The Sainsbury's Macaron Kit

So at the weekend I managed to get hold of a macaron kit from Sainsbury's. I had a few people enquiring and asking me what the kit was like, so here is my post on the kit. I apologise to my international readers as this post probably isn't relevant to you, unless Sainsbury's have extended outside the UK. 

Sainsbury's have just brought this kit in. I can't remember the exact price, but it costs around £2 and is meant to make about 12 macarons. The kit is available in raspberry and chocolate. I chose the raspberry.

I found the box was very easy to locate down the home baking aisle, but this is what you are looking for. To make the macarons you will need this kit, 2 egg whites, a tablespoon of milk and 50g butter. Don't worry about buying a piping bag, because it is included in the kit.

The instructions on the box were written out very clearly. I found them very easy to follow. Unfortunately, we don't have an electric whisk, so we had to whisk the egg whites by hand. It took us forever to make it go stiff and form peaks. If you have ever made meringue before, you will know what I am talking about! Then after whisking the egg whites you add the macaron mix. The macaron mix is the bigger of the 2 bags inside the kit, which wasn't clearly marked, but with a bit of common sense I knew which one was which. As you can see from the picture, the mix goes a very florescent pink! 

Next came the piping...

I had a bit of trouble with this stage! When I cut the corner off the piping bag, I wasn't expecting the mixture to come out as quickly as it did. As you can see, some of my macarons turned out very messy. The piping takes a bit of practice and at least next time I will know how quickly the mixture comes out. In the end I made 9 macarons instead of the 12 stated on the box, but that was mainly because the mix came out too fast and some macarons ended up bigger.

I followed the cooking instructions, exactly as they are written on the box. A few of the shells did get a bit burnt around the edges. The majority of the shells came out fine, albeit a bit strangely shaped. The kit also comes with instructions to make a filling. You use the milk, soft butter and the other mix bag to make the filling. In my opinion, the filling really lets this kit down. I found that the filling mix kept curdling and splitting. I was expecting a soft, creamy filling but the end result was quite runny and slightly grainy. If I were to use this kit again I would make my own filling instead of using the packet one. I know I can make a nicer filling from scratch.

So how did they taste? The raspberry flavour is very strong. I don't mind having a very sweet macaron, but I definitely ate too much at once and felt a bit sick afterwards! Both the shells and filling are raspberry flavoured. I think the shell is flavoured strongly enough by itself and the filling didn't need to be so strongly flavoured. The texture was a bit too chewy. It tasted like a macaron but the texture is not quite right. Whether this is down to my baking skills or the kit, I am unsure. It was just a bit too heavy. Maybe I needed a bit more air in my whipped up egg whites.

I would give this kit a rating of 3.5/5. I think this kit is a good purchase if you are new to macaron making, as it eases you in gently. However, the texture is not quite right. The filling that comes with this kit is awful. It tastes very nice, but I would expect nicer. But despite this, the end product was still very enjoyable. I had no complaints from my husband or mother-in-law when they sampled them. The raspberry flavour really comes out well. So whilst my macarons may not look as pretty as Laduree ones, I don't think this has been a total failure. I would try the kit again but I think in the future I would like to try and make my own ones from scratch. But for about £2 for 12 macarons, this kit is worth trying at least once.

Laduree Team up With Hello Kitty!

One of my favourite places to get macarons has decided to team up with Hello Kitty! You can now get a box of limited edition Hello Kitty macarons. You get 8 in a box.

It comes in very cute packaging, which I simply adore. Being limited edition packaging, these boxes are a bit on the expensive side at £14.10 for 8. If I were to get one, I would definitely wash the box out and keep it for cute storage afterwards.

They look so yummy and cute!

Edgar Degas, Laduree and a new banner!

Friday the 14th October 2011- This day will always be special to me. I finally managed to make one of my life goals come true, and it is thanks to lolita!

A few weeks ago, I was invited to a lolita meet. The idea was to visit the Royal Academy of Arts in London for an exhibit about Edgar Degas. As soon as I saw the word Degas, I started to hyperventilate. Edgar Degas is my favourite artist of all time. I first discovered Degas when I was about 7. My dad had purchased our first computer and he got me this set of computer games to celebrate. In one of the games, you had to stop a burglar from stealing paintings from 3 artists. One of these artists was Degas. When you finished the game, you got to see the paintings. I instantly fell in love with Degas. I kept researching him and discovered more of his beautiful works. I find it hard to explain why I love him so much. Degas painted a lot of dancers and ballerinas, and it is these paintings which he is most famous for. The dancers look graceful, and I love the way Degas captured their effortless grace. The exhibition in London focused on the way Degas captured their movement. I sometimes wonder what Degas would have thought about lolitas and how he would have captured lolita in his art. If I were to pose for any artist, it would definitely be Degas. And I only found out about this exhibit because I was a part of a lolita facebook group!

Despite being unable to attend the lolita meet, there was NO WAY I was missing the chance to see some of Degas' most famous work in person. The Royal Academy of Arts was buzzing with excitement and there was a bit of a queue to get in.

The lolitas going to the meet are in for a treat! If you are reading this post before the 11th of December 2011 and would like the chance to see the exhibit in London, you can find details here- http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/degas/

There was one particular part of the exhibition that I was really excited to see-

This is Dancer Posing for a Photographer (sometimes the title for this painting varies a little bit). This is my absolute favourite painting by my favourite artist. This painting normally hangs in a gallery in Russia. Considering how unlikely it is that I will go to Russia, I simply had to see this painting. It was one of my life goals to view this painting and now I can say I have seen it. When I first saw it, I felt my heart clench with excitement. It is so beautiful. I can actually feel my eyes tearing up just remembering this special moment.

I spent ages in the gift shop looking for my favourite painting. I was hoping for a print (in fact, this has now gone down on my Christmas wishlist, so I am holding out hope of at least getting a poster). Sadly, I could not find Dancer Posing for a Photographer but I did find this print. I am now trying to figure out where I should put it. I also got a few postcards and the Royal Academy's magazine. I did spot a beautiful umbrella with a Degas print on it (it would look beautiful with classic lolita) which cost £30, but I decided I would be sensible and so I saved it to buy a few Christmas presents. I would have snapped it up in an instant if Christmas wasn't coming up!

I also decided to go to Laduree for macarons. Laduree macarons are famous so in the interest of research, I went and got a box of 8!

This is the macaron tree which greets you outside their shop. I went to the Burlington Arcade branch because it was very close to the Degas exhibit. Inside the shop, it is like a sparkly grotto. In this photo you can see the gold underneath the macaron tree. The entire shop is covered with this gold decoration. The shop itself is small, so it is best to go in very small groups or by yourself.

This is the box my 8 macarons came in. I think this is their standard packaging which in itself, is still very pretty. If you want a fancier box I think you need to buy more macarons.

Left to Right- Rose, Lemon, Raspberry, Granny Smith Apple, Black Forest, Praline and Violet and Blackcurrant (I had already eaten another rose macaron). As expected, they were expensive but I can honestly say they are the nicest macarons I have ever tried. They have a wonderful crispy but chewy texture. The flavours in the store are varied with a few standard flavours such as raspberry, and the more exotic flavours like Green Apple. They also do special flavours from time to time. If I remember correctly, the black forest macaron is not part of the regular macaron menu.

My favourites were the Black Forest (perfect mix of chocolate and cherry), green apple (unusual, but in a good way), and the Violet/blackcurrant (simply amazing). But I was amazed by every single one I tried.

Finally, I have some new banner art!

This banner was made by the very lovely Beau. Beau based the banner on the outfit I wore to the October 2011 Oxfordshire Lolita meet with Meta's Fairy tale print. Beau has gone to a lot of effort to capture my outfit including the ivy wrapped around my leg, the print details and even my black Bodyline bolero. I absolutely love this banner! So a huge thank you to Beau for making this for me.

A LUSH Ode to the Macaron

Yes, today I am posting about macaron related stuff again! My obsession has gotten so bad that this blog will now have a macaron tag!

Lush has always been one of my favourite shops. They sell bath products, but these are not your typical bath products. They come up with fun and exciting fragrances which make bath time very fun!

So I was very delighted to see that Lush have decided to make 3 products dedicated to macarons. Lush were inspired by Laduree, who are famous for their lovely macarons (and next month when I go to London, I will finally get to try some of their macarons for myself). So Lush came up with 3 new bubble bars called... Bubbleroons! I don't have the heart to tell Lush that they have one 'O' too many and it should technically be Bubbleron...

First up is the green bubbleroon. As you can see, these products are not quite a macaron shape but it does have the 2 shells. I imagine it would be very hard to sculpt bubble bars in to a flatter and rounder shape. This one apparently smells like grass.

This one, called the Rose Jam bubbleroon, is the one I am most excited about trying. I have recently become obsessed with rose scented stuff (I even made up some rose flavoured jelly on Tuesday, which tasted amazing). This bubbleroon has a rose scent mixed with the scent of jam. It sounds like my fantasy scent!

Finally, this is the Yuzu and Cocoa one. Yuzu is a Japanese mandarin. I imagine this one has a very lovely fruity fragrance to it.

I am very excited to try these new products. They might even make a nice gift for somebody!

In other news, Metamorphose is having a sock sale for this weekend only. I was tempted, but I can't risk getting a ridiculous customs fee for a few pairs of socks! I hate the UK customs so much! I noticed the Fairy Tale rose socks were discounted and so were a couple of other recent designs. If you would like to get some cheap socks, do go and have a look. http://www.metamorphose.gr.jp/onlineshop_eng/socks.php?ssid= Remember, this sale is just for this weekend so if you are reading this post after Sunday I am sorry to say you missed out!

Reading Lolita Meet!

It feels like my last lolita meet was ages ago now (I have missed 2 Oxford meets in a row) so it felt good to be able to attend a meet in Reading. It was a lovely change to go somewhere different. We all brought some food along so we could have a picnic in the Forbury Gardens. I have never been to these gardens before so I had no idea how beautiful the gardens were. We managed to set up the picnic underneath a bandstand so we avoided the worst of the rain. And then it started raining sideways so we did get a little damp!

Monika brought macarons and cupcakes from Waitrose! Recently, I was told that Waitrose (a UK supermarket) were selling macarons but when I got my husband to look in our local branch we couldn't find them! So well done to Mo for tracking some down. I would like to make a public plea to all my UK readers- please go to Waitrose and buy macarons and if you can't find them, ask them to get them in! If they become popular enough, Waitrose might get the hint and put more in their stores. Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to buy macarons so easily?

They come in a pink box with black swirls on it and have Maison Blanc written on the box. I had a raspberry one which tasted yummy. I was expecting pre-packaged macarons to not taste that good but I was pleasantly surprised. I think fresh will always be best but I would highly recommend these Waitrose ones. All this macaron talk in making me hungry!

This is the Waitrose cupcake I had. It tasted like a small piece of strawberry heaven....

Here is a group shot of us! From left to right we have Raine in Angelic Pretty, Michelle in Angelic Pretty, Shalisa (the lovely host!) in Angelic pretty, Kyra in Alice and the Pirates, Helen in BABY and me in Bodyline.

Mo left before we took the group shots but I hope she doesn't mind me putting up this solo photo! She is wearing Kids Yoyo. This dress is beautiful and Mo was so well co-ordinated!

I finally got to wear my Bodyline cosmetic print dress that James kindly got me for my birthday. I changed my mind about my outfit several times because I desperately want to wear Meta's Fairy Tale to a meet but in the end, I wanted something which I knew would be easy to wear to a picnic (except for my shoes!). The dress and bolero are Bodyline and I was using the matching bag (not in the photo). The rest is off-brand.

Michelle said I looked cute in this photo! It shows off my favourite ring nicely. I always seem to wear that peach coloured cake ring.

Afterwards Michelle, Kyra, Helen, my husband James and I went to the Purple Turtle. I have wanted to go to the Purple Turtle for many years and I was not disappointed!

It was great to get the chance to meet Shalisa properly. I think there should be another Reading meet sometime. It was also lovely to meet Mo, Kyra and Helen for the first time. I have been saying for over a year that I would start attending Tea Party Club and London lolita meets and then I never got around to it! I have only ever spoken to a few of the London lolitas online until Saturday. Well if the rest of you are as lovely as the people I have met, then I now know that the London lolitas are amazing people and I am determined to make more of an effort in the next year. I look forward to meeting you all! Hopefully it will be soon.