Saturday, January 22, 2011

Strawberry and Vanilla Macaron Trifle -Mac Tweets January Challenge


As soon as I saw the gorgeous cover of this issue of Donna Hay I knew I had to make that trifle.  And perfect timing because our  first Mactweets challenge 2011 is to : integrate your macarons into any dessert, making it a new part of an old favorite, or turn your macarons into your favorite dessert, inspired in flavor, texture, color.  I don't know about you, but growing up jello was part of my food pyramid, and of course the whipped cream just fulfilled the dairy requirement !  Seriously, I don't make a lot of jello, as a matter of fact I can't remember the last time I made any. But really when you look at this magazine cover are you not inspired to make this delectable dessert ?


Doesn't it just look a light and pretty after all those cookies, stollens, and chocolate from the holidays ?  And doesn't it just look like a lovely choice for Valentine's Day too ?  And for those of you who are not obsessed with making the perfect macaron-you can even use (quelle horreur) store bought macarons.

Pretty feet ! Thank you Deeba

I usually make my macarons from Hisako Ogita's book I Macarons. But today I decided to experiment and use a recipe from a fellow blogger who always inspires me with her writings, photography and food-Deeba over at Passionate About Baking.  Check out her blog, you'll see why she is so inspirational !


I made the vanilla macarons using Deeba's recipe.  I followed Donna Hay's recipe for the jello, added more strawberries than the recipe called for, because I'm of the belief you can never have too many strawberries and I filled my macarons with mascarpone mixed with a touch of balsamic vinegar (the berries love balsamic vinegar), and topped everything with whipped cream and more berries .  This is a  perfect dessert for today-the sun is shining,  teasing me with thoughts of warmer weather and gardening. 



Strawberry and Vanilla Macaron Trifle
You can find the original recipe from Donna Hay here.

For the Macarons recipe-head over to Deeba's blog .

Mascarpone filling:
8 ounces of Mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Mix together until smooth and fill a pastry bag for piping onto the macarons.

Whipped Cream Filling
16 ounces of whipping cream
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
Add all ingredients to your mixing bowl and using the whisk attachment , whisk on high until peaks are just starting to firm up.




Head over to Mac Tweets and see what everyone else did this month.




16 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Perfect timing Sandy. I have yet to make macarons.Perhaps we can make that a challenge next time I am in Seattle:D

Jamie said...

I am stunned at the absolute beauty of this dessert! Wow! Oh how I wish I could taste it! Just beautiful and how perfect was Donna Hay' timing? Oh you've inspired me! And those are incredibly perfect macarons! Guess I need to try Deeba's recipe! Yay to you for baking with us at Mactweets and in so perfect a way!

Cristina said...

OH MY! A more than beautiful and delicious looking dessert. How do you serve the trifle or have the heart to slice into it to eat it? I'm really speechless and very inspired. I need to look into Donna Hay's magazine.

Sandy, how do you get the macaron shells so white? Is it food coloring or from a flavoring?

Roadtrek Girl said...

Cristina, Thank you and I love the Donna Hay magazine, beautiful photos,gorgeous styling and incredible recipes...the white is just natural using Deeba's recipe-I did use crema di vanilla though instead of vanilla extract-its much lighter in color and I got it as a sample from Amoretti-google them they have every extract imaginable.

Roadtrek Girl said...

Val, I would love to make macarons with you on your next visit -that would be a blast.

Roadtrek Girl said...

Thanks Jamie, a compliment from you makes my day because you are right up there with Deeba inspiring me !

Elaine said...

Oh. My. Gosh! This looks magnificent, Sandy! I agree - this just shouts Spring and Summer. Thank you for sharing the links to the recipes!

lora said...

This is a macaron masterpiece! Wow! Love the touch of balsamic in the filling.

Unknown said...

Loving your blog, I just passed on a blog award to you via mine.

I really need to get back into Mac Tweets, I missed the last 3! x

Cathy said...

Wow, what a stunning dessert! I love the way you incorporated your macarons into the trifle. That's a real show stopper.

Julie Hoagland said...

It was both beautiful and delicious as always!

Deeba PAB said...

G O R G E O U S... you make me feel exhilarated Sandy! Well done with Donna Hays beautiful trifle. Am so glad my recipe worked for you, and now you give me more confidence! I bought I ♥ Macarons inspired by you LOL!! This certainly is a Mac-ron-piece {master-piece]!! Thank you for bringing the inspiration to Mactweets! xo

Deb Ramirez, WA TD said...

and yes, Jamie, it was most delicious as Sandy brought this dessert to our dinner gathering last weekend! It was more than scrumptious and a little tear dribbled down my cheek as I encouraged her to take the little bit of remaining dessert home with her...I would have finished it all right after they departed for Seattle!

karen @ ladymacaron20ten said...

Your macaron trifle looks absolutely stunning... I bet it was delicious too.

Anonymous said...

Your macs are just as perfect as the magazine cover! Looks good for a Valentine's Day treat, too.

Cecilia said...

OMG, your trifle is gorgeous! Such a wonderful dessert. I bet it was delicious! And you are right, it would be perfect for Valentine's day.