Pink Macaroons and Performing Baboons

Strawberry French (Pink) Macaroons!!! They were supposed to be pink anyway! I had a few disastrous hours in the kitchen, cracking eight eggs to get the whites for three, running out of almond meal when I decided to double the mixture, slopping half the mix out of the piping bag when it was too runny and then losing half my macaroons when they cracked and stuck to the baking paper (that was suppose to be non-stick!)


It had started off as a promising morning and I was excited to test out my new Women's Weekly afternoon tea cookbook*. According to the front cover, the recipes, (including my Pink Macaroons) were "triple tested for your success every time". I thought they'd have to be conversation stoppers and with a reputation to uphold after my decadent chocolate fudge Love Bites from last time, I needed something with colour and 'wow!'


To cut a long story short, the finished product looks like insipid salmon-coloured rice cakes and yes you can definitely taste the $8 worth of almond meal in them. I may be the master at meringues and pavlova's but these 'macaroonies' are in a league of their own.


They will be sandwiched with jam and cream and dusted (covered) in icing sugar and served at the dinner party tonight. I will not resort to a box of chocolates or the 'Safeway special'. I have wasted enough blood, sweat and tears on these sugar crusted suckers that they are even going to  haul me out of my 'nothing to write in my Blog entry today' dilemma. 


I should have known that if Veruka Salt was demanding them: "Pink macaroons and a million balloons and performing baboons..," they were going to be difficult!


When I lay my dessert next to the other seven contenders tonight, I will be thinking 'at least my dessert has character'. As for their desserts: "give it to me now!"


I wonder how I will go with my next attempt - the Limoncello Mini Meringue Pies?


* This beautifully illustrated cookbook contains over 100 pages of elegant looking afternoon tea options from Vanilla Bean Scones to Toffee Crunch Cheesecakes.  Every time I turned the page I thought, "yes, I could make that". (RRP $12.95 at selected retailers)