila summer!), I also ordered their Frozen Lemon Iced Tea. It was refreshing at first, but eventually became too sweet for me.

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Macarons

This was the first time I made macarons in a humid tropical location. My first three attempts (green tea, oreo, and strawberries and cream) were done while I was still living in the US so I had it a little easier. 

I did cheat a bit by turning on the air-conditioning in our apartment though (the benefits of having a tiny apartment)! 

Here’s the surviving batch. The first half dozen was slightly burned and definitely not a pretty sight, so I will spare you from that.

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According to Marie of FoodNouveau.com,

“Humidity usually makes macaron making trickier because it prevents the shells to dry during the resting period. Many succeed in making macarons in these conditions anyway – but let’s just say the heart of summer isn’t the best time to make macarons, even if it’s just to avoid heating the oven.”

(Do check out the rest of her comprehensive post on macaron troubleshooting!)

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I guess I can say that making macarons in humid weather is doable, but you may want to lengthen the drying out time of the macarons before baking to make sure they bake nicely. My first batch had the top halves sliding off the feet - definitely the worst macarons I’ve ever made. Otherwise, I’m glad the second batch came out nicely.

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