*~Yummy~*

Having a bit of a break from Varsity, I decided to turn my attention to my baking skills. I absolutely love baking. One thing I dream to do one day is to own my very own bakery with the most gorgeous and awesome cakes and delicacy's... So this week I made the vanilla cupcakes with butter cream icing (which turned out yummy), the old classic fudge (which I burnt my fingers on, but was worth it in the end), and tried my attempt at a very unusual kind of sweet treat, Macarons. With the simplest ingredients, I never realised how hard it would be to perfect these delicate treats and the skill that comes with it. They truly are an art.

I tasted my first Macaron this year when looking for the perfect selection for my moms' Birthday. I tried many stores, however some had closed down so each store would recommend another... Eventually I ended up by Daniela's in the Cape Quarter. Luckily these were absolutely divine and we have been back for more since then :) Macarons are small round meringue biscuits, crunchy on the outside and a soft and chewy custard on the inside. Although their name is French, they only arrived in France in the 10th century when Catherine de Medici came from Italy to marry Henry H and brought her pastry cooks with her. Their name comes from "Macaronner", which means to mix the batter until its firm and only slides slowly off the spoon. They are a popular part of the French Patissier's art. The most beautiful and famous Macaron shop is Ladure in Paris.

Neat less to say, my Macarons did not turn out the way I had expected. They were still chewy and extremely tasty, however, the outer shell had seemed to be a bit too fragile and thin... However, that is not the end of my Macaron journey, with the next holiday approaching in November, I will be sure to perfect these works of art :)